DVD Corner

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire 4K UHD Review

“Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” delivers exciting Kaiju action.

In this follow-up to “Godzilla Vs. Kong,” a lonely Kong explores Hollow Earth and discovers a civilization of apes. While he befriends a little ape (Suko), he is greeted with hostility by the ruthless leader Skar King who controls/enslaves a Titan known as Shimo. Godzilla, meanwhile, seems to be powering up with the expectation that a threat is coming. Kong hopes to get Godzilla’s help in defeating Skar King and Shimo who also have goals in conquering the surface world. In the human side of the story, Jia finds herself drawn to Hollow Earth via a signal. Alongside Dr. Andrews, Bernie and Trapper, Jia travels to Hollow Earth and finds surviving Iwi tribe members.

One of the great things about the Godzilla franchise is that it offers up a variety of stories. Ever since 1954’s “Gojira,” we’ve seen Godzilla as a villain, a hero, and, yes, even a father figure to Minilla. More recently, we’ve seen a post-WWII award-winning masterpiece with “Godzilla Minus One” which easily ranks as one of the best installments in the entire series (if not the best). The Simon Barrett, Terry Rossio and Jeremy Slater scripted “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” may not be high art like “Godzilla Minus One,” but so what? The Monsterverse title still succeeds as a crowd-pleasing blockbuster.

Much like “Godzilla Vs. Kong,” ‘The New Empire’ is another weird sci-fi extravaganza from director Adam Wingard. The global adventure contains portals, a giant glove, a further exploration of the odd Hollow Earth, a surprise Kaiju cameo and epic battles in Egypt and Rio De Janeiro. This is a more cartoony CGI spectacle and that’s perfectly fine. Sometimes you just want to see epic Kaiju fights and this movie certainly delivers in that department. The climactic showdown in Rio is particularly noteworthy here as it involves 5 Kaiju characters new and old (no spoilers here). 

Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of this sequel is Kong’s character arc. Outside of Dan Stevens’ scene-stealing Trapper character, the human element may be a little on the bland side, but Kong more than makes up for that. He has quite the journey here with becoming a sort of father figure to Suko, discovering an ape tribe, and eventually finding a new place in life at the story’s end. For a character that is often a tragic figure, it’s refreshing to see Kong come out on top for once. What will happen next? We’ll have to wait for the forthcoming third installment to see. 

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 2.39:1 2160p. How does it look? Simply put, a perfect transfer. 

Audio Track: Dolby Atmos. How does it sound? This Atmos track is as good as it gets. Every Godzilla roar and every ounce of destruction packs a punch.  

Extras:
* Digital copy
* Commentary by director Adam Wingard, editor Josh Schaeffer, production designer Tom Hammock and visual effects supervisor Alessandro Ongaro.
* “GxK: Day Of Reckoning” is all about the Monsterverse.
* “Evolution Of The Titans”- A 2 part extra containing “Godzilla Evolved” (about his character in GxK) and “Kong’s Journey: From Lonely God To King” (a featurette on Kong’s character arc).
* “Into The Hollow Earth”- Another 2 part extra. This one contains the CGI centric “Visualizing Hollow Earth” and the self-explanatory “Monsters Of Hollow Earth.”
* “The Battles Royale”- A 3 part extra covering 3 Kaiju battle set pieces- “A Titanic Fight AMong The Pyramids,” “The Zero Gravity Battle” and “The Titans Trash Rio.”
* “The Intrepid Director: Adam Wingard”- Interviews with cast and crew about the director, behind-the-scenes videos, and a set tour.
* “The Imagination Department” covers the art department.
* “The Monarch Island Base: Portal To Another World” is all about the Monarch base and the underwater portal.
* “The Evolution Of Jia: From Orphan To Warrior” revolves around the character’s arc.
* “Bernie’s World: Behind The Triple Locked Door”- A look at Bernie’s apartment set.

June 8, 2024 - Posted by nicklyons1 | 4K UHD Review | Adam Wingard, Godzilla, Godzilla Minus One, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire 4K UHD Review, Kaiju, King Kong, Monsterverse