Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire from director Adam Wingard just made its way into cinemas over the weekend. While I still have no clue what “x” means in that title, it doesn’t appear to be having a negative impact on the film’s box office success. Global estimates for its opening weekend currently sit at around $194 million as I write this. Not too shabby. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is also the thirty-fourth live action film to star Godzilla. That is a staggering number of movies for the radioactive lizard. The second part of that gigantic pairing, the eponymous Kong, has made significantly fewer appearances on the silver screen. Despite debuting more than twenty years before Godzilla, Kong has only appeared in ten live action feature films. It should come as no surprise that I have now seen all ten films starring the greatest ape. You know what that means: I’m gonna rank them from least favorite to favorite. I’ll try to keep spoilers to a minimum, but some spoilers will be unavoidable when explaining why some of these films end up on this list. You have been warned. Now let’s get to the movies.
King Kong Lives (1986) directed by John Guillermin
Believe it or not, I actually like almost all of the Kong movies that have been made over the past ninety-one years. King Kong Lives is not one of them. This is a direct sequel to the King Kong remake that had hit cinemas a decade earlier, and it immediately makes no sense whatsoever. King Kong met his demise in the previous film when he was shot about a thousand times by attack helicopters before plummeting off the top of the World Trade Center to the pavement below. Ten years later we learn that he is actually still alive somehow, but he’s basically comatose and being kept alive by a team of scientists. One of those scientists is played by Linda Hamilton, and that is the only real bright spot in the movie. Early on in the film a female giant ape (listed as “Lady Kong” in the credits) is discovered, captured, and brought to the United States because that went very well the last time. You’ll be shocked to learn that the two Kongs end up escaping and causing a bunch of destruction as the scientists try to rein them in before the military kills them. The two Kongs are portrayed by people wearing suits that don’t look all that great (but are still not the worst suits that will appear on this list).
I can forgive a nonsensical plot and subpar special effects as long as the film is at least entertaining. Unfortunately, King Kong Lives is stupefyingly boring. The action set pieces are few and far between, and they aren’t filmed in a particularly interesting way when they do happen. The movie is a slog with no redeeming value. I’m actually mad at myself for rewatching it prior to writing this piece.
King Kong Escapes (1967) directed by Ishiro Honda
King Kong Escapes is the sequel to King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) and directed by legendary Japanese director Ishiro Honda.” It’s a fairly traditional telling of the King Kong story at times in which the giant ape lives on an island populated by other giant prehistoric creatures that has been untouched by modern civilization. He fights a Gorosaurus and some kind of sea serpent, so that’s fun. The story then takes a turn towards the typical kaiju movies that Ishiro Honda had been making during that time period when Kong has to fight a robot version of himself named Mechani-Kong that was created by an evil scientist named Dr. Who (I’m not kidding).
It’s a very goofy movie, and the Kong suit looks awful in my opinion. You’ll probably enjoy it if you’re a big fan of Showa era Japanese kaiju movies, but that has never been my favorite time period for the genre.
King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) directed by Ishiro Honda
If I’m being honest, King Kong Escapes is probably a better film overall than King Kong vs. Godzilla. It has a tighter plot, better special effects, and more monster fights than its predecessor. What it doesn’t have, however, is King Kong fighting Godzilla.
I’m sorry, but the cool factor of the two most famous giant monsters in cinema history fighting each other trumps anything that happens in King Kong Escapes. There are certainly plenty of reasons to dislike this movie. The Kong suit is probably the worst to ever appear on screen, Kong has lightning based superpowers (carried over from the original script when it was supposed to be Frankenstein’s Monster fighting Godzilla), and I’m pretty sure that a live octopus may have been killed in the process of making the film. Not great.
King Kong (1976) directed by John Guillermin
From here on out, every movie to appear on this list is a movie I like. Hallelujah! This is also the last of these films on the list that feature a person in a costume as Kong. It’s the best looking costume of the four, but I will always prefer stop-motion and CGI depictions of Kong.
This is a pretty straightforward remake of the original 1933 film with some tweaks here and there. Instead of a film crew tryout to make the best movie ever, it’s about an oil tycoon (played by Charles Grodin) searching for oil. Our point of view characters are an environmental activist played by Jeff Bridges and a shipwreck survivor played by Jessica Lange. They are both excellent in the film and are the brightest spot in the film. All of the classic story beats are there (Kong runs off with a pretty lady, the other members try to rescue her, Kong ends up being brought to New York City, and Kong goes on a rampage before climbing the tallest building in the city). The key aspect that it’s missing from the classic story is Kong fighting an assortment of giant creatures. There is one sequence where he fights a giant snake, and that’s it. I simply cannot rank it any higher because of that.
Son of Kong (1933) directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack
You would be forgiven for assuming Son of Kong isn’t very good. It bares all of the hallmarks of a shameless cash grab. It was rushed into production and hit cinemas a mere nine months after King Kong had been released in an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of that film. It clocks in at a scant seventy minutes, and it takes thirty of those minutes for the human characters to actually make it to Skull Island. Once they get there, the movie really becomes a treat.
The audience is treated to the spectacle of Willis O'Brien‘s incredible stop-motion special effects that bring to life not only Kong’s son (dubbed “Little Kong”) but also a host of creatures like giant bears, dinosaurs, and plesiosaurs. The monster battles never quite live up to the ones in the first King Kong (also done by Willis O'Brien), but they are still very entertaining to watch. Son of Kong is an underrated little hidden gem that’s worth checking out if you’ve never seen it.
Kong: Skull Island (2017) directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts
We have finally reached the first appearance of one of Legendary’s MonsterVerse series of films. Kong: Skull Island is essentially a remake of the 1933 original. Once again, a group of humans makes an ill-advised trip to Skull Island and encounters a bunch of giant monsters and prehistoric creatures intent on killing them.
This time the movie is set in 1973 and includes a number of American soldiers who had been fighting in the Vietnam War (played by actors including Samuel L. Jackson, Toby Kebbell, and Shea Whigham among others), a journalist played by Brie Larson, an expert tracker played by Tom Hiddleston, a pair of scientists played by John Goodman and Corey Hawkins, and a stranded WWII fighter pilot played by John C. Reilly. It’s a stacked cast to say the least. Kong himself has arguably never been as menacing and imposing as he appears in this film, and his primary foes (giant reptilian monsters called Skullcrawlers) are a fun addition to Kong’s rogues gallery. Kong’s design also harkens back to the 1933 original by making him bipedal and more anthropomorphic than just an oversized gorilla. The action set pieces are excellent (an early scene involving Kong fighting helicopters is a standout), and it takes an interesting path by making Kong more heroic than antagonistic. Where the film suffers is it is very clearly a movie meant as a setup for future sequels. Speaking of which…
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024) directed by Adam Wingard
That’s right. The most recent entry in Kong’s filmography cracks the top four on my list. I want to preface this by acknowledging that this movie is dumb as hell. It’s about a hidden kingdom of gigantic apes living in the middle of the Earth with ambitions of global domination that Kong and Godzilla must team up to defeat. The cast of human characters (including Rebecca Hall, Dan Stevens, Brian Tyree Henry, and Kaylee Hottle) exist only to deliver exposition in between monster fights. So why is this so high on the list? Because it has the best (and most) monster fights I have ever seen in a kaiju movie.
This is still in cinemas, so I can’t easily go back and double check my math. With that said, there are at least eight different set pieces that revolve around giant monster fights. It rules. It’s a perfect example of a popcorn flick. Turn off your brain and enjoy the madness.
Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) directed by Adam Wingard
All of the strengths and criticisms I had for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire exist for Godzilla vs. Kong. It’s mindless fun. The plot once again revolves around the Earth being hollow in the middle and filled with monsters, the human characters (including Rebecca Hall, Alexander Skarsgard, Millie Bobby Brown, Brian Tyree Henry, Kaylee Hottle, Kyle Chandler, and many more) are only there to deliver exposition, and the giant monster fights are incredible. So why is it ranked higher than Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire? Because those giant monster fights are King Kong fighting Godzilla! Unlike King Kong vs. Godzilla from 1962, the monsters in this movie look incredible. The choreography is also very impressive as the two titans utilize distinctive fighting styles when squaring off with one another. Godzilla is an engine of destruction that relies on brute force and his atomic breath. Kong is an agile fighter relying on his quickness and intelligence against the larger and more powerful Godzilla. The film also makes the bold choice to have a definitive winner between the two instead of having it end in a draw. It also has one of the most entertaining trailers I’ve ever seen.
How can you not love this movie?
King Kong (2005) directed by Peter Jackson
It doesn’t take long to realize just how much reverence Peter Jackson has for the original King Kong. His 2005 remake is virtually a beat for beat retelling of that 1933 film with the same group of characters and creatures popping up throughout. The film is even set in 1933 to capture the aesthetic and motivations of the original.
The cast is incredible and includes such stars as Naomi Watts, Adrien Brody, Jack Black, Andy Serkis, Colin Hanks, Jamie Bell, and Kyle Chandler. Yes, Kyle Chandler has now appeared in two different Kong movies set in two separate universes and made by two separate production companies. Quite the honor. The film really emphasizes the fantastical nature of this universe instead of striving for realism. The set pieces are incredible throughout. There are battles between Kong and the various monsters on Skull Island, there is a sequence of stampeding sauropods, Kong gets a prolonged rampage through New York City culminating in a battle atop the Empire State Building, and there’s a scene of pure unadulterated nightmare fuel where the human characters are beset upon by a bunch of disgusting giant bugs and worms that pays homage to an infamous scene that was cut from the original film for being too disturbing for audiences at the time. It’s a fantastic film full of heart and soul. My only real complaint is that the ending drags on just a bit too long for a film that is a staggering 188 minutes in length. There is even an extended cut that is a whopping 200 minutes long. In other words, it’s a film made by Peter Jackson.
King Kong (1933) directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack
Come on. You knew this would be number one. It’s one of the greatest and most influential films ever made. It created the template for what a blockbuster movie would be.
Its devotion to storytelling, adventure, spectacle, and cutting edge special effects was something never before seen at that scale when it was released in 1933. Willis O'Brien‘s stop-motion effects immediately became the standard for what all stop-motion animators would strive to achieve. The legendary Ray Harryhausen has said that this film is what inspired him to become a stop-motion animator, and it has influenced numerous filmmakers over the years. It was also the first film to ever feature an original score (composed by Max Steiner). It also became the film that made Fay Wray a star for her leading role as Ann Darrow. The story itself has become timeless as a film crew from New York City ends up on Skull Island, a mysterious island lost in time that is inhabited by people as well as gigantic prehistoric monsters as well as the eponymous King Kong. The various characters are picked off one by one as they attempt to rescue Ann from the clutches of the giant ape. We are also treated to numerous fights between Kong and different prehistoric creatures with his fight with a Tyrannosaurus being the most memorable and spectacular. Kong’s eventual capture and subsequent rampage through New York City culminating in his battle with airplanes atop the Empire State Building has become one of the most iconic moments in cinema history. The film is a masterpiece, and I never get tired of watching it.