'Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire' Review: A really cinematic experience in HDR

I don't think I have been taking advantage of the HDR capabilities of my Macbook Pro. While streaming services don't really offer that option (or at least I haven't really noticed it) it hasn't really managed to find its way to my screen. I think the last time I tried to watch something HDR was a film I tried watching last year, to which it had my laptop's battery drain stupidly fast, to which I just didn't bother continuing. Fast forward to now, and I just discovered that at some point in 2024 there was a Godzilla (not versus this time) x Kong release. I remembered watching the previous Godzilla vs Kong title and thinking it wasn't all that bad, despite the human side of the film being the weakest part of it all. I guess this film flopped for it to have managed to have been released with it having next to zero cultural impact. I didn't see anyone on Hive review it. I didn't see critics anywhere mentioning it. No online presence in forums and the rest. Quite a surprise. Though this is a franchise that has been struggling to make much of an impact despite the massive kaiju monster branding it holds. I guess families and zoomers aren't all that interested in them after all. It seemed like something that would've seen a straight to streaming release, though I suspect it did initially launch in the cinemas. Contrary to my assumptions, it did somehow manage to be a success, making its money back and gaining a little extra, albeit still a bit of a gamble given its budget.

If my memory is to not fail me, I remember the previous title being pretty good when it came to the action side of things. Incredibly cinematic with some really beautiful cinematography and lighting to it, really capturing the aesthetic of a world where new technologies have been discovered for humanity, while gigantic creatures still reign over nature, with a little bit more balance. Sounds design being another massive strength that gave all the new technologies and fights some real punch. The main weakness being the casting which fell flat, and some of the characters which felt too silly to have taken the world seriously where it should've. That old annoying aspect of Marvel films in which every other line must be a joke regardless of the situation the characters find themselves in. Unfortunately, Godzilla x Kong maintained some of that silliness where it wasn't necessary, but I didn't mind it so much given the rest. Just the fact that the film didn't feature Millie Bobby Brown was already a large positive. And one more quick note before I jump into the main segment of the review: I did watch this in HDR, so the visuals were significantly more impressive to me than they would've been in SDR. I'm sure the SDR version still looks good, but this is a colourful film and it certainly benefits from HDR.

Godzilla x Kong takes things into another route where the two kaiju aren't necessarily fighting against each other for once, I guess the two got a bit bored of that, and a larger threat to them both appears. Kong discovering that he isn't the last of his kind in the Hollow Earth, though their intent is quite sinister with plans to invade the Earth and utilise the power of another kaiju that spreads frost. Links made to the previous Ice Age in which it was caused by this particular kaiju. It's a bit more of a larger story this time around, but it's definitely refreshing to see the Hollow Earth side of things expanded upon with different creatures, no longer relying on just throwing Kong and Godzilla at each other over and over again. It's with this that the film can also take advantage of its larger universe side of things, finding ways to bridge in other kaiju and making things a little more epic. So far there have been attempts at that in the previous titles, but I think their appearances haven't been that good. This time Mothra is conjured, though a big moth doesn't sound like much of a threat to anyone beyond their clothing, does it? Jokes aside, it was nice to see them spread things out again, though much of the film relies a little too much on the human interactions again, and that is yet again where things fall a little too flat: characters we just can't care for. For the most part they're there for comedic purposes, which as always just removes the seriousness from the story.

No longer does it feel like the Earth is being threatening with extinction, the only characters seeming to take anything remotely serious are Kong and Godzilla. Humans just finding every excuse to throw in some sort of joke about the situation or scenario they're in, rarely with a sense of awe in what's in front of them. Part of the problem here is the character of Bernie Hayes, a podcast owner that throws around his theories on the kaiju and the Hollow Earth, all the shadow corporations that have anything to do with it all that keep things tightly wrapped up. He had an appearance in the previous title, though not to the same degree as here where he's more a supporting role. I think these titles need to learn to keep the humour down a bit more, to emphasise the scale of the situation and have characters that react a bit more realistic to the environments. The problem without that is that when things that are a bit more silly unfold, they don't have the same weight due to the humour having already set the stage for ridiculousness. In Godzilla x Kong there's a scene in which the kaiju fight under zero gravity, jumping between floating rocks (including Godzilla) like total acrobats. It's insanely stupid, but it is epic and makes sense for the insanity of the Godzilla universe (I'm talking more on the Japanese side here). These more cinematic, dumb moments need to have contrast between them for better impact.

While much of the story focuses on Kong's side of things, the real star is of course Godzilla with the more cinematic approach to the fight sequences. Atomic Breath will never not be satisfying to see and hear. That silliness is also returning with Kong's side of the story in which he's running around looking after a tiny monkey that just makes a lot of the story seem quite laughable. But still, that cinematic side of things is what we're all watching for, and it does have its moments throughout. The usual teasing around the start, middle, and then the real pay off at the end where most of the budget clearly goes regarding the special effects. That music and sound design has been a great strength in the films, everything sounds meaty. From the roars of the kaiju to their footsteps and abilities. Even the technological side of the humans has an interesting sound to it that has the world feel like it is vibrant. I do think that aspect of the world building is done quite well. Visually and through audio. They definitely put the effort in where it matters the most. And in HDR it's definitely beautiful!