Matt's Monstrous Godzilla x Kong The New Empire REVIEW!
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- Опубліковано 7 чер 2024
- SPOILER WARNING - Light character spoilers happen between 12:17 - 15:31
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Edited By: The Cartoon Gamer - / gamingxperience
Intro By: Jordan Welty - / indecisive_jew
0:00 Plot Setup
3:41 Positives
10:52 Negatives
12:17 Light Spoiler Section
15:31 Ending Thoughts
#review #godzillaxkongthenewempire #monsterverse - Ігри
Kong using mini Kong as a bat has to be one of the funniest things in the franchise 🤣
That was so fucking good! Lol I laughed so hard in the theater!
You ever been so mad that you hit a motherfucker with another motherfucker 😂
@@michaelglover5474it really was 😂
My buddy and I were laughing so hard, we got a dirty look from the guy next to us
That caught me off-guard for sure,
Godzilla rushing at KK like “i thought i told yo ass…” had me dying.
The suplex he did also was very reminiscent of like that classic era type of Godzilla were he did all sorts of crazy wrestling moves.
Kong: Bro! Bro! BRO WAI-
The whole egypt scene was great, Kong trying to deescalate, Godzilla being mad af and SUPLEXING HIM, to Kong just getting fed up and using the gauntlet to knock the lights out of G-man, and then Mothra coming to slap some sense back into him. Shit was hilarious
Kong walking around with Suko gave off serious Kratos and Atreus energy
My girlfriend said the same thing to me in the theater....and yeah kong even has the axe
Kong & Suko's plot: God of War
Godzilla's plot: DOOM
Press square for monkee
Sometimes, you just go to a movie wanting to see someone with access to a lot of money smack their action figures together. $13 well spent.
Exactly. As great as Minue One is, sometimes I don't mind King Kong with a power glove swingin a baby around.
For me I just have to wonder do some people really want an overly serious pretentious movie with a plot about Kong and Godzilla getting upgrades fighting another giant ape lol.
It wasn't unwatchable but it felt like it was made by AI.
I still cant believe that kong used pocket sand on godzilla
Hey, desperate times calls for desperate measures
Sand is effective. It's course, rough, and memes about it get everywhere.
It’s to impose dominance. At least that’s what the monkey judge sketch from SNL taught me. Also, Godzilla came at Kong with a head shape he was not familiar with.
The Dale Gribble method or is it Rusty Shackelford, I'm not quite sure. 😉
I literally whispered oh my god pocket sand when he did that
I saw this early on Thursday, and someone brought their kid along for the movie. The kid clapped after every epic scene, and it reminded me how special these films were to ME as a kid. A little Goji fan was made that day.
Warms my jaded heart. FWIW I agree completely with you, Matt!
That’s it… I am bringing my kids on Friday after school. My littlest one loved GMO and this one would be a blast for him.
Glad we get stuff like this and Minus One. Different flavors and more Godzilla is always a good thing.
THIS! We can have dark science fiction
AND Showa era monster wrestling.
Both soooo good 😭
Skar King and his followers were already whooped by Godzilla. He also was scared when Godzilla roared coming through the portal. He was a mastermind, not some invincible threat. Also Mothra always gets resurrected. That’s kind of her thing.
Right, well, if he's not a big threat, there's no real tension to the final fight. So I think that was a bit of a flaw.
@@MattMcMuscles the threat was his army and control over Shimo (Ice Age). Skar King’s goal was revenge on Godzilla. He didn’t realize Big G would have Kong and Mothra as back up. Hence why the army got dusted so quick. He certainly didn’t expect Suko to get the axe and shatter his control over Shimo. A potential second ice age is pretty solid tension, but I respect your opinion.
@MattMcMuscles his first fight with kong he whooped his ass. He was tough. He just wasn't tough enough for both monsters
@@MattMcMusclesWell said!
@@MattMcMusclesYeah i do agree, despite building him up as the ultimate threat, he falls flat in the end compared to the previous villains, Ghidorah especially. I do wish i know more of Shimo, she's an intriguing kaiju.
I'm just happy that DOUG had a cameo. We need more DOUG!!!!😊
Also, Shimo has so much potential. I want to see more of her, too
There’s a glyph of a flying Godzilla in the cave paintings scene. The mind controlling crystal is a big mystery too. Most likely not to be explained. But. Hear me out. Space Godzilla.
That could be interesting were this version of space Godzilla has the ability to control other kajus, it would basically just be destroy all monsters all over again.
That would be so cool but I just don't see any way to merge that plot point. You would have to change either godzilla or space godzilla's origin entirely
I can relate to Kong as I too have been isolated, eating weird Hyena monsters. So when I'm not Rollin' in my (Air Raid Vehicle), I might be vibing lonesome through the city in my (Urban Assault Vehicle)
Two things I feel also needs to be said about the human plot in this one:
1) I love they didn't try to force any romantic tension with Dr Andrews (Rebeca Hall's character) and Trapper. They had one exchange early on about how they maybe tried dating in college for a little bit, it didn't work out, and they both moved on with their lives like actual adults.
2) The complete removal of all the KotM characters really highlights just how much that human cast dragged things down in both their own movie and GvK. Hell, Bernie the conspiracy guy (who wasn't bad in GvK) is a lot more enjoyable here because he's playing against characters more on his wavelength instead of bland sticks in the mud.
I don't know, but I kinda like Mark imo. Feeling him trying to cope with losing his son and marriage falling apart. But his arc seems pretty short and ended along with KoTM after the closure of the relationship between him and his ex-wife and daughter. Understandably his role was slowly reduced in GvK and none in GxK.
I think the core KOTM cast worked, but struggled to compete for screen-time with each other and the side characters.
I need them to bring back Megalon in the next Monsterverse film. There's Hollow Earth, there's humans living in the Hollow Earth, there's extensive lore dating back thousands of years, all the pieces are there.
Truth
It's Legendary, so they can bring in Jet Jaguar and just make him an ai controlled Jaeger
@@tino9117He’s a dude in Iron Man power armor and then they get Ant-Man tech so he can grow huge. What better way to honor the originals than by having a guy in a suit punching a big monster?
And they need to make Godzilla do The Kick, too
Scar King turning out to be a jobber... is actually set up in the movie. Even though the characters claim he "almost" killed Godzilla in the distant past, the actual lore and cave art they're going by suggests THE ONLY REASON THAT HAPPENED is because Scar King had an entire army of similarly sized apes at his command at the time, while Godzilla was fighting solo. Scar King not being that big a deal is also established when we see Kong challenge him: Scar King is nowhere as big and bulky as Kong is, and spends most of their battle fighting from a distance while using his superior agility and experience to avoid getting hit. Once Kong actually lands a blow during this battle, though, he quickly takes control of the fight and dominates Scar King until the latter's able to put a gap between them again. Kong had been able to fight against Godzilla in the previous movie - until Godzilla finally lost patience and stopped holding back, and then promptly cubstomped him, so there was really no way Scar King was actually going to stand a chance against Godzilla.
It wasn't just the writers who knew this, though; Scar King seemed to understand this massive power disparity between himself and Godzilla as well, which is why he had Shimo as his secret weapon. They call attention to this, as well: During the final battle, Scar King is cocky until he realizes he has Godzilla's undivided attention, at which point he quickly and visibly panics. Further, Scar King may be faster and more agile, and able to dodge Godzilla's atomic breath, but nothing Scar King does harms Godzilla in any way - and Godzilla even breaks his whip with one bite, after catching it in his mouth. Scar King ends up spending the latter half of the fight trying to get his controller for Shimo back, because he knows he's screwed without it.
Scar King was more of a Kong villain, with Shimo being there to slightly even the odds. I actually greatly respect that they kept his power level low, rather than try to outdo King Ghidorah or Mechagodzilla; not just because constant escalation is terrible for a work's longevity, but because there was no way to go "he's stronger than Monster Zero" without it feeling forced. Likewise, I really enjoyed what we did get of Scar King; they made every second of screentime he had count, with you learning everything you needed in his introduction with Kong, and the MonsterVerse continues to show excellent creature design.
My biggest complaint with the movie, to not spoil anything else, was the soundtrack. Tom Holkenborg's score is completely soulless, just like it was in Godzilla vs. Kong - not a single track sticks with you, with one exception, and that one exception is because it's a generically overblown, borderline insulting rendition of a previous theme. A theme that wasn't even going to originally be in the movie, going by one reputable leaker's reports.
We really need Bear Mcreary back as composer.
The thing with Skar King is he was meant to be a Kong level threat not a Godzilla level threat. Godzilla by himself could have beaten both Skar King and the Ice Dragon he had. To me the point was this is a Kong story with a Kong level threat. Kong goes to Godzilla for his help had it been Skar King vs Godzilla he wouldn't have needed to go to Kong for help lol.
Anyone else find it odd that they chose 80s synthwave tracks for some of the scenes?
What exception are you talking about? I didn't catch any previous theme myself
@@Nachi_de_Lobo When Jia ascends the crystal pyramid and summons Mothra, it plays a version of Mothra's Song that's *almost* mangled beyond recognition.
And this shows why Mothra is the queen of the monsters as she's the only one to keep these two kings (Godzilla & Kong) in line of the real threat that is happening.
Mothra: "You boys need to stop fighting right now or so help me I will web both of you!"
Godzilla: "Yes dear."
Kong: "Your woman definitely knows how to quarrel your temper."
Godzilla: "shut up Donkey Kong."
Kong: "Okay, Bowser."
Lol
Mothra looked at Godzilla and said "I can fix him" and she did!!!! Absolutel Queen!
200+ million box office opening
We making a Godzillion dollars with this one boys! 🗿🗿🗿
Damn, wish I'd thought of 'Godzillion'.😂
Lizard Stonks.
It's definitely one heck of an opening weekend, and with the budget apparently being very low this movie can easily break even.
It has really been a great time to be a Godzilla fan
We have serious Godzilla movies from Toho, brawl Godzilla movies from Legendary, and we got a great Stream series with focus on the human side.
Well deserved! 😃
Im not sure I'll ever stop thinking about the that *one* move in this movie
i was a couple beers deep when that scene happened and i was losing my shit near the front row looking like a MANIAC
Godzilla is him, man I swear it was perfect
Can you be specific?
Was it in Egypt 😭
@DigitalHIFI09 yes off the pyramids
The Mothra being a replacement for an original monster was de-confirmed
Thank you. Wasn't 100% sure on that.
@@MattMcMuscles But in the same interview, Adam Wingard admitted that an original monster had been designed as an understudy, just in case WB thought Toho wanted too much extra money for Mothra to be used. Toho's asking price ended up being reasonable, but I think that's why the Mothra plot feels a little disconnected from everything else. It's something where, if WB didn't want to shell out the extra licensing dough, they could easily replace Mothra with Mothra-At-Home without having to reshoot too much/just do a little extra ADR.
That probably explains why mothra didn't fight here, this wasn't like the fierce battle ready Mothra that previously fought Rodan and Ghidorah, this was like a puppy version of mothra.
@@Dragonk116 To be fair there were probably still at least a dozen big monkeys hanging around the hollow earth city, she was probably still dealing with them when the big 4 went through the portal to brazil
Good review and I agree on all points. I have to say Suko was a real stand out character. I was dying every time the little dude took a thrashing, but he was still showing up to throw hands. The little guy was durable as hell. With Kong being his Kratos and with Skar's genetics, I'm sure he's gonna grow up to be an absolute unit.
It's interesting that you bring up Jet Jaguar, because the movie actually has a reference to him. During the scene where Godzilla leaves Rome, there's the shot of that mural that has a caricature of Godzilla, the mural has a drawing of a rocket powered boxing glove with the words "Punch! Punch! Punch!" written next to it. The mural also has graffiti that says "Save The Earth" with an image of Hedorah's eyes.
I liked the ending, to me I seen it as Kong having beaten The Scar king and taming Shimo he has earned the title of King Kong of Hollow earth While Godzilla rules the surface hence the title “The New Empire” 🤔
Shimo wasn't tamed. She was liberated.
I know this will probably never happen but I want Gamera in the monsterverse.
I like that they booked Godzilla like taker during wrestlemania season
Godzilla holding his arms out during one of his big breath attacks was reminiscent of Vegeta with his Final Flash; both are Badass
I went into this movie with middling expectations. I was blown away. This is exactly the kind of kaiju movie I've wanted for a long time. Tons of action. The people scenes dont over stay their welcome. Also there is so much variety in the action scenes, its so much fun.
My guess is that the next film will involve Space Godzilla, with a big focus on Godzilla, as this film's focus was on King-Kong...Heck they might even let Godzilla team up with Rodan and Anguirus.
Holy shit, how is this my first time seeing IRL Matt???? It feels so weird seeing his voice come out of that face 😭😭😭
Matt has actually shown his face to us on a number of occasions. He is shown on-camera on every episode of the Triple KO podcast, and he also appears on camera occasionally in other videos (for example, whenever he has Magic Spoon as a sponsor, he tends to make brief on-camera appearances in addition to using his avatar)!
He always looked like that.
I've never seen his face either, but I think the o suits the face. I could have done without seeing a close up of him licking his lips over Dan Stevens though.
Well with what you mentioned about Mothra being a last minute alteration to the plot, it at least makes sense how it happened and why they couldn't expand on it more. But I'm really not keen on them ignoring that her coming back was set up in KotM, that she laid an egg at the end, and instead she just sorta....materializes.
I agree i was expecting like some sort of like special song chant or something but no she just kinda pops out of literal thin air.
I was expecting the same but there was no such mention of the Egg from KOTM.
That opening animation you've got is incredible!
Had the fight gone on longer, imagine Godzilla pulls out a Swanton Bomb or Frog Splash from the top ropes of the pyramids
He jock it made of steel
Eats sushi from a pail
Jet Jaguar? Jet Jaguar!
He mother never really love him
This movie... I have never felt this much like a kid since Godzilla: King Of The Monsters. Holy f*ck, this movie is basically everything I could've asked for.
I'm going to be real, that "secret" monster's "reveal" had my eyes watering... This is literally the same scene they did in KoM just with gold light instead of blue light. AND IT GOT ME TEARING UP A THIS TIME TOO!
For my sequel prediction, gigan/orga, really any of the space kaiju. My reasoning, Godzilla might as well have sent up a space flare when he let off all that energy with his atomic breath after that final fight, and we know Ghidorah is an alien in the monsterverse soooooo
While the ending was wrapped up pretty quickly, the ending of Kong and Suko and a certain other Kaiju may have set up something
The humans need an actual conflict with a resolution. In the showa era the humans often actually had something to do like a sidequest. In G:King of the Monsters we had the echo terrorists, but Madison steals the orca, lures Ghidorah to Boston (why?), but there wasn't any resolution with those terrorists or Charles Dance like some sort of standoff with the dad (can't remember the name). Then in GvK the two "bad guys" get fried instantly.
Thats probably why I am confused whenever they mention the showa era regarding these movies. I always remember liking those movies much more.
Boston was for a Patriots game.
@@CreatureFlicks573 Alot of them are silly when you actually talk about them, but I remember the human subplots from the Showa era. The Monsterverse has been forgettable since 2014 when they killed Cranston.
@@CreatureFlicks573 Terror of Mechagodzilla had a pretty good human drama. It does involve aliens and cyborgs, but it works. Godzilla against Mechagodzilla (Kiryu variant) had a good protagonist as well.
@@leithaziz2716 'Ghidorah, the Three headed monster' had an interesting one with the assassination of a princess, but the princess was possessed by a Venusian trying to warn humanity about Ghidorah. It at least had a final shootout and conclusion.
Scar King was a bit of a glass cannon. Couldn't stand up to either one on one without Shimo's help. Not really a good follow up from Mecha Godzilla.
To be fair, it was also confirmed that Mechagodzilla wouldn't have been able to beat Godzilla if he wasn't already gassed out from fighting Kong.
The scale of everything was all over the place for me.
In the words of Korey Coleman from Double Toasted Godzilla is Deebo.
Coolman didn’t pay attention to the film too well. It was made clear that Godzilla was receiving a warning signal from the Iwi tribe and was juicing up to handle the threat. He wasn’t killing Tiamat for the laughs.
I agree. Skar Kings Intro was great. But then he just became standard bad guy.
Shimu being 1st Teased In warzone is is wild af
Got a like for the NWO joke.
Best and most violent Saturday morning cartoon I’ve seen in my life!!!
[SPOILER]
I appreciated the "Mortal Kombat" moments at the beginning and end of the movie. That felt like experimentation, in a good way. And yes, Skar King did not feel like a final boss. Thanks for your review!
A very fair review. I absolutely loved this film for what it was aiming for: to recapture the joy of watching massive monsters fighting while the human characters get out of the way. It was a lot of fun getting to see Godzilla fight in ways with moves we've never seen before, and the new titans had cool designs and were legit interesting. Yes, it's got its issues but still a fun ride. Gonna see it again in Imax 3D to really experience the roller coaster pacing.
I just want to see my spiky boy the next movie.
Anguirus?
@@AnthonyDark yes
I don't think we've ever seen Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, and Anguirus all fighting together in the same movie, but it just feels like it needs to happen.
its good to actually see you in person
Just came back from watching the film 10/10 one of the best monsterverse movies alongside KOTM i cried 3 times during the New Empire and im someone who rarely cries at all
I highly recommend watching it in theaters to see GXK The New Peakpire
Yo Matt, i did see the film and i will say that this film is the most SHOWA of the monsterverse.
A dumb but fun time which i do admit i did enjoy even though i do have some gripes with it. The fights are fun and seeing Godzilla and kong again is very pleasing. The villain is very interesting but a bit underwhelming for me. If you're here for a good ol Kaiju brawl, have fun!!! Great video!!!!!
Adrenaline might be still in me since I just got back watching it. But I think this might be the best one out of the Monsterverse. Without spoilers, Human characters are enjoyable, Kong having some great scenes, the lore expanding with Godzilla and Kong History and the fights all being visible! Obviously some nick picks, but I can say the critics once again don't understand and the fans and those know what they're going in for get what they want and more.
Good time to be a Godzilla fan!
But what happens when you add Kurt Angle to the mix?
The numbers don’t lie, and they spell disaster!
5:55 Yeah, when I saw THAT move. It was the HYPEST shit!
You know Mothra needs their own movie.
I just hate how godzilla is such a bully and kills whoever he needs to get more powerful....and at the same time i love it haha.
What's weird is suko is the same size as kong in kong skull Island... that is trippy
That Tekken Tag 2 combo Goji and Kong did on Skarr was fucking hilarious
Great Stuff, as always!
Based on the rating you gave to Godzilla X Kong, I presume that if you were to retroactively add it to the Godzilla Tier List you made for your Flophouse Plays channel a few months ago, it would be placed under the Awesome tier (given that the movie was still fun in spite of some of the issues you had with it).
Had a good fun time, I loved the dynamic between Suko and Kong, teamup with Godzilla and Kong was so satisfying including the fights. I just wish that Godzilla had some sort of character to be displayed here so we could have something that Godzilla can stand on stage with Kong. I do like that Godzilla gets to do cool stuff in the film.
Scar king should either be bigger, of which they could have explained his earlier defeat against Godzilla that he was not fully grown or that they gave Scar king some enchant power that give him some new way to fight.
We back in the showa era with this one !!
Godzilla is the new Batman: can be dark, serious and award-winning or campy AF. 😂
I was really expecting them to just reveal that there was one or a pair of Mothra eggs in the crystal pyramid place and maybe at the end of the film they start to hatch as a hint for the next film. Cus like... I have no clue where they are going after this lol alien stuff I assume/hope?
These films sound like a fever dream
I wanted more in the end but I loved it!!!
At least (a version of) Jet Jaguar got a good showing in Godzilla SP.
@17:05 I KNEW you were gonna use that running clip for the NWO gag but I still popped 🤣 🤣 film was fun! Not great but I’d watch it again
Saw the movie yesterday and loved your review! I agree that was pretty fun and enjoyable, way more than the last GvK.
But about Shimo, I didn't few as dissapointed, becasue the movie basically show him more, like you said, an attack dog, the.. enslaved Dragon of the Scar King and was just expecting to see the heroes breaking him free (and it was pretty awesome to see, ngl).
Still, hope we can have more mosnterverse movies in the future! It's good to have all the kind of movies with kaijus, being the more serious one like Minus One, or more crazy like this one.
My family loved Godzilla vs Kong and we loved this. It's especially fun if you're familiar with, and a fan of, the Showa era silliness.
6:15 is that about the suplex or the part where the apes jump off of the reptiles at each other? Idk what else this could be about.
I definitely agree that Skar King and Shimo needed more time.
Great to hear you talk about kaiju again.
Godzilla with his best impression of BROCK LESNAR.
From what I heard they always wanted mothra but were not sure if they’d get the rights so they made a placeholder. They then got the rights before the screening but not in enough time to make the swap.
Havent had so much fun in the cinema for years!
I did really love when godzilla was walking and a helicopter was buzzing around him like an annoying fly and he essentially yelled at it lol. Also mothra 😊
I need a godzilla pajama skellomatt plush
Thumbs up for the intro alone!
I definitely enjoyed it. I think Godzilla gaining the Kaioken from Tiamat was sick - also the fact that the purple/magenta glow was based on Kaioken is dope
I loved it ❤
It was a mixture of Showa, Heisei and Final Wars.
KotM is one of my favorite Goji films period, but I loved this one possibly beyond that one even. It was a ton of fun and I cheered at so many parts
Everything dude said is on point especially when he talks about both types of godzilla movies can be good movies and can exist simultaneously.
Good morning! 👍🏽
The Kong-athon was great and would love to see it brought back and I support calling it another "Kong-athon" regardless of context
Thanks!
Yes Jet Jaguar for the next, totally agree with you, I actually enjoy the film and it kind of ended Kong story arc , the director said he's willing to do a third for it'll be center more on Godzilla but it depends on the box office. Also if they decided to go with a alien invasion, it would be interesting because the arrival of Gigan would be cool and also introduce Monster Island in the mix.
See's Matt's Face: Gasp! You're not a Skeleton! Your not a skeleton at all!
I saw it on Sunday with my Dad, it was a belated birthday present. I LOVED that there were more Kaiju. I like that it was more brutal but it also felt off too. I laughed when Kong used Suko as a weapon it was HILARIOUS 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣 I LOVED that they beought back Mothra. I think they built up Skar King pretty well but maybe a few more scenes with him being brutal would have been nice. I also think that the ending fight with Skar and Shimo should have been longer at least 5 to 7 minutes longer. They were built up to be heavy hitters but the fight only lasted like 7 minutes.
Definitely agree Skar King and Shimo needed more screen time and buildup, preferably with either Skar or Shimo being the only main antagonist to emphasize the threat.
Yes! MonsterVerse version of Pacific Rim jaegers..... Jet Jaguar!
My one big disappointment with this film was that we didn't get any more Toho kaiju showing up - like, why not have some big classic beastie be controlled by the Skar King instead of the OC Ice Kaiju?
Licensing. Toho charges for every monster used. Its why KOTM was so expensive. And to be fair, the last film had mechagodzilla. I think its fine if there's some OCs. Plus Mothea was in this.
@@MattMcMuscles yeah that's a good point. Hopefully they're willing to invest more in the next film since this one is doing so well financially.
I agree with alot with what was said. The ending did feel like they cut out a little something. I do wish the fight between Skar king and his followers vs the trio was longer. His army felt more like him amd his drunk buddies. I feel if skar king’s army was bigger ir would’ve made him feel a much larger threat
Where are your videos for the other kong a thon content? You mentioned this was the end? Thx
On my gameplay channel
@@MattMcMuscles Tha ks
What ever happened to Charles Dance in the monsterverse?
I've seen it twice now, and I had a lot of fun watching this movie. This was truly a modern day Shõws Era movie. It perfect by any means? No. But I had a great time with it. If we get movies like Minus One and GxK, I'm fine with that. I want more kaiju movies in the future. And yes, put Jet Jaguar in the next Monsterverse movie.
The next movie needs Jet Jaguar being piloted by Trapper.
Perhaps I'll watch this one
i think they shoulda paired megalon, hedorah, or maybe even gigan with scar king to make things more hype along with more overall screen time for the kaiju instead of the human side of the story, and tbh given how it came out to the cinemas I'd give it a 7.5/10
I really enjoyed it. Sure, there was some stuff I didn't like, some few missed opportunities, but it was really solid. In terms of Godzilla movies, I'd definitely say this is in my top 15. In terms of the Monsterverse, I'd rank it below Skull Island and King of the Monsters but still above the other two, and it's a good series in general.
I think my biggest kudos is for visual storytelling. It's bright, colorful, and inventive. You can actually follow the story just visually, and unlike other action movies the action doesn't actually throw you off from the plot but makes up the plot. Things are cohesive despite the complexity and Wingards' really shown skill at making an emotionally satisfying ending (we get closure for Jia and Kong) and expressing the characters' emotions through face and body language.
My biggest quibble is the music. Bear McCreary really gave a phenomenal score , so subsequent films just aren't as good. Junkie XL doesn't come off as an Ifukube fan, which is a death blow against him trying to score the film. You can make good Godzilla movies with new themes- Oshima I think is the best example with her three Milennium films. While Junkie XL makes lietmotifs for the kaiju, they're pretty nonmemorable.
I will agree Suko was great and Scar King really came too late. I actually liked Shimo as the pet monster. I actually thought Mothra was a good addition and needed to come back. The film has pacing issues, and Wingard's films have the problem where the villains are introduced later in the film after the initial mystery. It pays off, but you're left wanting more. Wingard also has a big aversion to making Godzilla look weak- he insists that Kong was never a threat and Mechagodzilla would have lost if Godzilla wasn't tired. This doesn't quite gel with what we see, and here it's hard to take the villains as seriously if they can't threaten Godzilla. I do think there's a save roll for this, so to speak, in that Godzilla goes into this crazy "gotta power up" subplot. It's like a Goku training montage- he's gonna win the next fight, but at least you see that this is serious enough to change the paradigm. All Godzilla is in this movie is the superweapon, the big gun, and it's all build up to it more than anything else.
Frankly I liked it more than Minus One despite not having the same emotional journey for the main character, simply because the ending was a lot more satisfying, the visuals more appealing, and it didn't push a message that was actively being undermined by the plot.
I feel like this movie is Kong's equivalent to 2019's King of the Monsters.
In the monster verse this is my second favorite movie aside from king of the monsters. This felt like a showa Godzilla movie but with a Hollywood budget. This was the most balls to the wall insane the monster verse has been. I feel like this movie has opened the door for several classic Toho monsters to show up like megalon or space Godzilla. For the big guys 70th anniversary this felt like a great way to celebrate the more silly side of Godzilla
What I like about this and the last movie is the movie is mostly about Kong and monarch having a plot while Godzilla is treated as a force of nature and is just here to wreck shit.
This is how I would have done it. Make the ancient holoearth tribal people the bad guys. Unhappy with surface dwellers invading holoearth they release the scar king. Hell you can call them Seatopians and replace shimu with megalon lol