Top 20 Greatest Giant Movie Monster Fights of All Time

“Pacific Rim: Uprising” (2018)
When interdimensional sea monsters start wreaking havoc on humanity, there’s really only one thing to do…build massive robots piloted by humans to combat them. After the first film ended in spectacular fashion, fans wondered whether or not “Pacific Rim: Uprising” could deliver an equally epic final battle. All skepticism went out the window with the introduction of the Mega-Kaiju. This abomination is three Kaiju rolled into one; held together by thousands of robotic parasites. Powerful beyond belief, it managed to destroy three Jaegers before finally being taken down by Gipsy Avenger.

“Godzilla: Final Wars” (2004)
Short and sweet: that’s the best way to describe this monster battle. In a moment of cinematic vengeance, the original Japanese Godzilla takes on its American counterpart as seen in Roland Emmerich 1998 “Godzilla” film. The latter was heavily criticized upon release for its lack of resemblance to the original, and in “Godzilla: Final Wars”, the original gets its revenge. Godzilla chucks Zilla into the Sydney Opera house before finishing it off with an atomic blast. The entire fight lasts less than a minute and serves as a fitting end to one of the most despised versions of Godzilla ever created.

“The Golden Voyage of Sinbad” (1974)
In one corner we have the centaur: a mythical beast that is half-man, half-horse and all hate for everything good. In other, the griffin: also half-lion with the head and wings of an eagle. For a while, this Guardian of the Good seems to have the upper hand against his one-eyed foe. However, the evil Koura doesn’t play fair and decides to intervene, slicing up the griffin from behind. Ray Harryhausen’s stop-motion effects hit their prime in this epic fantasy and though the fight scene is pretty choppy at some points, the overall effect is highly impressive.

“The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” (2012)
In his prolonged trilogy based on Tolkien’s beloved novel, Peter Jackson found room to turn the book’s brief reference to stone-giants into a high stakes action sequence. Well, at least it IS dramatic! High up in the Misty Mountains, Bilbo and co. witness stone-giants engaged in a deadly game of dodgeball. The behemoths chuck enormous boulders at each other during a thunderstorm, heedless of the cowering party below. Although the book described the monsters as having a good time and guffawing, this scene seems more like a full-on battle.

“Kong: Skull Island” (2017)
The second entry in the MonsterVerse franchise, “Kong: Skull Island” featured no shortage of epic throwdowns between the King of the Jungle and all manner of oversized opponents. While his fight against the giant squid was entertaining, it was pretty one-sided. That’s why we decided to go with Kong’s climactic battle against the Skull Devil. This one goes down to the wire, with Kong taking his fair share of licks. It’s a vicious, no holds barred battle between two of the nastiest monsters on Skull Island, but in the end, Kong proves he’s the island’s top dog…err, ape.

“The Incredible Hulk” (2008)
After being injected with Bruce Banner’s blood, Emil Blonsky turns into the Abomination, a monstrous creature hellbent on destroying the Hulk. The two wind up duking it out in Harlem, destroying large portions of the New York City neighborhood. While initially outmatched due to Abomination’s overwhelming size and strength, the Hulk gets creativite, using a variety of makeshift weapons to turn the tide and ultimately defeat the villain. A slugfest from start to finish, we could watch these two indestructible monsters battle it out all day long!

“Godzilla” (2014)
The finale of this monster movie sees Godzilla squaring off against two MUTOs, or Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms. These ancient species are nothing to scoff at and manage to inflict plenty of damage. However, it doesn’t take long for Godzilla to prove why he got top billing. The King of the Monsters finishes off the winged MUTO by slamming it into a building, before turning his attention to the female. Shockingly, Godzilla decides to let bygones be bygones, and plants a smooch on the creature’s lips. Okay, maybe we didn’t describe that accurately. Truth be told, the real loser in this fight was the city of San Francisco.

“King Kong” (2005)
Peter Jackson makes BIG movies. As such, he was the perfect fit to direct “King Kong”, which takes viewers on a journey to Skull Island and introduces them to dinosaurs, giant bugs, and of course, Kong, the 8th wonder of the world. In order to demonstrate just as tough Kong is, Jackson pits him against not one, but three Vastatosaurus rexes. Oh, and did we mention he has to do it while holding Ann Darrow in one of his giant hands? Taking place across multiple locations and featuring some truly epic CGI that still holds up today, King Kong’s battle against the dinos is the stuff of legends!

“Shin Godzilla” (2016)
Long before he was battling other monsters, Godzilla was battling Japan. In this 2016 Toho Pictures reboot, Godzilla is once again pitted against the nation, wreaking havoc at sea and on land. This iteration of Godzilla is especially difficult to dispatch, as it evolves to match whatever weapons are deployed against it. A truly epic battle ensues, with the citizens of Japan ultimately defeating the radioactive behemoth not with nuclear weapons, but with a coagulating substance that freezes it. Beneath its action exterior, “Shin Godzilla” is a well-directed and well written film that’s so much more than just another giant monster movie.

“Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster” (1964)
You know what they say, the enemy of my enemy is my friend! Godzilla and his rivals have to put their quarrels aside in this film to save Earth from the horrifying three-headed dragon King Ghidorah. Eschewing gentlemanly rules of engagement, the three gang up on King Ghidorah all at once and pummel him. Then, they go into what can only be called a team combo. Riding on Rodan’s back, Mothra sprays Ghidorah with silk while Godzilla takes the dragon’s tails and throws him off a cliff. Why can’t giant monsters just get along?

“Jurassic World” (2015)
You’d think that humanity would’ve learned by now that cloning dinosaurs isn’t the best idea. Alas, a new park opens in “Jurassic World”, and scientists cook up a new dino called the Indominus Rex. As the Indominus breaks loose and corners our heroes, Claire calls upon the most badass dinosaur that ever lived to save the day. That’s right, the T-REX! If that doesn’t sound awesome enough, the filmmakers also throw a raptor into the mix for a little tag team action. The Indominus Rex bites the dust as the opportunistic Mosasaurus sees dinner, restoring the natural order!

“Avengers: Age of Ultron” (2015)
This cinematic battle pits technology against brute strength, with Tony Stark’s Hulkbuster machine squaring off against everyone’s favorite big green rage monster. While this fight is peppered with moments of levity – Tony telling Hulk to go to sleep while punching him in the face immediately comes to mind – it also showcases the destructive power the Hulk possesses. The fight devastates the city of Johannesburg, with Tony’s best efforts to subdue the Hulk met at every turn with a vicious reaction from his out-of-control ally. This one was fun to watch, but horrible to imagine coming to fruition.

“Gamera 3: The Revenge of Iris” (1999)
A giant monster fueled by a young girl’s rage seeks to destroy Gamera. Now that the exposition is out of the way, let’s get to what we really want to see: two mega titans taking each other on in a no-holds-barred brawl to the death. Because the title of the movie starts with the name Gamera, you can place your bets on who’s going to win. Although Iris gets in some pretty good hits, Gamera is victorious with the old fiery fist technique and all of Japan rejoices… until more monsters show up, that is.

“How to Train Your Dragon 2” (2014)
The word alpha is used pretty freely throughout this rousing sequel and the Bewilderbeasts are about just as alpha as you can get. This whole sequence draws comparison to a fantasy epic like “The Lord of the Rings” with the Bewilderbeasts at the center of everything. It’s a battle between good and evil as the biggest of dragons compete for the allegiance of all dragon-kind. While the two are almost equally matched, it’s the one belonging to the cruel Drago Bludvist that ultimately reigns supreme. Hiccup and his friends might have lost this battle, but the war is far from over.

“Pacific Rim” (2013)
When his brother is killed in a clash with a Kaiju known as Knifehead, Jaeger pilot Raleigh Becket is paired with a new partner to fight giant monsters. For their first battle, Gypsy Danger battles a monstrous, acid spitting, winged creature dubbed Otachi. The fight is about as grand and realistic as CGI can be as we see the two foes destroy buildings, cars and even a boat. Fortunately, when Gypsy Danger’s pilots realize their robot comes fully equipped with a badass sword, the tables are turned and Otachi is halved mid-air. Hell yeah!

“Godzilla: Final Wars” (2004)
One of the most outlandish entries in the “Godzilla” franchise, “Godzilla: Final Wars” sees the King of the Monsters squaring off against multiple foes. However, his final battle with Monster X is undoubtedly the most intense! Monster X is a straight up badass, using martial arts and atomic blasts against Godzilla amidst the ruins of Tokyo. Just when it looks like Godzilla has defeated Monster X, it transforms into Keizer Ghidorah. A series of vicious attacks leaves Godzilla weakened, but in the end, he finds a way to destroy his foe once and for all!

“Godzilla: King of the Monsters” (2019)
For a monster fight that’ll blow your socks off, look no further than 2019’s “Godzilla: King of the Monsters”. The ending of this film sees Godzilla and Mothra going toe-to-toe with King Ghidorah and Rodan, in a battle to decide the fate of the Titans. With three heads to contend with, Godzilla initially appears outmatched. However, with the help of Monarch and Mothra (who sacrifices herself to save her atomic pal) Godzilla emerges victorious! With stunning visuals and an impactful story, “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” proved that monster movies still have a place in the modern cinematic landscape.

“King Kong” (1933)
On Skull Island, it’s kill or be killed since most of the population consists of giant monsters. That can be pretty entertaining, as long as you’re not a damsel in distress. In this scene, King Kong does battle with the most fearsome of dinosaurs, the T-Rex. Because it’s 1933, the result is two stop-motion animated models throwing each other around, with King Kong using a classic judo flip. Then in a brutal K.O move, he cracks T-Rex’s jaws right open. While Peter Jackson’s updated version of the fight might be more thrilling by today's standards, this was pretty darn great for the ‘30s and is still fun to watch today.

“Destroy All Monsters” (1968)
The filmmakers here really knocked it out of the park when it came to names! When the world decides it’s had enough of cities getting demolished, they ship all their Kaiju to the appropriately named Monsterland. All the usual suspects show up to trade punches, including of course Godzilla. Some aliens get involved and things get a bit wacky, but all the monsters must team up in the end to fight the dreaded King Ghidorah. It’s like Toho's equivalent of “The Avengers,” resulting in one of the greatest giant monster fights of all time.

Before we unveil our number one pick, here are some honorable mentions:

George vs. Ralph vs. Lizzie, “Rampage” (2018)
Three Monsters for the Price of One!

King Kong vs. Godzilla, “King Kong vs. Godzilla” (1962)
The King of the Apes vs. the King of the Monsters!

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, “Terror of Mechagodzilla” (1975)
A Robot Godzilla? Yes, Please!

“Godzilla vs. Destoroyah” (1995)
When ancient organisms are gassed with an Oxygen Destroyer, a new giant monster is born. When will humans learn? This monster, aptly named Destoroyah, meets Godzilla’s offspring and the two have at it. Destroyah comes out victorious and Godzilla senior vows revenge. This is where the real fight begins! Although Destoroyah eventually grows bigger than the king of monsters, that doesn’t bother Godzilla. He uses his atomic breath to weaken Destroyah, allowing the military to step in (and take all the credit!) Godzilla then quietly explodes and his resurrected son continues the family legacy. Doesn’t make a ton of sense, but man, what a battle!