| Director | John Guillermin |
|---|---|
| Budget | $18 million |
| Box office | $48.9 million |
10 years after he was shot down from the WTC and his presumed death, Kong has been kept in a coma at the Atlantic Institute, under the care of surgeon Dr. Amy Franklin. A heart transplant is required to save Kong's life, giving Kong a computer-monitored artificial heart. However, he has lost so much blood in his coma that he needs a blood transfusion to keep him alive. However, Dr. Franklin believes that no species of ape or other animal has a blood type that matches Kong's.
Meanwhile, adventurer Hank "Mitch" Mitchell travels to Borneo, theorizing that Kong's home island was once part of the same land mass. While exploring the jungle, Mitch soon encounters a giant female ape of Kong's species, who is quickly subdued and captured. Mitch offers to send the ape, whom he dubs "Lady Kong", to the institute so that her blood can be used for Kong's operation. Franklin is apprehensive about the risks; the institute accepts the offer despite her objections.
Through a risky procedure, Kong's blood transfusion and the heart transplant are a narrow success. While the institute celebrates, Kong soon revives and senses Lady Kong's presence. Realizing her presence is rousing Kong, the institute attempts to remove Lady Kong, causing her to panic. Kong breaks free from his containment and rescues Lady Kong from hers. The two apes escape the institute together and into the wilderness. To hunt down the apes, a military force is called in, led by an insane Lieutenant Colonel Archie Nevitt. To help protect Kong, Franklin and Mitchell team up to pursue the two apes while dodging Nevitt's forces.
During their time in the wilderness, Kong and Lady Kong bond and become mates. While following the apes, Mitchell and Dr. Franklin bond as well, and the two have sex. Nevitt's forces soon find the apes and launch an attack. Despite Kong's attempts to fight them off, Lady Kong is subdued and captured; Kong himself falls into a ravine and river and is presumed dead.
Months later, Lady Kong is kept in captivity by Nevitt, while Mitchell attempts to buy out land in Borneo for a reserve. When Franklin is allowed to check in on her, she notices Lady Kong's behavior; she suspects that Kong could still be alive and that Lady Kong may sense him. Franklin is dismissed by her peers, believing that the environment isn't suitable for Kong to survive for long.
However, Kong survives by hiding out in the wilderness and can similarly sense Lady Kong's captivity. As Kong seeks out his mate, his survival is exposed when he wanders through a neighborhood. With this, both Nevitt's forces and local hunters set out to hunt Kong down, with Nevitt disregarding orders to capture Kong alive.
Franklin and Mitchell set out to find Kong and happen upon him as he's trapped and tormented by a group of hunters. When Franklin realizes that Kong's artificial heart is failing, Kong quickly breaks loose, inadvertently destroying the computer that controls his heart, leaving him with little time to live. Following Kong's advance, Franklin and Mitchell break into Nevitt's compound to help free Lady Kong from captivity. It is then discovered that Lady Kong is pregnant with Kong's offspring.
Kong and Lady Kong soon reach a farmhouse where Lady Kong goes into labor. They are followed by Dr. Franklin, Mitchell, and Nevitt's forces. Nevitt begins an assault on Kong, who, despite being grievously wounded, manages to drive off the military and kill Nevitt himself. As Dr. Franklin and Mitchell watch, Lady Kong successfully gives birth to a male ape. Mortally wounded, Kong manages to see and touch his son just before he dies from his wounds. Rescued, Lady Kong and her son are brought back to the reserve in Borneo to live out their days in peace.