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Total Film
Total Film
Entertainment
Molly Edwards

Godzilla x Kong reactions praise an "absurdly fun ride" with "wild kaiju action" – but not everyone is convinced

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.

First reactions to Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire are here, and they praise a wild, action-packed ride – though not everyone is sold on the new Monster-verse movie. 

The film sees Godzilla and Kong join forces once more to go up against a new, dangerous threat. Returning filmmaker Adam Wingard once again directs. 

"GODZILLA X KONG is an absurdly fun ride. A teaming of titans with tremendous scale and a fast-paced adventure. This movie knows to deliver pure fun on a huge scale. My advice, just strap in and enjoy the ride," writes Heroes Unbound

"#GodzillaXKong hits plenty of sweet spots for me!" is the verdict of critic Aaron Neuwirth. Tons of wild kaiju action, a brutal villain for Kong, a powered-up Godzilla, Dan Stevens having a blast, some legit surprises, and so many colors. Bring me more MonsterVerse!"

"#GodzillaXKong is an ATOMIC BLAST! A fantastically weird, psychedelic trip through the Shōwa Era w/all the vibrance of an 80s album cover. This thing is an absurdist romp - crimson apes, frost dragons, a delightfully absurd Dan Stevens. Another FUN entry in the MonsterVerse!" says FilmSpeak's Griffin Schiller

"Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is the most enjoyable MonsterVerse movie yet, the one where it feels everybody understood the assignment. Story is a bit thin, but the titan smashing more than makes up for it," writes Digital Spy's Ian Sandwell

"GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE rules. Dir. Adam Wingard fully embraces the tone of a fantasy rock opera, complete with a synth-heavy score, heavy metal visuals, and killer '80s needledrops. Incredibly silly and heartfelt at times, it's a sincere love letter to the Shōwa Era," says Discussing Film's Andrew J. Salazar

"Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire suffers from an extremely slow start due to lack of dialogue, which is more cheesy than entertaining. When Titans go toe-to-toe, the action is incredible but that's not enough. Looks pretty but unfortunately misses more than it hits," is the verdict of Mama's Geeky's Tessa Smith

"#GodzillaXKong: The New Empire is underwhelming," says Gizmodo's Germain Lussier. "It feels like 90% set-up for a final battle that's solid but can't live up to all that build-up. There is a fresh approach to the characters, which works, but it never quite gels with the main story. Dan Stevens does rip though."

"#GodzillaXKong was more fun than I expected," says critic Emmanuel Noisette. "I was happy to see Kong get more respect. It was nice to see more monsters and less annoying humans. The battles were cool but corny, and the science got a little too nerdy. Felt like Christopher Nolan & WWE made a monster movie."

"The Skar King almost represents an upscaled version of the worst parts of humanity, just as Kong represents some of the best parts of humanity," Wingard previously told our sister publication Total Film of the movie's villain. "I would say the Skar King is the greatest threat that we’ve seen in these movies. It's really going to take a full team together to bring it down because it's too big for just one titan!"

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire arrives in theaters on March 29. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the most exciting upcoming movie release dates for everything else 2024 has in store for us. 

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