Godzilla x Kong The New Empire: Hype & Expectations. Modern Showa? Or $200 Million Toy Commerical?

The second trailer for the Mar 29, 2024 theatrical release of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire has arrived and we're watching and reacting to every frame they are presenting to get people to the box office! Once again from the duel perspectives of a Fan and a Non-Fan to give a well-rounded opinions on the trailer itself, the thought process behind the film makers and marketing teams, and the state of the movie industry and THIS franchise at large!
We explore the Dark and Campy parallels between the Godzilla franchise and the Batman franchise as we look back at our childhood heroes and the up and down journeys we went on together. We spot and discuss video game easter eggs, toy tie ins, the merits of having two Godzilla franchises running side by side, (Toho and Legendary) and the shifting tonal continuity within and compared to one another.
Is Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire an example of Over-the-Top Modern Camp (like Micheal Bay's Transformers?) A $200 million Toy Advertisement? Or some new Hybrid of cinematic chimera that serves as both? We argue the possibility that this film is a continuation of the 1980's Toy Franchise fueled by a Cartoon Series to market to children. Only the kids are all grown up now? Right?
0:00 - Intro and Preamble
1:12 - Trailer Reaction (Rick's first time viewing)
2:49 - Initial Thoughts, Tag Lines, Godzilla Fan Immunity, Gimmicks
4:45 - Two Parallel Godzilla Franchises, Serious character driven drama vs Bombastic Toy Commerical Spectacle
5:38 - The Villian: The Scar King (comparison to Scar from The Lion King)
7:24 - Easter Egg! A shot straight out of NEO GEO's Kaiju Brawler "King of the Monsters."
7:57 - SPOILERS: Scar King and Shimo the powerful Ice Titan, designs, personalities.
10:30 - Son of Kong? Mini-Kong as Scrappy Doo and comparison to Son of Godzilla.
12:00 - Returning Actors from the previous Monsterverse films.
13:25 - Two sides of a coin: Wanting a fun, action packed Kajiu film that is nested in a well written film.
14:10 - The experience of being a 70's Godzilla fan makes this easier to like.
14:44 - Batman: The Tonal Shift from Tim Burton to Joel Schumacher and a Bat-Fans disappointment with Batman Forever.
15:46 - Godzilla and Batman: Beloved Franchises that went from serious to camp and back again.
18:00 - Godzilla Minus 1 VS Godzilla x Kong: Filmmaker passion vs Studio Interference?
18:30 - Tonal Shifts within a franchise, The Fast and The Furious go to Space!?
19:09 - Slave to the marketing, what worked (and didn't work) in the Monsterverse.
20:29 - Fan Service: J.J Abrams films, Super 8, Star Wars and the Fall to the Darkside.
21:30 - Film Makers no one can say no to: Peter Jackson's 2005 King Kong.
23:32 - Gearing up for seeing Godzilla x Kong The New Empire in theaters.
24:04 - Differing Opions: Points and Counter Points.
26:08 - Rick promises to watch Godzilla: King of the Monsters BEFORE Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.
26:41 - Outro
#godzillaxkongthenewempire #reactionvideo #godzilla

[@nylebecenti]

He's entitled for his universe in comics and heroes samething for Godzilla made movies first and comics too. Good for @bat chain puller. For being a Godzilla fan👍

[@kjellmikal]

That Scar and Simba VO ftw… 🤣
My strategy for stoking an inner flame of GxK excitement is certainly pretty hope-based as well-an icy core of creature design interest orbited by intriguing references I've heard Wingard make in interviews.
I'd love to see a deified toy commercial with an existential edge a la Barbie, meets the pulpy comedy action of Die Hard or Kill Bill, and the whole shebang graced with an artistic commitment to minimal dialog like Wall-E.
What I think we're more likely to get is just a tonal redux of GvsK. But for now I'll maintain my 80s arcade nostalgia fever dream version 😌

[@BatChainPuller]

I feel like Final Wars was a huge swing and a miss for what you laid out above with a few exceptions. I'm expecting this film to be empty junk food calories. Quick fun sugar rush with no nutritious value. I almost hope it doesn't do quite as well as Minus 1 so they'll lean more into that aesthetic going forward.

[@kjellmikal]

@@BatChainPuller oh no, I hadn't considered the Final Wars comparison, but I think you're right, especially with Captain Douglas Gordon as a living 80s action hero toy. 😬 The bizarre trivia of Toho scanning a Trendmasters Ultimate Zilla as yet another character to throw at Godzilla is probably my favorite aspect of FW, which isn't saying much.
Appreciated your little riff on 2014 btw. Even despite Joe Brody's death and Ford's character feeling like not much beyond an excuse to see the Kaiju from neat vantages, it remains the only MV film I fully enjoy. Creature design has underpinned my continuing interest in the franchise since then and I know that's not how it should be. I wouldn't mind if it ended with this film tbh!

[@BatChainPuller]

@@kjellmikal Final Wars was very much a product of it's time. (And yet ahead of the curve in terms of the Super Hero Craze) Hot on the heals of Foxe's "X-Men" with those black leather clad "Mutants" running around. It all ties back into toy franchise wars of the early 1980s. I'd actually like to see ONE LAST Monsterverse film with an invasion threat from space with ALL of earths monsters teaming up to defeat them. Call it "Destroy All Titans" or "Final Wars 2.0" Whatever. One last stab at the insanity the Monsterverse has become.
I appreciate that someone watches and thoughtfully responds! The community can sometimes be so "bone headed" it's seldom people like to consider ALL the forces that compel us to enjoy and appreciate Kaiju films and the collections they inspire (or peddle.)

[@Klaus_95]

How many cost?