Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

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Being a lifelong giant monster fan, I was past excited when 2014’s Godzilla hit the states, followed by 2017’s Kong: Skull Island which would set the stage for these two kings to clash in 2021’s Godzilla vs Kong which me, my family and friends loved. 

So I was more than hyped when I learned another entry was coming with this year’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire that smashes its way onto 4K to bring some mindless monster fun home, all while looking and sounding awesome doing so.

via YouTube

Our managing editor Nathan Evans reviewed this new monster-sized classic during its theatrical run, and you can check out his review for all of the plot details and his take on the film while I go into mine here. 

We both agreed that while it was some incredibly “dumb fun” parts that make no sense (such as scientists conveniently working on a mecha-like glove for Kong some time ago that just happens to be needed now), we can’t deny that the film delivers what fans like us want, giant monster action that looks and sounds amazing.

From the awesome opening (which you can watch in the YouTube video above) featuring Kong fending off some monsters in his Hollow Earth kingdom, and Godzilla handling monsters attacking topside on Earth, to every scene that follows to the end credits, I was hooked. What really pulled me into the movie was the whole subplot of Kong teaming with a young giant ape named Suko to go on a quest to find his lost tribe.

It reminded me a lot of the recent Planet of the Apes remakes and added a sense of drama to the “MonsterVerse” that I wasn’t expecting but absolutely welcomed. The humans from previous entries are back and are still fairly fun to watch, especially the comic relief between Brian Tyree Henry and Dan Stevens’ characters that often hits than misses.

I was glad to get a 4K UHD review copy of this movie with the always awesome HDR to make the visuals better. The special effects are really well done and detailed, and the 4K makes sure you see everything that went into them. Then you have the HDR working its magic with the lighting and colors to really draw you into this monster fantasy world, namely with Kong’s Hollow Earth kingdom that looks really gorgeous thanks to the added depth of perfectly black shadows rounding out the aforementioned details.

As always, the Dolby Atmos audio pairs perfectly with the action as every bump, bang, stomp, and explosion rings in loud and clear while having you looking around and running for cover when the chaos picks up. When they say Atmos puts you in the middle of the movie, they’re not exaggerating as that’s exactly what it feels like when watching this, if you have the home theater setup for it.

Once the credits roll, you can hop over to the special features as there’s quite a few here. First up is audio commentary featuring director Adam Wingard, visual effects supervisor Alessandro Ongaro, production designer Tom Hammock and editor Josh Schaeffer. They have a fun time going into the making of the film, how certain parts came to be, some of the production details, and more.

There’s also a lot of extras that go behind the scenes on some of the fights, how certain shots and special effects were made and used throughout the film, such as the awesome Hollow Earth scenes, and other special features to keep you busy long after the monsters have fought.

If you’re looking for a perfect, family fun movie where you leave your brain at the door and enjoy some snacks with, it rarely gets better than Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire as it delivers exactly what’s on the package, giant monster-sized fun. The 4K with HDR visuals look amazing and the Dolby Atmos audio places you in the middle of the action you’ll want to be part of again and again.