Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

This topic contains:

• overall comments and recommendations
• details of classification and consumer advice lines for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
• a review of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 8 April 2024.

Overall comments and recommendations

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• themes
• use of violence
• material that may scare or disturb children
• product placement
• sexual references
• nudity and sexual activity
• use of substances
• coarse language
• the movie’s message

A synopsis of the story

Peace has been restored to the planet, with Kong living in Hollow Earth, a magnificent but vastly uncharted subterranean ecosystem, and Godzilla roaming the world. Then, strange seismic activity begins emanating from Hollow Earth, and when Kong makes his way back to the surface in need of medical attention, Dr Ilene Andrews is worried that his presence above ground will summon Godzilla. When Jia, Dr Andrews’ adopted daughter, and only surviving member of the Iwi tribe, begins receiving telepathic SOS signals that mimic what the scientists are seeing, they organise a team to investigate what is happening in the subterranean realm.

Almost immediately, the team happens upon a destroyed outpost and soon learns that neither Jia nor Kong are the last of their kind. An ancient Iwi community immediately recognises Jia as the promised one who is destined to save Kong and their world along with him. A long time ago, an evil gorilla king, similar to Kong, was imprisoned in the remote fiery regions of Hollow Earth, this ‘Scar King’ turned a band of gorillas and primates into his personal slaves and henchmen. He also imprisoned a Godzilla-like creature who can shoot ice out of its mouth. He keeps the creature locked away and immobilised, only bringing it out to create terror in his subordinates. When Kong stumbles upon this band of apes, he is nearly killed. An unlikely friend helps him find his way to Jia who has been tasked with awakening an ancient creature and asking an impossible task. Will Godzilla come to Kong’s aid or will the pair fight to the death, paving the way for the Scar King to rule both realms?

Loneliness; Loss of family and identity; Cruelty; Death; Subjugation; Vengeance.

There is some violence in this movie, including:

• Savage-looking, prehistoric carnivores chase Kong through Hollow Earth, attempting to sink their teeth into him. They corner him on a clifftop and the leader is about to pounce on Kong when he triggers a landslide that crushes a bunch of the animals. Kong lifts the leader above his head and tears his body in half, green guts and slime pour over Kong, like a shower.
• Kong rips the leg off one of the creatures he killed and begins to eat it. Another animal steals part of the carcass away.
• Godzilla beats and crushes an alien-like monster that is attacking Rome. As the two creatures battle each other, there is considerable damage to landmarks and buildings, and people run for their lives in terror. Godzilla blasts the creature with a powerful charge and it explodes, shooting yellow goo everywhere.
• Kong is shot with numerous sedatives and then his tooth is ripped out of his mouth with a crane.
• The reactors are on fire at a nuclear facility but Godzilla absorbs the radiation as if he is trying to power up for a huge battle. Men shoot at Godzilla and there are numerous explosions that hit his chest. These are then followed by a massive, powerful explosion from Godzilla.
• A portion of a dead body is shown lying in the debris of an attacked outpost. There looks to be a severed leg.
• There is a gigantic, bloody handprint on a cliff face above the outpost.
• An evil group of apes are bashing, smashing and trying to kill Kong.
• Kong defends himself from the group of attacking gorillas. He beats, hits, and throws a small ape at the others. Kong throws one gorilla over a cliff but saves his life at the last minute. The gorilla then tries to stab Kong.
• A small ape throws a rock at Kong.
• A predator, snatches a young creature and flies off with it.
• A small ape tries to get Kong killed by luring him into a lake with a gigantic eel with large, razor-like teeth. The eel grabs Kong and tries to drown and strangle him while Kong is screaming. The ape runs through the forest. Kong throws his knife after the ape, along with the severed head of the eel.
• Kong eats parts of the eel, bits of the eel’s intestine are hanging out of his mouth. He throws a piece to the small ape who then begins eating it too.
• Godzilla and a large underwater monster fight each other. A submarine is nearly caught in the middle of the battle. The monster looks like it is trying to eat Godzilla’s face but Godzilla charges himself, there is an explosion, and bits of the monster’s exploded body float up to the surface.
• The severed heads of large apes are shown on sticks.
• One large ape punches another in the head. Kong then returns the favour.
• The Scar King is very sinister-looking and has evil, glowing, yellow eyes.
• A small ape is threatened and the ape that tries to protect the smaller one is thrown into the fiery lava by the Scar King. He then uses the spine of a large creature as a whip with which he beats and attacks Kong, strangling and cutting him as the other apes pound the ground and chant.
• Kong flips the Scar King over and then the Scar King summons an even more terrifying creature, one that has the power to instantly freeze. Kong’s hand and arm are caught in a blast before he can escape and an army of apes pursue Kong as he tries to get back to Hollow Earth. They try to stab Kong while he is injured and fleeing. When Kong is cornered and about to make a last stand against a large group of apes, the small ape pulls a trip wire and the larger apes are crushed by falling rocks.
• People tumble down the steps of the pyramids.
• Trees and plants are frozen as the Scar King travels to Hollow Earth on the back of his enslaved monster.
• Godzilla crushes bridges as he heads towards Kong. Kong tries to explain that he needs help but Godzilla goes in for the kill and Kong fights back, beating him with his mechanically engineered arm until Godzilla is almost unconscious. Kong then drags him back towards the portal to Hollow Earth but Godzilla blasts some power out of his mouth, pins Kong down by stepping on his chest, and then is about to kill him with a blast when a gigantic moth descends with Jia.
• Scar King and his army of apes blast through the barrier into Hollow Earth.
• Thousands of gigantic insects attack the gorilla army.
• A giant moth shoots webs at the gorillas, leaving them incapacitated.
• When gravity momentarily disappears, the apes leap from rock to rock, bashing each other and attacking at every turn.
• The Scar King finds his way to Earth and terrifies the people of Brazil. Kong and Godzilla follow. There is an epic battle before the Scar King is frozen by his own ice monster and smashed to pieces by Godzilla.

Material that may scare or disturb children

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children under the age of five, including the following:

• Many of the creatures from Hollow Earth, as well as some of the monsters that Godzilla fights in various cities and oceans, could be frightening for young children. There is an alien-like spider monster attacking Rome and its citizens, a deep sea creature, a diabolical gorilla king, and a terrible-looking, gigantic eel that nearly kills Kong. In addition to their unsettling appearances, they all meet very graphic and violent deaths.
• There is a jump scare as a character is suddenly and violently snatched from his companions and eaten by a tree.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes and scary visual images, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged five to eight, including the following:

• Kong and Jia often look sad and lonely. Neither one seems to know exactly where they belong, and both are very much missing their families. These scenes are not scary, but they are emotionally charged, especially as each believes that they are the last of their kind.
• Kong is nearly killed by the Scar King and his army of gorilla henchmen. He locates Jia and immediately passes out on arrival. His arm, blasted by a ray of ice, is frostbitten and in very bad shape. Jia is extremely worried for him as are all the adults present.

• Nothing further noted.

Product placement

• None noted.

Sexual references

There are some sexual references in this movie, including:

• A character mentions that Kong could be looking for a date and that he might need to consider some “interspecies romance”.
• There is a reference to “mating season”.

Nudity and sexual activity

• None noted.

Use of substances

• None noted.

Coarse language

There is some coarse language in this movie, including:

• Shit
• Ass
• Damn
• Hell
• Hollow Earth is referred to as a “nightmare monster hellscape”.
• Someone is called a “trash bag”.

In a nutshell

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is a fantasy action film and the fifth in the Warner Bros. MonsterVerse series. The film features some strong female role models, including the lead scientist and young Jia who, though deaf, is more capable than most. There are a couple of scenes with flashing lights, especially around the journeys to and from Hollow Earth, that may be problematic for people with photosensitivity, and the cinematography during some of the flight and chase scenes can be momentarily nauseating.

The main messages from this movie are that love and kindness are far more powerful than hatred and fear; that everyone belongs somewhere; and that your family may not be those who are related by blood but rather those who love you for who you are and who care for you no matter what.

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:

• Teamwork
• Compassion
• Empathy
• Helpfulness
• Courage.

This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as:

• Keeping things to yourself that should be shared with others.
• Treating others with cruelty instead of with kindness.
• Getting carried away by fear or believing that you know someone better than they know themselves.