Top 10 Best King Kong Movies

The original monster movie that started it all. Stop-motion, grand sets, and a finale atop the Empire State Building that became legendary. Kong here is no mere monster, but a tragic figure. "It was beauty killed the beast," and audiences were left with goosebumps.

Peter Jackson breathes new life into the original with feeling, grandeur, and a digital Kong who conveys more emotion than plenty of human actors. The film is long, slow at the start, but builds to an overwhelming ending that breaks your heart.

Forget love and tragedy, this Kong is an action hero. A slick monster movie with a 70s soundtrack, Tom Hiddleston, and a giant ape swatting helicopters out of the sky like flies. Pure popcorn fun, with a monstrous sense of style.

What if the two greatest monsters of all time beat each other senseless? Exactly that. The fights are absurdly spectacular, and the film knows exactly what it is: a blockbuster brawl with neon lights, lasers, and zero pretension.

A Kong for the 1970s, complete with oil companies and a long-haired Jeff Bridges. The special effects have aged, but the atmosphere still lingers. Kong doesn't climb the Empire State here, but the World Trade Center, giving the finale extra weight.

Campy? Yes. Great? Also yes. This Japanese cult classic brought Kong and Godzilla together for the first time in rubber suits on miniature sets. It's over-the-top, wild, and incredibly entertaining. No Oscar material, but kaiju fun at its finest.

Made the same year as the original, but with a completely different tone. Here, Kong's son is, quite literally, a child. Less tension, more adventure, and a healthy dose of slapstick. Not as powerful as his father, but charming and surprisingly light-footed.

The strangest of the bunch. Kong gets a heart transplant. There's a female Kong. And there's a genuine attempt at a love story between two 50-foot apes. Camp through and through, and exactly why it became a cult favorite.

The latest in the MonsterVerse series is loud, colorful, and packed with action. We dive even deeper into the Hollow Earth, get new titans, and see Kong sporting a gauntlet that looks straight out of a video game. Not subtle, but entertaining.

Kong fights a robot version of himself here, created by a mad scientist. More James Bond than monster movie, with a soundtrack just as bizarre as the plot. Strange, but irresistible in a cheerful, pulpy way.