“Godzilla X Kong:” Three Critical Perspectives, One Cinematic Achievement
Kong and Godzilla engaging in the realm of battle. Photo by Elias Silveira via Flickr
Everyone’s favorite atomic dinosaur and giant ape have returned, but this time, they’re bros.
“Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire” (the world’s least complicated title) is so far the best movie of the year, where a lizard suplexes a monkey off of the Great Pyramid of Giza. However, “Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire” really examines these complex kaiju. The true thematic resonance is within its exploration of Godzilla, Kong and what some would say is the most terrifying monster: humanity.
Although Godzilla and Kong come together in this film, audiences, including us three, believe that it asks the viewer to rectify these three central elements. Therefore, here are our separate perspectives on “Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire.”
Godzilla: Languishing for Destruction
Godzilla is an icon. He is the greatest monster in the history of the moving image. He’s fought dozens of opponents: mech versions of himself, a giant chicken with sword hands and a really big lobster. However, in “Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire,” Godzilla learns that a true enemy can be yourself. As protector of the Earth’s surface (an undeniably difficult career decision), it forms bad habits for Godzilla. Since he has this commitment, he copes with habit-forming addictions. He loves radiation and often must slurp down some nukes.
Godzilla is already known for being a cantankerous and quarrelsome guy, which is even more so the case in this film, as he permanently made his apartment the Colosseum (possibly out of spite to the Italian tourism industry). Godzilla soon learns to love himself, not like Kong who’s obsessed with becoming an undemocratically selected ape lord. Ultimately, Godzilla is the true king of the monsters and deserves all the property damage he wishes to commit.
King Kong: Lookin’ for Love
You know him, the ladies love him. He’s the ape with attitude and certified cinema royalty. King Kong will not hesitate to use a child as a weapon when the need arises (if you see the movie you’ll understand). Kong is not so different from you or me; he eats, sleeps and can find humor in the little things. He’s intelligent and even able to communicate using sign language, being an advocate for the deaf community – Some of his favorite movies include “Sound of Metal” and “CODA.”
Unlike his smooth-brained, reptilian counterpart, Kong isn’t satisfied with wanton destruction, finding it to be a necessary evil in the fight to protect humanity. He seeks to protect people as if they were his children, unlike Godzilla, whose son Minilla has not been seen since 2004. If you know anything about the whereabouts of a rubbery person-sized lizard, please contact your local MONARCH representative.
His true passion is in his quest to find a home for himself, preferring the quiet life amongst underground nature (The Earth is hollow, by the way). Thought to be the last of his kind, Kong soon finds evidence that he might not be so alone after all. There are no eHarmony profiles for giant apes so he’s really out of any other options.
Humanity: Longing for Peace
San Francisco. Boston. Hong Kong. Rome. Cairo. Gibraltar. Rio de Janeiro. All these and more are formerly bustling metropolises laid to WASTE by Godzilla and his heathen gang. I want you to close your eyes for a second. Imagine you’re just living your life, going to work, spending time with your loved ones, not suspecting that anything could feasibly go wrong. Then BOOM. A giant lizard shows up out of the ocean and destroys your city. Squashed under his giant foot, melted by his atomic breath and splattered against the rubble by his tail. Godzilla is an agent of violence and chaos, malice and indiscriminate aggression. The entire “putting humanity in its place” thing? Baloney! Godzilla is a careless loser who does what he wants, when he wants, with no regard for the lives or more importantly, TAXPAYER DOLLARS it costs.
And don’t even get me started on the ape. Kong, portrayed as the level-headed and reasonable of the Kaiju duo (Kaijuo) is anything but that. He mooches off of billions in taxpayer dollars with his seemingly free healthcare and housing plan via the international kaiju monitoring organization MONARCH; Furthermore, Kong has tried on multiple occasions to indoctrinate the youth (regular-sized human, giant ape or otherwise) and use them to fuel his lavish lifestyle and thirst for conquest. Also, he has a private island, and we all know how those turn out. At the end of the day, both kaiju are largely problematic and the only good one is Gamera.
Our Verdict:
“Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire” made us live, laugh and love. It's a true cinematic achievement and we believe it's undeniably not going to be nominated for Best Picture at the 2025 Oscars. We support the next 37 Godzilla and Kong movies. We recommend Godzilla should go to space on an “Interstellar”-esque journey, perhaps titled “Godzilla: A Lizard in Space?!?” As for Kong, we believe the red fella downstairs deserves a visit in “Kong Goes to Hell.” To summarize. . .
The movie was fine.