“Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” (*** out of four) was a spectacular action thriller about the two ancient titans of Godzilla and King Kong who face off in an epic battle to the death which leads to the potential destruction of Earth while various scientists and military personnel (Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, and others) try to uncover their origins and how to stop them. Full of wall-to-wall visual effects and action scenes and setpieces that will really wow you; story and script won’t hold up to much scrutiny but film takes you on such a thrilling ride it hardly matters. A definite improvement over previous entry 2021’s “Godzilla vs. Kong.”