Summary

• Legendary's Monsterverse has delivered some of the most epic and memorable action sequences in giant monster film history.
• The special effects, directing, and editing techniques have contributed to the spectacular fights between Godzilla, Kong, and other kaiju on the big screen.
• Each film in the Monsterverse, including Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, has its own thrilling 60-second sequences that showcase the power and awe-inspiring presence of these iconic monsters.

Legendary's Monsterverse began in 2014, and the franchise has provided some of the most epic movie scenes of the last decade. It's only four movies deep (with a fifth, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, on the way in 2024), but it's already delivered a long list of memorable action sequences. 2014's Godzilla, 2017's Kong: Skull Island, 2019's Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and 2021's Godzilla vs. Kong genuinely rank among some of the most spectacular giant monster films ever made.

Within all that action lay some incredible 60-second sequences. That's expected with screen icons like Godzilla and King Kong on the rampage, encountering other iconic movie monsters from over the years. However, given their history of appearing in franchises with smaller budgets, few could have anticipated exactly how fabulous the two giant beasts and their fellow kaiju look on the big screen in the 21st century. The amazing special effects, coupled with impressive directing and editing techniques, helped create some of the best fights Godzilla and Kong have ever been a part of on the big screen.

4 Godzilla - Godzilla Arrives To Fight The MUTO

By the time 2014's Godzilla hit the big screen, it had been 16 years since movie fans had been treated to a Hollywood version of the eponymous beast. Seeing him in all his gigantic glory was, therefore, a highly anticipated moment. Thankfully, that big reveal didn't disappoint. The Monsterverse's opening installment teased its eponymous star for some time before revealing him in an awe-inspiring style.

A giant winged kaiju dubbed the "MUTO" had emerged from a chrysalis and was rampaging in Hawaii. A short sequence starting with it terrorizing an area that includes a moving monorail with Aaron Taylor-Johnson's Ford Brody on board is the movie's best. Godzilla, alerted to the MUTO's presence, had been traveling to Hawaii for a while. Viewers have already seen glimpses of him, such as his spines breaking the sea's surface. However, this sequence shows his massive foot landing in front of terrified onlookers in an airport before his whole body and incomprehensible size are revealed. The minute ends with the release of Godzilla's iconic roar, with the Titan ready to bring his hated enemy down.

3 Kong: Skull Island - Kong Disembowels The Alpha Skullcrawler

2017's Kong: Skull Island introduced audiences to Hollywood's new version of King Kong. Set in 1973, it sees Kong not fully grown but still absolutely formidable. In the film, Kong is ed on his eponymous home of Skull Island by a team sent by Monarch to investigate kaiju and the Hollow Earth theory. Naturally, the clash of the two worlds results in chaos, with Kong clashing with the humans and other giant monsters. The poignant moment John C. Reilly's Hank Marlow returns home could easily be the movie's best moment, but it's the final fight between Kong and the alpha of the species known as Skullcrawlers that produces the movie's best 60-second sequence.

Kong, having been restrained by the humans, breaks from his restraints when the alpha attacks and saves them from it. However, the fight results in Brie Larson's Mason Weaver being knocked unconscious and into the water. The minute begins as Kong, having seemingly defeated the Skullcrawler, rescues Weaver from the water, picking her up in one hand. The Skullcrawler wakes up and attacks Kong again, forcing Kong to fight it with Weaver in his clenched fist. Kong still succeeds in killing it by ramming his fist down its throat and pulling its insides out, and the minute ends with him peacefully laying Weaver down.

2 Godzilla: King Of The Monsters - Godzilla Gets Powered Up

2019's Godzilla: King of the Monsters introduced several iconic kaiju to the Monsterverse: Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah. The movie's final battle involves all four iconic monsters and, inevitably, results in the best 60-second sequence in the film. Godzilla had already been severely injured once in the movie when the U.S. Navy utilized a weapon called the "Oxygen Destroyer" during his first fight with King Ghidorah. Still, he'd been healed by a nuclear detonation and was fighting Ghidorah again, this time with Rodan's involvment making matters worse.

Godzilla is losing, but Mothra arrives to lend a hand. The flying monster attacks Rodan and kills him but severely injures herself in the process. Soon after, Ghidorah looks to have Godzilla beaten, but Mothra sacrifices herself by transferring her last remaining energy to him. It powers him up massively, setting the stage for a thrilling 60 seconds. Godzilla's very presence now melts everything around him, and he's glowing an orangey red. Godzilla fires a nuclear pulse at Ghidorah, knocking the three-headed beast to the ground before stepping on its prone body and finishing it with a final epic attack.

1 Godzilla Vs. Kong - Kong Beheads Mechagodzilla

It's easy to imagine the best moment in a movie called Godzilla vs. Kong is a fight between the two titular monsters, but that's not the case. The ginormous duo finds they have a common enemy in the film, in the form of the formidable Mechagodzilla - a combination of high-tech weaponry and the brain taken from one of King Ghidorah's severed heads. It's the thrilling climax of their fight with the giant robot that produces the best 60 seconds in the Monsterverse to date.

Mechagodzilla looks to be severely overpowering both Godzilla and Kong, who had arrived moments earlier to help the former. The mighty ape is doing his best but still struggling to overcome the power of APEX's mecha-Titan. Godzilla, prone on the ground, sees Kong's struggles and fires his atomic breath at the axe Kong acquired in the Hollow Earth. The energy powers the axe up, and Kong swings it at Mechagodzilla, knocking it to the ground. With another powerful swing, he uses the energized axe to decapitate Mechagodzilla. Kong proceeds to raise it into the air like a trophy in a moment reminiscent of Godzilla's first victory over Mechagodzilla in 1974. Even with installments still to come, it invokes such excitement that it could do down as the greatest moment in Monsterverse history.