One of the most highly anticipated movie releases of 2021 is Godzilla vs. Kong. It's the latest in Legendary Pictures' reboot of the Godzilla and King Kong stories and promises to deliver the goods as an action-packed monster mash-up with, yes, a clear winner at the end.
Luckily, while audiences wait for the ultimate showdown, there are plenty of titles to catch up on that feature each of the dueling monsters. King Kong is an American myth that dates back to 1933. Godzilla has been a staple of Japanese cinema since 1954, a metaphor for the effects of the nuclear bombs dropped on the country nine years prior. Here are each creature's top 5 titles, ranked according to IMDb.
10 Kong: King Kong Vs. Godzilla (1962) - 5.9
The fifth highest-rated Kong title is King Kong vs. Godzilla, the first time the two mythical creatures met on screen. The 1962 film is as campy as it gets, but for true monster movie fans, it's a must-see. What's especially noteworthy about the film is that despite being produced in Japan, King Kong triumphs over Godzilla in the end.
This is because despite Godzilla having the home-field advantage he was considered a villainous character at that point in the Godzilla series, and so Kong was awarded the happy ending. Whether he'll repeat that success in 2021 is anyone's guess...
9 Kong: King Kong (1976) - 5.9
After the release of the original King Kong in 1933, there were a handful of poorly funded, poorly executed, and poorly received Kong-related titles released throughout the decades, including the particularly ill-conceived Tarzan and King Kong in 1965.
This 1976 big-budget remake starring Jeff Bridges and Jessica Lange is far from a masterwork, but it's quite good compared to previous incarnations of Kong movies. It's most famous for its end sequence when Kong climbs atop one of the World Trade Center's Twin Towers as opposed to the Empire State Building. The towers had been completed just three years prior to the film's release.
8 King Kong: Kong: Skull Island (2017) - 6.6
Part of the new Legendary Pictures Godzilla/Kong series, Kong: Skull Island delivers the goods from beginning to end as a fun and exciting monster movie that doesn't take itself too seriously. The visual effects are excellent, and the ensemble cast includes Brie Larson and Tom Hiddleston, plus scenery-chewing performances by John Goodman, John C. Reilly, and Samuel L. Jackson.
Because Kong typically suffers a tragic fate at the end of his movies, Kong: Skull Island's conclusion is refreshingly triumphant.
7 Godzilla: Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla (2002) - 6.7
There are far more Godzilla titles to choose from than there are Kong titles, and so cracking the top 5 Godzilla list is a considerably tougher feat. 2002's Godzilla Against MechaGodzilla is a Japanese entry in which the Japanese government uses the bones of the original Godzilla monster to create a robotic monster that must defend the country against a new Godzilla.
Director Masaaki Tezuka would direct another Godzilla film the following year, Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., which is also one of the more highly-regarded entries in the voluminous franchise.
6 Godzilla: Shin Godzilla (2016) - 6.8
2016's Shin Godzilla marks the beginning of the third reboot of the Godzilla franchise by Toho Pictures, which produced the original 1954 classic. The film was a major success in Japan, despite receiving mixed reviews in the United States.
It was the highest-grossing Japanese film of 2016 and the highest-grossing Japanese Godzilla film of all time. Viewers' opinions reflect its success, as it has a considerably higher IMDb rating than any of the American Godzilla remakes and/or sequels.
5 Godzilla: Godzilla Vs. Destoroyah (1995) - 7.0
Toho Pictures announced that 1995's Godzilla vs. Destoroyah would finally include the death of Godzilla, and thus bring about the end of the original Godzilla series. At the end of the movie, as promised, Godzilla does perish, but "Junior Godzilla" survives. Toho planned on rebooting the franchise in 2005 since it was announced that there would be an American Godzilla series starting soon after this film's release.
Because the 1998 American remake was such a massive failure, however, the American franchise never materialized. Toho came out with Godzilla 2000 in 1999, six years ahead of schedule.
4 Godzilla: Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001) - 7.1
The third of six installments in the "Millennium" series by Toho Pictures, this film tampers with the continuity of its predecessors and takes place in the aftermath of the aforementioned Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, in which Godzilla dies. In this entry, yes, he's conveniently "brought back to life." It features a plethora of creatures who give Godzilla a run for his money.
This movie also contains a humorous and not-so-subtle dig at the failed 1998 American remake, in which a reference is made to a creature who attacked New York who Americans think is Godzilla, but who really wasn't.
3 Kong: King Kong (2005) - 7.2
Fresh off his success with the Oscar-winning Lord of the Rings films, director Peter Jackson decided to tackle the greatest American myth of them all and released the second major Kong remake ever in 2005.
Like the Lord of the Rings films, Jackson's King Kong is long, deliberately paced, but meticulously crafted and visually spectacular. The creature effects are only part of what makes the film so visually impressive. Jackson's masterful re-creation of 1930's New York City is also a wonder to behold, and a fitting tribute to the era in which the original Kong takes place.
2 Godzilla: Godzilla (1954) - 7.6
Not surprisingly, the original 1954 Godzilla still reigns supreme over all of its sequels, reboots, and spinoffs. The film is a metaphor for the disastrous effects of nuclear war, elevating it above standard B-movie creature feature fare.
Whereas most monster movies before and after the original Godzilla are little more than escapist pop entertainment, there's a palpable sadness at the core of this film which makes it a true standout in its genre. It's a landmark achievement in more ways than one.
1 Kong: King Kong (1933) - 7.9
Alas, nothing beats the original. Released in 1933, King Kong was revered as a landmark artistic achievement. It was also regarded as a miracle of modern science, thanks to the creatures rendered by visual effects pioneer Willis O'Brien, who created the dinosaurs in the 1925 silent film The Lost World.
The film was released four times over the following 20 years, each version losing additional footage. Most of the deleted scenes have been restored, except for the infamous "spider pit" scene which found humans being eaten alive by giant spiders. Peter Jackson included a chilling giant bug sequence in his 2005 remake, and also went on to recreate the original sequence.
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