This title was released in movie theaters in March 2024 and was already available on Disc and on my Kaleidescape, but it is now available, as of July 4th, streaming on HBO Max.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is the sequel to Godzilla vs. Kong and the fifth installment in Legendary's MonsterVerse. Spoiler alert – I am going to talk about the movie plot in detail, so if you haven’t seen it, skip to the next section to get our impression of the movie on the BenQ projector.
Three years after their battle with Mechagodzilla, Godzilla, and Kong have settled into their respective domains. Godzilla maintains order on the surface while Kong rules the Hollow Earth.
A mysterious signal from the Hollow Earth leads to visions for Jia, the last surviving member of the Iwi tribe from Skull Island. The Monarch organization sends an expedition led by Dr. Ilene Andrews to Hollow Earth to investigate the signal. They discover that it was a distress call sent by a lost Iwi tribe, an ancient civilization that once lived in harmony with the Titans.
Kong uncovers a hidden civilization of his ancestors ruled by the tyrannical Skar King, who seeks to conquer the surface using the powerful ice Titan, Shimo. When Kong challenges Skar King, he is defeated and forced to flee.
Meanwhile, Godzilla, sensing a threat, is strengthening himself against an oncoming threat. Driven by a need to protect his new home and fulfill his ancestral duty as protector, Kong must unite with his arch-nemesis Godzilla to face the Skar King and his forces. The fate of both the Hollow Earth and the surface world hangs in the balance as these two alpha Titans team up against an ancient and powerful enemy.
Kong, with the help of a young ape named Suko, Godzilla and Mothra challenge Skar King once more. The ensuing battle is epic, with the Titans clashing in a spectacular display of power. Ultimately, Skar King is defeated, and the threat to the surface world is neutralized. Kong returns to the Hollow Earth as its new ruler, while Godzilla and Mothra resume their roles as guardians of the balance.
The film delves deeper into the lore of the MonsterVerse, exploring the connection between humans and Titans, the history of Kong's species, and the origins of the conflict between Godzilla and the ancient apes. It also introduces new Titans and expands the mythology of the Hollow Earth.
For this evaluation, BenQ provided me with one of their flagship W5800 Home Theater projectors as my reference projector. The BenQ W5800 is a 4K DLP projector designed for demanding home cinema enthusiasts who value accurate color reproduction and better optics over maximum brightness and smart features.
The unit's 2600 ANSI lumens of brightness combined with BenQ's proven CinematicColor technology delivers a bright image with accurate colors when viewing SDR and HDR content. This projector, combined with my 123-inch Screen Innovation slate screen and my Marantz and Bowers & Wilkins audio system, delivered an experience that rivals most small theater metroplexes.
This doesn’t mean I still don’t go to movie theaters to watch certain movies, but due to the experience I can get at home, I normally hunt out the best cinemas in my area to make the ticket price worthwhile and only for certain movies.
Like every other film in the series, this movie includes completely over-the-top, insane action scenes highlighting the advantages of a great audio system and a massive image. You should look elsewhere if you long for a complex plot with well-defined characters. This movie is designed to assault your senses, visually and audibly.
This movie demonstrates massive leaps in CGI capabilities. In previous movies, Kong and Godzilla were only shown at night or in darker scenes because the CGI was easier to render. The new movie has more scenes of them in bright daylight, so details such as Godzilla's skin and King Kong’s fur are more defined. Every creature in the movie has lived a hard life, and because of the massive sharp image provided by the W5800’s 4K DLP imager and high-quality optics, every scar and scratch is clearly visible.
The film is available for streaming in HDR10 and Dolby Vision, and the soundtrack is available in Dolby Atmos. While the W5800 does not support Dolby Vision, it does an excellent job of tone mapping the HDR10 version, so the projector does a good job displaying bright, highlight detail while maintaining good full-screen brightness.
Since most streaming titles are mastered in HDR, accurate color reproduction and wide color gamut coverage are critical. I chose the W5800 as my reference projector because BenQ calibrates each unit before it leaves the factory. According to the calibration report included with my W5800 sample, the average delta error is just 1.1, which is extremely low. The W5800 can also reproduce 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut.
The movie uses a more muted color palette, except for a few scenes. However, the colors are more vibrant in scenes showing Godzilla's purple radiation blasts or occurring in the Iwi village.
The movie is mastered in Dolby Atmos. During the Titan fight scenes, the soundtrack makes ample use of the LFE channel, giving your subwoofers a good workout. Certain scenes, like the battle in the Iwi village in Hollow Earth and during the final fight on the surface, include tons of panning sound effects.
Overall, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is a movie that highlights the benefits of a large projected image and immersive audio. Giant-fighting titans demand no less. Below are some additional notable streaming movies.
