6 Reasons Why Godzilla in ‘The New Empire’ is the Best Godzilla Yet
2024 has been a great year for Godzillas around the globe. First, Godzilla Minus One nabbed the Oscar for Best Visual Effects in March. Now, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is a box office titan, having drawn $194 million worldwide in its first weekend. As for The New Empire’s popularity with critics, that’s another story. But who goes to Godzilla movies for character development? Bombastic action and CGI monster fights are the name of the day. Bonus points if Godzilla destroys a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Speaking of CGI monsters, this latest Godzilla may be the best one yet. Bear with us.
1. He makes friends more easily.
This time around, Godzilla had a new bone to pick with Kong. As per usual, the two duked it out and destroyed some iconic scenery (this time, the Giza pyramids). However, the two made amends, striking an unspoken titan truce that brought them happily together. Are these two dating now?
That wasn’t the gag, though. Godzilla and Kong had already teamed up in their last cinematic outing, Godzilla vs. Kong, after all. Instead, the big moment of The New Empire was when Godzilla and Kong joined forces with Mothra – another of Godzilla’s former enemies – to take down the Skar King and his evil ice Pokémon. See? Godzilla isn’t as prickly as he looks.
2. He’s a lot cuddlier now.
One of the movie’s most iconic moments is when Godzilla takes a nap inside the Colosseum of Rome. Sure, he (or they?) also destroys half of Europe as he stumbles around looking for nuclear energy, but that becomes ancient history when he curls up and starts snoring like a cat.
3. He’s now a bisexual icon.
Instead of boasting blue nuclear energy and scales, like in Godzilla vs. Kong, Big Z is now rocking a shocking pink look. Sure, this is due to his gnarly absorption of the Titan Tiamat, but that new style – complete with elongated dorsal spikes, pink eyes, and a pink energy beam thingie – is serving 10s across the board. More importantly, Godzilla has now sported blue, pink, and purple nuclear energy in his lifetime. Those are the colors of the bisexual flag. Godzilla is now a bisexual icon.
4. He remembers his forebears.
Godzilla experts have pointed out that this latest movie hearkens back to the “Showa Era” of Godzilla films. This period, which spanned the years of 1954 to 1975, redefined Godzilla as a protector of humans. It also leaned into memorable monster team-ups and outrageous action sequences, raising Godzilla’s camp factor. Though The New Empire features a lot more pseudoscience and CGI than those erstwhile Godzilla movies, it certainly portrays Big G as a hero of sorts. It also directly references several Showa movies: For example, when Ol’ Z eats a nuclear power plant in rural France, it’s a reference to 1985’s The Return of Godzilla. Overall, it’s just nice to see Godzilla embrace his camp roots and reclaim his title as Earth’s savior.
5. He’s a fitness influencer.
Godzilla must have signed up for a FitOn course in between Godzilla vs. Kong and Godzilla x Kong, because he can get it now. His head is more proportional to his body, his neck is less “caveman” and more “GQ model,” and his legs are much more toned. He can even run now – fast! In the next movie, he’ll jog the length of the Great Wall of China every day for his morning workout.
6. He has a cool new enemy.
Godzilla’s new enemy, Shimo – the aforementioned ice Pokémon – is treated unfairly by the movie’s Skar King, rendering him bitter and violent. That said, once Shimo is in action, he (or she? or they? It’s unclear) lights up the screen. You can see how the Skar King snuffed out this creature’s inner light, transforming her into a frigid shadow of herself. But Shimo knew their own worth and ultimately redeemed themself by joining the side of good. We’re just using every pronoun now to cover our bases. In any case, Shimo proves himself to have a heart of gold; and now that he’s befriended Godzilla and Kong, he can use his immense arctic powers for good.