You would be forgiven for not knowing this, given the disparity between its on-screen noise levels and its off-screen impact, but the second highest-grossing film of the year so far is Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. Less a film than a canny branding marriage, it has a title you may not be able to pronounce correctly (though I’m informed that it’s not Godzilla Times Kong), though it gives an otherwise easily recognisable proposition: two heavily franchised movie monsters, Japan’s mega-lizard and Hollywood’s ultra-ape, go head to head. “New Empire” is a lofty description for the loud, garishly computer-generated warfare that ensues, but the film is otherwise honest about what it’s offering.
It just looks joylessly cynical stood beside Godzilla Minus One, last year’s winningly old-school stompathon from Japan’s Toho Studios, which cost a small fraction of what its Hollywood counterpart did and looks several times more handsome and visually coherent. (Its underdog win for best visual effects, a first for a non-English language film, was a highlight of this year’s Oscars.) With both films now available to view at home – Godzilla Minus One finally landed on Netflix earlier this month – you can take your pick.
