29 October 2024

Film: Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)

Thoughts: An interesting lack of scale starts to kick in when a film franchise tries to place its vast characters into ever vaster vistas. There is no direction left to go: Fast & Furious ended up in space (I predicted five movies previous) as did Jason, and unfortunately for Kaiju, when their only trademark is being giant versions of primitive animals, expanding only results in the underwhelming experience of smashing action figures together.

Apex predators colliding on land, in the sea, through historical landmarks and eventually towns seems to have lost its impact in this continuation. There's just too many large animals going toe to toe. I started to notice the small details just weren't carrying the weight of these tremendous figures: dirt, water, stones should be the same size as they are to us, just ripped up with each step in gargantuan amounts. This seems to have been lost, so the characters don't create as much destruction just by existing.

That being said, as the film roared on, I found my enjoyment steadily rising. The cast are fine and fun, and the locations colourful and exciting. I am a fan of Dan Stevens, and it was great to see him act the hippie fool. Adam Wingard continues to gain muscle as a director. I noticed some strange fish eye lensing in the hollow earth scenes, I don't know what that was about. Altogether though, I did enjoy it.

6/10




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