Now Available from Warner Home Entertainment.
After two whole months “Godzilla x Kong” is now available on physical media. Two whole months. Sixty days. 1,460 hours. I’m old enough to remember when it usually took eleven months for movies to be put on home video, but I digress. If you missed “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” after its theatrical run, it’s still a humdinger of a monster movie that is sadly Adam Wingard’s last outing in this monsterverse. It’s a fun note to exit on as I’m sure Warner and co. are planning to take the inevitable next chapter and use it as a chance for a soft reboot with Godzilla or Kong finding new challenges. Until then, there’s “The New Empire.”
The new installment in the Monsterverse, set three years after “Godzilla vs. Kong,” puts the mighty Kong and the fearsome Godzilla against a colossal deadly threat hidden within our world that threatens the existence of their species and our very own, as well as diving deep into the mysteries of Skull Island and beyond. Delving straight into the origins of Hollow Earth, this film will explore the ancient Titan battle that brought man and monster together forever.
“Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” is about as close to embracing the classic giant kaiju battle royale films as we can get. It’s a movie that pretty much works as a means of bringing to a close this chapter of the Monsterverse with Adam Wingard. Although we don’t know where the studio will take this series next, I’m pretty sure that they’ll opt for a soft reboot. Nevertheless “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” is a fun and breezy hybrid of action, science fiction, and kaiju. It has robot arms, an evil Kong, and of course Kong beating down a bunch of attackers with an adolescent ape. The humans take the back seat this time out, allowing for the monsters to get their due and it amounts to a very entertaining final romp for Adam Wingard.
The one-disc release we were sent includes a full-length commentary and just over an hour of behind-the-scenes featurettes. There is also the accompanying Digital Code for digital collectors.
The included Audio Commentary is a casual but lively group track featuring director Adam Wingard, VFX supervisor Alessandro Ongaro, production designer Tom Hammock, and editor Josh Schaeffer, Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes incudes a huge bevy of segments divided into two or more segments, that go into light detail about almost every aspect of the production; featured participants (some of whom worked on previous Monsterverse films) are director Adam Wingard, actors Vera Farmiga, Bryan Cranston, David Strathairn, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, and Dan Stevens; director Jordan Vogt-Roberts, producer Alex Garcia, production designer Tom Hammock, cinematographer Ben Seresin, and others.
GxK: Day of Reckoning is a six minutes overview of this film and its role in the franchise. Evolution of the Titans are two short but sweet character-specific featurettes, one that takes a look at Godzilla’s new look and another that focuses on Kong’s more emotional journey: There’s the five minutes Godzilla Evolved, and the five minutes From Lonely God to King. The ten minutes Into the Hollow Earth are two separate “shallow dives into a deep hole”, one focusing on the visually unique locations featured below the Earth’s surface and the other about the monsters within, including some nice concept art and brief comments from the VFX team and other crew members.
The Battles Royale are three quick but enjoyable looks at VFX-heavy fight scenes that make up Godzilla x Kong’s action-packed third act, all of which focus on location planning, shooting in different countries, and subjecting iconic landmarks to hard-hitting destruction while not angering international audiences. The Intrepid Director is a pair of two fun pieces detailing Adam Wingard’s role in the production, focusing on his youthful enthusiasm and a quick guided tour of the on-set experience. The Imagination Department is another four minutes character-based piece, this one looks at various stages of concept art including illustrations and sculptures in Godzilla x Kong’s “War Room.”
The Monarch Island Base: Portal to Another World is a five minute look at the initial concept, production design, and visual details of Monarch’s island base and everything underneath it, while The Evolution of Jia: From Orphan to Warrior is six minutes revolving around heroine Jia. Finally, there’s the three minutes long Bernie’s World: Behind the Triple Locked Door, which is a quick tour of Bernie’s apartment.