Which action figure do you play with at home, Godzilla’s or King Kong’s? This is a question mostly asked by friends, due to curiosity. The reason is simple, every kid knows about Godzilla and King Kong, as they both have become favourites despite destroying the world.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire has shades of Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom and Avatar. The story begins three years after Kong defeats Mechagodzilla and is searching for his clan in the Hollow Earth, while Godzilla is fighting monsters on Earth.

Suddenly, the grownup Jia starts getting mysterious distress signals. The deaf orphaned Iwi native, who has a special bond with Kong, gets into action. At the same time, Mama tries to figure out the connection between Jia’s drawing in school and the mysterious energy pulses detected on her project.

The new instalment is the fifth film in the Warner Bros. MonsterVerse series. Unlike the previous film, they both fight throughout the movie’s 115-minute run, but alongside each other. They have new enemies and a new world altogether as a playground. Here, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, and Kaylee Hottle reprise their role from the previous flick, where Kong managed to subdue Godzilla and move to the Hollow Earth.

Hottle’s character Jia, now lives with her adopted mother Dr Ilene Andrews, played by Rebecca Hall, with whom she communicates via American Sign Language (ASL). Henry returns as Bernie, who still believes in conspiracies and uses his podcast to spread his beliefs. Monster vet Trapper, played by Dan Stevens, provides comic relief and reminds one of Jim Carrey’s Ace Ventura character.

Directed by Adam Wingard, the movie has stunning visuals, brilliantly choreographed fight scenes and lots of fun, but the ‘ape’ content is missing. Monsters turn out to be more human this time, which was ‘announced’ when Kong was shown to be saved by a mini-Kong in the trailer. Scenes, where Kong challenges the Star King and the eventual bonding of both Kong and Godzilla, are memorable for the audience and fans.

The movie promotes teamwork where even monsters learn to trust one another and work together to defeat the real villain. The movie does have some violent scenes featuring both the characters, but that seems okay since King Kong and Godzilla are monsters, and expected to do that.

A must-watch, if it is still being run in some of the cinemas in your city.

Published in Dawn, Young World, May 25th, 2024