Action-Adventure Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

[Sithborg]

Yeah, based on my crowd, it was definitely a crowd pleaser.

 

[blueharvest]

 

[Galactus123]

Will be interesting to see how Warner will take the reception. Not so good reviews but good audience response. Or course most people who score it Rotten Tomatoes are fans who like it but still. That CinemaScore is great. Personally I hope the next movie will be more serious. I don't think this is the style they should continue with.

 

[The Big G]

Im curious too see how it does next week. Is it bound for just a one weekend party or will it have some legs.

There's not a whole lot coming out in April, so maybe it can stomp around at the box office for a few weeks.

 

[Sithborg]

Will be interesting to see how Warner will take the reception. Not so good reviews but good audience response. Or course most people who score it Rotten Tomatoes are fans who like it but still. That CinemaScore is great. Personally I hope the next movie will be more serious. I don't think this is the style they should continue with.

I mean, its no Barbie, sure. But, uhh, I don't think WB is going to be too against Legendary continuing it, looking at their 2023 box office. Especially if you look at their cbms. GxK will likely take over half of Aquaman 2's domestic box office in one weekend.

I just think the economics of the monsterverse is such that I don't think Legendary can afford to go serious. Merch was a big reason why we got this movie, and to sell that merch, you are going to need the kids. The action is going to need to be bright and colorful.

Ideally, Monarch is a good way to go for your seriousness in this universe. And, Toho is back in business, but you can never tell what they will put out.

 

[Wildcard]

Haven't watched this yet (will definitely do so once I get more time in the coming days) but it's looking like this will be a big win. And as someone who loves the MonsterVerse & just these characters in general, it's extremely nice to see it being a crowd pleaser that many have a lot of good things to say about it.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

There definitely seems to be a difference in what the critics think of the movie compared to the average movie goer. That's a good cinema score for a 'rotten' movie.

 

[OrbOfConfusion]

Kong in this movie:

I enjoyed New Empire. I like how it was much more Kong-centric, which feels even more important since Skull Island hasn't had any kind of sequel. I dare say that this film could've been all about Kong without Godzilla showing up until when he was most needed. I enjoyed the human characters and Dan Stevens is always a welcome addition in anything.

Good film with a great final fight sequence.

 

[kaijukurt]

I liked it but didn't love it.

Fun times with the monsters (the apes are the MVPs!) and the human cast is serviceable but I found the climax so rushed that it doesn't do the set-up/stakes justice IMO. Just as it starts ramping up, the movie starts sprinting towards wrapping it up as well.

For comparison, the climaxes of G14-KOTM-GvK all felt like these massive setpieces/mini-movies in themselves: San Francisco-Boston-the extended Hong Kong battle. While in GXK:
The Hollow Earth gravity battle and Skar King finally making it to the surface world feels like the 2nd act culmination/lead in to a sprawling 3rd act, but the Rio battle was surprisingly short for me. I can't help but think of when the MUTOs/Ghidorah/MechaG all had their moments of "victory"/putting up a challenge for our heroes.

But enough of that, I'd also like to think of what I did enjoy:

- various monsters battles sprinkled throughout
- the monsters getting to shine and showing their personalities
- nice build up to Skar King!
- Godzilla and Shimo have short and sweet roles, nothing new for the genre.

Overall, I guess a 7/10 for me. (my rankings of the various Monsterverse movies are ever changing hahahaha)

 

[Gothamsknight]

This movie is ridiculous. I loved it. Had the most audience response I’ve seen during a film since either No Way Home or Multiverse of Madness. And I loved seeing the theater so packed!

Spoiler

When Kong and Godzilla were charging, and Kong jumped on Godzilla I almost wanted to cheer haha

 

[Kane52630]

Box Office: ‘Godzilla x Kong’ Stomps Up $37 Million Opening Day

Legendary and Warner Bros.' 'Godzilla X Kong' debuted above expectations and is tracking for an opening weekend above $65 million.

variety.com

ayo wtf?

 

[The Big G]

Box Office: ‘Godzilla x Kong’ Stomps Up $37 Million Opening Day

Legendary and Warner Bros.' 'Godzilla X Kong' debuted above expectations and is tracking for an opening weekend above $65 million.

variety.com

ayo wtf?

That's pretty damn WILD IMO

10 mil on Thurs and 27 Mill on Friday. We're crossing 50 Mil today for sure.

Do you think we could hit 80? I mean hell the high 60s is looking kinda low now.

 

[Another_Fool]

Saw it with my 6 y.o. daughter today. There were a bunch of kids at the showing today too. This is what's gonna help the box office for GXK a lot in terms of legs, the kiddies, and they were all psychopaths during it, in a good way.

Spoiler

The best part of watching this with my kid was her utter delight when Mothra showed up. Its far and away her favorite kaiju, and the surprise had her going nuts. Awesome time at the movies.

 

[TheVileOne]

There definitely seems to be a difference in what the critics think of the movie compared to the average movie goer. That's a good cinema score for a 'rotten' movie.

I don't really get this point. I'm a critic. I reviewed the movie. I enjoyed it. But I can also see how people might not like the movie or view it as really stupid and vapid.

I think anything involving the humans was just bad. The dialogue was bad. But I will credit Adam Wingard because whenever the monsters were onscreen, they were interesting, and it was able to tell a compelling story about the Titans without dialogue.

IMHO the MonsterVerse movies are not great movies, and they never have been. They're not masterpieces. And that's fine. But just because we're having like a Kaiju and Godzilla renaissance right now doesn't mean that critics are obligated to like Godzilla x Kong and that this movie is high art.

My problem is people make it sound like critics not liking audience-friendly or commercially successful movies is some new thing. It's not. We've seen this for virtual decades. Look no further than the Fast franchise. The Transformers film franchise. There are tons of examples of this.

I enjoyed this movie from the respect that it was embracing kind of that latter half of the Showa era of "fun" Godzilla movie. Godzilla is more of an antihero or superhero than this primal force of nature or a commentary on nuclear weapons. Those are not my favorite Godzilla movies, but I enjoy them as well. It's fine that Godzilla x Kong was like that, but I don't think anyone is obligated to like it because I found it fun.

 

[kguillou]

I had a blast with this. The movie takes a bit to get going, it has a LONG act I that drags at times but when the plot kicks into gear the movie just blasts off like a rocket launcher.

This movie is what it is, guys, its as big and dumb as the first movie and but its a good FUN summer blockbuster movie. The kind you just kick back and relax with sugary and salty snacks with your friends and family and watch the spectacle. And I think Wingard has a good creative eye for action and spectacle and does it really well.

Also, I gotta ask all you Godzilla fans out there how you feel about these movies because lets keep it real, both of these supposed "team up" movies so far have basically been King Kong films with Big G making guest appearances. These movies are in no way about Godzilla at all.

 

[Sithborg]

There definitely seems to be a difference in what the critics think of the movie compared to the average movie goer. That's a good cinema score for a 'rotten' movie.

People can enjoy bad movies. Bad movies can be bad in a way that still allows people to have fun with them. I mean, horror films aren't exactly critic darlings, but a lot of them find a good enough audience.

That's pretty damn WILD IMO

10 mil on Thurs and 27 Mill on Friday. We're crossing 50 Mil today for sure.

Do you think we could hit 80? I mean hell the high 60s is looking kinda low now.

Deadline was talking about $75, maybe hitting $80. So, we will see.

I had a blast with this. The movie takes a bit to get going, it has a LONG act I that drags at times but when the plot kicks into gear the movie just blasts off like a rocket launcher.

This movie is what it is, guys, its as big and dumb as the first movie and but its a good FUN summer blockbuster movie. The kind you just kick back and relax with sugary and salty snacks with your friends and family and watch the spectacle. And I think Wingard has a good creative eye for action and spectacle and does it really well.

Also, I gotta ask all you Godzilla fans out there how you feel about these movies because lets keep it real, both of these supposed "team up" movies so far have basically been King Kong films with Big G making guest appearances. These movies are in no way about Godzilla at all.

A lot of Godzilla movies are rarely actually about Godzilla. A lot of times, its about the villain threat, and he shows up to save the day. Kind of like he was here. And honestly, with all the restrictions Toho has in place for Godzilla, it kind of makes it hard to make a film that is focused on Godzilla like Kong was here or in the last one.

 

[Spider-Fan]

I had a blast with this. The movie takes a bit to get going, it has a LONG act I that drags at times but when the plot kicks into gear the movie just blasts off like a rocket launcher.

This movie is what it is, guys, its as big and dumb as the first movie and but its a good FUN summer blockbuster movie. The kind you just kick back and relax with sugary and salty snacks with your friends and family and watch the spectacle. And I think Wingard has a good creative eye for action and spectacle and does it really well.

Also, I gotta ask all you Godzilla fans out there how you feel about these movies because lets keep it real, both of these supposed "team up" movies so far have basically been King Kong films with Big G making guest appearances. These movies are in no way about Godzilla at all.

I think Godzilla's role in GvK was appropriate. One of them needs to play the heel, and in this case they were building towards Mechagodzilla, so Godzilla being the heel or teasing him turning heel makes sense.

Now for GxK

Spoiler

Godzilla def is more crowbarred in cause GvK made money. So they had a Kong movie that they were like "we gotta throw Godzilla in there" and I don't think the integration is as clean as GvK. Godzilla's role in GvK was baked into that film's DNA. Here, Godzilla just gets sent on side quests so he can power up and be ready for the end. He doesn't actually impact the plot in a meaningful way until Kong recruits him. But, the finale would no doubt not be as fun without him there. So it's a good choice, but it is much sloppily done than in GvK.

But, Toho threw Godzilla into several movies for like 5 mins in the Showa era so his name could be on the poster. So it's on brand. I am fine with it, but it's definitely something I noticed while watching it

 

[kguillou]

That makes sense. I also think from a screenwriting standpoint its probably just easier to make Kong the protagonist. Kong's easier to sympathize with than the big-scary-angry-lizard-looking-thing and so i get the impulse to make him more a foil. I mean look how he was portrayed in Minus One (which was excellent btw), just a terrifying force of nature. King Kong i think has always been portrayed as the "misunderstood ape that just wants to be loved" in his film history where as Godzilla was always more of an aggressor in the films he starred in.

 

[blueharvest]

 

[The Big G]

Also, I gotta ask all you Godzilla fans out there how you feel about these movies because lets keep it real, both of these supposed "team up" movies so far have basically been King Kong films with Big G making guest appearances. These movies are in no way about Godzilla at all.

I am a lil disappointed that they didn't do much more with Godzilla than the bare minimum this time around. GvK, despite being the weaker film IMO had a much better ration of the two compared to GxK.

That being said, its easier to write for Kong than it is for Goji on several different levels. One of the biggest being they don't have to get Toho approval. BUT Wingard did say IF he get's a third, which is looking like he will...he did say he would want to do a more Godzilla focused story.

 

[Arachnerd]

I feel like giving Godzilla actual development isn't as far-fetched as some of you are making it out to be. Sure, that hasn't been the case for him in the majority of films he's been in, but making it seem like it's utterly inconceivable to give him some depth and a good personal story to work with is confusing to me. He should not become a background character in the Monsterverse from now on.

If Wingard could make it work with Kong, he could make it work with Godzilla if he wanted. There are loads of potential here imo to explore him properly as a character.

 

[Spider-Fan83]

What was interesting to me was that the Monarch show said that time works differently in the underneath (days down there equals years up top) IDK how canon that is to the movies... But were we seeing what was happening on the surface in real time ? or was this over years?

 

[Spider-Fan]

I feel like giving Godzilla actual development isn't as far-fetched as some of you are making it out to be. Sure, that hasn't been the case for him in the majority of films he's been in, but making it seem like it's utterly inconceivable to give him some depth and a good personal story to work with is confusing to me. He should not become a background character in the Monsterverse from now on.

If Wingard could make it work with Kong, he could make it work with Godzilla if he wanted. There are loads of potential here imo to explore him properly as a character.

You absolutely can give Godzilla more character. But you need a story designed to do so. GvK and GxK both opted for Kong as the main protagonist and Godzilla got roles that fit what they were doing within that sphere. Like I said, GvK Godzilla was definitely baked into that movie a lot better.

What has Wingard said in regards to a 3rd film other than he'd be interested? Has he hinted at all at possible story directions?

 

[The Big G]

What was interesting to me was that the Monarch show said that time works differently in the underneath (days down there equals years up top) IDK how canon that is to the movies... But were we see what was happening on the surface in real time ? or was this over years?

Its because in the Monarch show...they weren't exactly in the Hollow Earth...they were in Axis Mundi which is kinda of a pocket dimension between Hollow Earth and the surface

 

[Arachnerd]

You absolutely can give Godzilla more character. But you need a story designed to do so. GvK and GxK both opted for Kong as the main protagonist and Godzilla got roles that fit what they were doing within that sphere. Like I said, GvK Godzilla was definitely baked into that movie a lot better.

What has Wingard said in regards to a 3rd film other than he'd be interested? Has he hinted at all at possible story directions?

I keep seeing this screencap on Twitter people are sharing around where he talks about it. Not sure from which site it originated from, but if anyone knows the source, I'd be grateful: