My thoughts on Godzilla x Kong and what I wanted for the Monsterverse

 So, Godzilla x Kong just came out at the end of March, and let me tell you, this is a great time to be a fan of Godzilla. Not only did we get a new entry in the Monsterverse, we also got a new Godzilla film from Japan last Winter. But today I want to focus on Godzilla x Kong. 

When Godzilla x Kong came out and the day finally came where I got to see it in theaters, I absolutely loved it. It had monster action and fun and it had human characters that I liked. That's what I expected and that's what I got. Just a decent, fun, non-woke monster movie. I loved it so much that I went out of my way to see it a total of four times, tying it with Jurassic World for the golden crown of most times watched at the theater. But now that I've seen it more than enough times and now that I've slept on it, I want to talk about my real thoughts on the movie and how it compares to the other Monsterverse films. 

When the Monsterverse first started, it began with a solo Godzilla movie. Then we got a solo Kong movie, and then another solo Godzilla movie. The Godzilla film from 2014 was a great way to reintroduce Godzilla to the public. It felt the most grounded and realistic and felt more like a disaster film. Some people didn't like it, but I thought it was pretty good. Kong Skull Island was also a pretty cool movie. it gave Kong a fresh new original story instead of just being a remake of the original King Kong. Then we got Godzilla: King of the Monsters, which is not only a great sequel but without a doubt my personal favorite Godzilla movie of all time. KOTM was when the Monsterverse started to get more action oriented, but it still felt like a Godzilla movie. Critics didn't like it but Godzilla fans were having a good time. It had excellent fanservice for the Godzilla fans by adding in Toho's most popular monsters like Mothra, Rodan, and Ghidorah. I've watched this entry many times and I will probably watch it many more. 

But then during COVID, Godzilla vs Kong came out. And I gotta be honest, I think the only reason I was really excited for this entry was because theaters were shut down for a whole year, so nobody could go to the movies. This film would be the first blockbuster in a year, and we didn't get a trailer for this film until three months before the film came out. I was expecting another fun monster movie like KOTM before it. And...it was a fun monster movie, but this was the point where the monsterverse went in a new direction thanks to Adam Wingard. This was the film the first phase of the Monsterverse was leading up to. A spectacular rematch between cinema's two most famous monsters. But while this was a crossover film, I felt like as a whole it was more of a Kong centered film. In the first two Godzilla movies, Godzilla is a more careful and sympathetic hero type. In Godzilla vs Kong, he's all of a sudden behaving erratically and wrecking buildings and hurting people. So the main characters turn to Kong for help, and that sets the titular fight in motion. This film also introduced the idea of Hollow Earth, an underground world filled with other monsters and a tribe called the Iwi tribe, where the deaf character Jia is from. Then it the climax it's revealed that Godzilla was behaving erratically because of Apex, who created a Mechagodzilla from one of Ghidorah's heads. It's at this point the two monsters work together to save the day. But even then, Godzilla and Kong were just co belligerents rather than friends. 

Godzilla x Kong The New Empire is just more of the same. Once again, the film is focused more on Kong, and Godzilla is yet again a belligerent monster. This film expands on the Hollow Earth idea and expands more on the lore of the Titans. I thought that this film had the most monster action in the entire monsterverse. There's scenes where the monsters were just communicating with each other without dialogue, and you could tell what they were thinking and feeling just from their expresssions. This film was about Kong's journey to defeat the Skar King and become King of Hollow Earth. In the meantime, Godzilla is causing more destruction than ever before. He goes on a worldwide rampage destroying every monster, building and landmark in sight. A far cry from how he was portrayed in 2014 and in KOTM. But once again, Godzilla and Kong team up to stop the Skar King once and for all. But like in the previous film, only as co belligerents. But what I liked most about Godzilla x Kong was the return of Mothra. I was worried that Mothra would just be a one off character for KOTM, but she returns in this movie to help the good guys. 

So, yeah. While I really enjoyed Godzilla x Kong, it's clear the the Monsterverse has gone in a new direction. Some people will like this new direction while others won't. What I wanted for the Monsterverse was there to be more solo Godzilla movies with Godzilla as the focus of the story and a hero through and through. I also wanted them to bring in even more monsters from Toho's catalogue, like Megalon, Gigan, Biollante, and Destoroyah. Maybe even SpaceGodzilla. I think there's a lot more they could have done with just Godzilla, and I'm disappointed that they are doing crossovers with Kong instead. In fact I kinda wish that Godzilla and Kong both had separate reboots and didn't cross over. Legendary could have easily done that, considering they also made Pacific Rim, which is a separate franchise from the Monsterverse. But of course, people like crossover versus movies and crossover team ups, and those are the kinds of films that are profitable. 

With that said however, I will continue to ride the Monsterverse train to see where it goes. As long as Godzilla is getting more movies, I will be there to see them. I want to support Kaiju cinema and I want to see Kaiju continue to compete with the likes of DC and Marvel and other popular franchises. 

So, that's what I think of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire and the Monsterverse as a whole. What did you think of the new Godzilla movie? Leave your thoughts in the comments below. God bless.