Godzilla x Kong Suffers From Pacing Issues & Weak Story

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire unfortunately suffers from some serious pacing issues, a weak story, and dialogue that often misses. It’s all set up with no payoff.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire teased an epic team up between the two Titans, with the tagline going so far as to say the only way they survive is to rise together. While fans will get a little bit of them together, it takes far too long to get there and is not remotely close to the payoff we were hoping for.

This film suffers from severe pacing issues, horrifically cheesy dialogue, and a weak plot. At its best when the Titans are on the screen and in the midst of action, these moments unfortunately fall few and far between. 

Taking place not long after Godzilla vs. Kong, a threat is discovered that could not only destroy the Titans as we know them, but humankind as well. Dan Stevens joins the Monsterverse as Trapper, a goofball who refuses to act his own age. He is a veterinarian for large beasts, making him a vital part of the group of humans at the forefront of this story. 

Dan Stevens is a great actor, who usually delivers great comedic relief when the role calls for it. However, the dialogue he is given in this film is cheesy at best. It almost never lands, making him more of a joke than he intends to be. It is a shame because he should have been a great addition to the cast. Instead, he can’t even save it, although it is clear he tries his best.

Jia, played by Kaylee Hottle, remains an integral character, even stepping up into a bigger role than she had in the previous movie, considering she is the human who communicates best with Kong. 

There are a lot of issues with Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, but the worst of them is the issues with the pacing. Nearly half of the film has minimal dialogue. This is because they decided to dive into the background lore of the apes, which sounds great on paper, but if you are watching non-verbal conversations go on for a lengthy amount of time, it can be extremely exhausting. 

We don’t want to dive too much into spoilers but within this same time frame, a new group of humans come into the picture, and they do not converse normally either. This, coupled with the fact that there is barely any action sequences during this time, could cause a lot of viewers to lose interest. By the time things pick up, it is too little too late. 

The third act does have some solid action entries, and we finally get to see Titans go head-to-head with one another. This looks incredible, with some well done visual effects, but the story itself ends up being very choppy, rushing to get to where it is going and adding in a lot of convivences in an effort to save time. 

While we understand the importance of exploring the background of certain characters so that we can learn more about them, diving into the history of the Titans does not warrant as much time as it is given. Godzilla gets some cool moments throughout the first half of the movie, but the fights themselves take only moments, with the finishing blows not being shown on screen — and trust us, that is what the fans want to see. 

Kong is given far more screen time than Godzilla is, with the story of his people being the main plot of the film. Godzilla fans will likely be upset by this. That being said, when he is in the movie, he is pretty incredible.

Kong has a new sidekick, a baby Titan who is called “mini Kong” at one point. He is cute and is supposed to be funny, but ends up being rather annoying. He is set up to do great things, and is given some important moments in the movie, but most viewers will not connect with him as he does too much, too quickly.

The villain, Scar King, is fine but very forgettable. The story itself, very weak, cheesy, and predictable. Godzilla and Kong finally share the screen with barely any runtime left, but we cannot deny that it is exciting to see them working together, even if it is very short lived. 

The human story isn’t nearly as entertaining as the previous movie, and it often feels forced. It doesn’t make much sense, and seems to be there just to drive us to a big fight between the Titans. Normally this would be fine but the fact that Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire skips over what feels like key moments in that story too, makes things choppy and confusing in the end. Still, it really does look great on the big screen. 

This movie ends up being mostly boring exposition as they are doing what feels like setting up for the next movie. The majority of the first two acts are spent explaining lore that might interest hardcore monsterverse fans, but takes too long to go nowhere.

The final act is rushed through with convivences squeezed in all over the place, causing Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire to suffer from serious pacing issues. On top of that, Godzilla and Kong are barely ever on screen together despite this being a movie billed as a massive team up of the two. 

See for yourself when Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire hits theaters on March 29th.

Rating: 2 out of 5

NEXT: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Review

About Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire

The epic battle continues! Legendary Pictures’ cinematic Monsterverse follows up the explosive showdown of “Godzilla vs. Kong” with an all-new adventure that pits the almighty Kong and the fearsome Godzilla against a colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world, challenging their very existence—and our own. “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” delves further into the histories of these Titans and their origins, as well as the mysteries of Skull Island and beyond, while uncovering the mythic battle that helped forge these extraordinary beings and tied them to humankind forever.

Once again at the helm is director Adam Wingard. The film stars Rebecca Hall (“Godzilla vs. Kong,” “The Night House”), Brian Tyree Henry (“Godzilla vs. Kong,” “Bullet Train”), Dan Stevens (“Gaslit,” “Legion,” “Beauty and the Beast”), Kaylee Hottle (“Godzilla vs. Kong”), Alex Ferns (“The Batman,” “Wrath of Man,” “Chernobyl”) and Fala Chen (“Irma Vep,” “Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”).

Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire comes to theaters March 29th.