Some More Thoughts on Godzilla x Kong · 4:02pm April 14th
This is more of a full-fledged review with some extra observations that sprang to mind, thinking about the movie. For anyone who's interested.
"Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" is a dumb film that is very smartly made, and I say that in the form of highest praise. This is a movie that knows it is a monster mash first and foremost - essentially, a Godzilla movie of the 60s and 70s given the modern-day blockbuster treatment - and builds itself entirely around that.
There are no deep themes about the horrors of war, the human condition, or atomic testing in this movie. Some people may definitely hold against "Godzilla x Kong." However if you're able to put that aside and be able to enjoy this movie for the sight of a giant ape exploring the Hollow Earth and fighting against a primordial overlord aiming to destroy/conquer the surface world... you'll be in for a treat. 
Watching this movie, I really feel like Adam Wingard and company listened to some of the major criticisms about "Godzilla vs Kong". There is just one major group of human protagonists to follow, instead of the three sets of characters in "versus" (Team Kong, Team Godzilla, and then the bad guys at Apex). This keeps the story pretty well focused on the humans following Kong, as well as the big ape himself (more on him later). Yes, Bernie the conspiracy theorist is back, but his antics are massively toned down and so he is far more tolerable that way. And, while none of the human characters are deep at all, I liked the simplicity of their dynamic - particularly the surrogate mother/daughter one between Dr. Andrews and Jia.
I also liked the giant monster veterinarian, "Trapper". He was a broad character, a typical wacky Australian badass, but he wasn't obnoxious. And in point to the movie's credit, while dialogue implies that he and Dr. Andrews had a fling in the past, this does not bog down the movie with some forced romantic tension or whatever. A lesser movie would have tried to add some pathos or drama that way and I am immeasurably grateful for this movie not going that route.
But enough with the humans. The real stars of this one are, indisputably, the monsters. Kong chief among them: his beard graying, having to have a tooth replaced, the former king of Skull Island carries himself with a good sense of both dignity and loneliness... one that pays off very nicely in his interactions with a young ape of his own kind ("Suko," according to promotional materials). There's kind of a benign counterpart to Kratos and Atreus from "God of War" in their interactions, with Kong gradually teaching good behavior to the younger ape. This movie makes the idea of "Son of Kong" sound like a great idea, if just given the right execution. 
As another aside, a lot of moments with Kong exploring the Hollow Earth gave me little reminders of Genndy Tartakovsky's "Primal" - at least in that the visuals and characters carry the story. (The music in "Primal" is a lot more subtle in places, though, and some moments in GxK might have had greater heft if the sound had been adjusted accordingly.)
Although the movie's villain, the hellish orangutan-like "Skar King," is a very memorable character in what screen time he has. Brooding and vicious from the first moment, this is a monster with a sadism to match King Ghidorah's, and you find yourself eagerly waiting to see Kong and Godzilla punish him. 
As for the Big G himself... he's surprisingly a small player in this movie, mostly stocking up in preparation for the movie's final act... which, admittedly, does not disappoint, particularly in the first leg of the final battle: a truly inspired brawl within the Hollow Earth. The much-publicized climactic showdown on the surface has some good moments too, but there's nothing quite like watching Godzilla and Kong charge into battle side by side against an army of giant apes and their leader's kaiju battle mount. (If that sentence doesn't thrill your inner eight-year-old, I can't help you.)
I wouldn't name this the best of the Monsterverse by far, but if you are looking for a good way to pass a few hours with some well-made pure monster fun, it's hard to say no to this one. 
That is an eerie parallel, now you mention it. Between the themes of loss and survival on the one giant hand, and his allying with a giant reptile in broadly the same boat on the other giant hand, Kong here is basically Spear in spirit.
Even funnier when you remember Spear once fought a Skar-like opponent and beat him into tiny pieces too (though with more onscreen gore and violence, because Primal's just funny like that).
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Hah, yeah, I'd actually forgotten about Spear versus the Ape-Men until you brought that up! Wow, that does make it even funnier.
Apparently, Godzilla's new form was inspired by the Kaio-ken technique from Dragon Ball Z, which, due to its red aura, paints the user in a vaguely pinkish-red light.
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I'd read something about that via TV Tropes, but since I've never really followed Dragon Ball, I wouldn't have known it until someone pointed it out to me. Still interesting to learn, all the same XD
We're the critics really expecting Minus One levels of quality.
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I get the feeling that Minus One has become the latest movie for bandwagon jumpers. I've seen things like this happen before, and it sucks, but eventually the fuss will die down.