My Ranking Of Every Godzilla Film…
Since there is some time before the next purported release of a Godzilla film, now is a better time than ever to give my rankings for all 35 Godzilla films and one non canon Zilla film. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this ranking.
36. Godzilla 98. This movie was no Godzilla film. It stunk. Obviously much of the criticism was at the name. It looked nothing like Godzilla. The thing is aside from the bland human characters this movie… well was still horrible. The fact that it lost it’s “God” moniker in the east AND the west is a testament to how bad it truly was. Weaker still was that he actually loses to a bunch of helicopters, which any fan of the series knows, just doesn’t happen to an actual Godzilla. The animated series followup did a better job, because it introduced other kaiju for Zilla to face. The bar was still low. So it means very little. But Godzilla fans rejoice, Zilla gets annihilated in one of the succeeding entries…
35. All Monsters Atk. The worst Godzilla movie of all time. Sorry, I’m not counting the Zilla entry from before. I know effects were limited back then, but Godzilla’s son was just the absolute worst design. Ever.
34. Son of Godzilla. And speaking of which, what in the world was this? Completely horrible. One of the worst entries.
33. Destroy all Monsters. Not the worst. But you would think with the amount of kaiju’s featured here they would not still have to rely on footage from other G films to show kaijus battling. Especially scenes with Ghidorah.
32. Terror of MechaGodzilla. Not a bad entry. Just not very good. I do like Titanosaurus’ design. But he was not a very durable kaiju. I wish they used Titanosaurus in more films though.
31. Godzilla raids Again. The second entry in the long lasting series. It was still not in color. It would be the final film not to be in color. It was also the first to feature another kaiju for Godzilla to face, which was called Anguirus, and it would become a staple for nearly every Godzilla film to follow.
30. Godzilla vs Megalon. I actually liked the design of Megalon. A giant beetle. But the film just did not do a great job introducing this character. Not a bad entry. But mediocre at best. I was not a fan of Jet Jaguar at first, but I ended up enjoying his inclusion. Plus his theme song is as people these days say, absolutely lit. It also gave us what is in my opinion the greatest moment in Godzilla film history. The famous Godzilla dropkick to Megalon while Jet Jaguar held him. It was so good, that they did it a second time. Literally the same clip played again. It was the greatest moment ever.
29. Godzilla: Planet of Monsters. As the first entry in the series in anime form, I gotta say, it was not very good. Not much else to say.
28. Godzilla, City on the Edge of Battle… As the second film in the anime series of films, again not very good. I wish they had done a better job considering they could have had something special here. But it falls flat. Like a soda without carbonation.
27. Godzilla 1984. Or 1985 in the US. I would have expected to place the 3rd and final anime Godzilla film here, but this entry felt less enjoyable. This was one of the few films that did not feature another kaiju for Godzilla and that keeps the ranking low. It was the typical Godzilla vs the humans thing. His design began what is in my opinion, the most intimidating versions of Godzilla. This film ushered in what would be called the Heisei era of Godzilla films.
26. Godzilla: the Planet Eater. The 3rd and final film in the anime Godzilla trilogy. Certainly the best of the 3 films. But the bar was set pretty low after the first film. So that’s not saying much. It has arguably the most powerful version of Godzilla and the most powerful version of Ghidorah, bar none.
25. Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla. The first to feature the pretty cool, MechaGodzilla. It also introduces the new King Caesar kaiju. Which looks like the mythical lion dogs of Okinawan culture. He did have a very nice theme song that was sung by some woman. I liked both of their designs. The film was, ok I guess. Certainly a lot better than some others.
24. Mothra vs Godzilla. The first to feature the long lasting, Mothra. It was not my favorite to feature her. But considering this film was the 4th in the series, she would grow as a kaiju character and certainly a fan favorite.
23. Godzilla vs Megaguirus. One of the most scientific entries in the series. It was a rather subpar entry. However it gave fans the most OP feat Godzilla ever accomplished. At least within film canon. He not only survived a black hole, but he survived it virtually unscathed. That is without doubt the coolest thing ever.
22. Invasion of Astro Monster. The second film in the series to feature Ghidorah. Probably one of my least favorite films featuring Ghidorah. Being Godzilla’s most frequent foe aside from on again, off again friend and enemy, Mothra, it was one of the weaker entries.
21. Godzilla vs Mothra. Not to be confused with Mothra vs Godzilla. This was the Heisei era of the matchup. Only this time we are introduced to Battra. It was not a very interesting kaiju. I was not a fan of the environmental tone the plot took. Because it came off too preachy. Which I don’t like. Especially in a Godzilla film. Still a rather enjoyable entry.
20. Godzilla against MechaGodzilla. Another entry where MechaGodzilla is considered a good guy. One of the better films to feature MechaGodzilla despite looking nearly identical to the previous iterations, just modernized to the time. Much like other films in the series, this entry completely ignores previous canon established in the earlier films and picks up right after the original 1954 film.
19. Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. It was probably my favorite film to feature MechaGodzilla. Until 2021. Mainly because it establishes MechaGodzilla as a good guy. Which I liked. It also features kaiju staple, Mothra.
18. Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla II. Perhaps the best film to feature MechaGodzilla until Godzilla vs Kong, some 28 years later. It also gave us Rodan. Which much the same way Mothra powered up Godzilla in Godzilla king of the Monsters in 2019, he powered up Godzilla too. Which was pretty cool.
17. King Kong vs Godzilla. The heavyweight matchup of the Showa era. The weird thing is, the showdown wasn’t all that great. You can chalk it up to the era of special effects. If I’m not mistaken, there is a scene where it just looks like two hand puppets arguing. And one that is immortalized in Gifs, as Godzilla dancing on a hill. Which was funny. The tree bit, is one of the best moments in the franchise. Second or third only to the jumping Godzilla bit and the famous dropkick scene from Godzilla vs Megalon. The result was not clear and the ending was left with a little bit of ambiguity. Despite this, we see Kong resurface after their battle in the water and we don’t see Godzilla again. So people seem to think that decides things. But considering Godzilla is amphibious I find it hard to believe he “lost”. Alas there was a myth regarding two endings. But that is just not true. On a side note, it was first for both characters to be in color. So that was cool. But this feud would not have a definitive winner until these two would meet again, almost 60 years later in Godzilla vs Kong in 2021.
16. Godzilla vs SpaceGodzilla. Many people consider this the weakest of the Heisei era of films. It’s not the best. Made worse by the fact that the antagonist is literally a Godzilla with shoulder crystals. But that aside, SpaceGodzilla is actually quite a powerful foe. We are also introduced to another version of Godzilla’s son. Which although not perfect, was a huge improvement over the Showa era version. I love that the character Miki made another appearance as that psychic type character. I felt it gave the otherwise boring human characters more interesting development. Its a character she played in a total of 6 Godzilla films, starting in Godzilla vs Biollante in 1989.
15. GMK. One of the longest titles. It also established or re-established Godzilla as the true bad guy. His design was top notch too. The backstory of Godzilla being the embodiment of the restless souls of the countrymen of Godzilla’s birthplace was a great touch. It gave him a terrifying and ruthless personality. It’s also the resting place of a kaiju named Baragon who lost to Godzilla during their battle. That was sad. Weirdly enough it made King Ghidorah a good guy too. So yeah… it was a great film. One of the better entries.
14. Godzilla 2000. One of the only Toho made Godzilla films to get a theatrical release in the states. I am proud to say that I watched this in theaters and it was as cool as I remember. It did badly at the box office. But this was the first design of the Millenium era of Godzilla films. The antagonist was pretty cool too. Orga. An alien. There was a scene where Godzilla makes landfall on a beach. Anyway when the scene moves back to reveal his size, there are cars in the scene that don’t seem up to scale. When they also reveal the tanks, the tanks look smaller compared to the cars. Even though the screen pans back. Granted Godzilla was only listed at 180 feet. So he was one of the smaller Godzilla’s but the scale of the cars and tanks still seemed off. Ironic considering when I watched it in theaters, I thought the whole scene sans cars and tanks, made him look really huge. Still one of my favorites.
13. Godzilla vs King Ghidorah. One of the best Godzilla films. And in my top 13 films. The dorats were cute. Even though they were the first forms of King Ghidorah. Just everything about the film was good. King Ghidorah was at one of his most strongest forms. The backstory of Godzilla being an actual dinosaur, the fictional Godzillasaurus was a nice touch. Not very many people notice this, but there is an easter egg tacitly referencing director Steven Spielberg and ET. That was a nice touch too. Still, again one of my favorites.
12. Godzilla Final Wars. One of the most out there Godzilla films. They went all out. I mean why not? It was Godzilla’s 50th anniversary and he had finally and rightfully, earned a Hollywood Star. A star I would visit, in May 2022. It was so in your face. It was crouching tiger, hidden dragon meets Godzilla. It gave us the most OP Godzilla in the franchise’ history. Not to mention the largest Godzilla made by Toho, until 12 years later in Shin Godzilla. Also we got one of the most coolest forms of Ghidorah, Keizer Ghidorah. As I mentioned, it also gave us the most OP Godzilla. He was absolutely starching every kaiju. Including the 1998 version who he annihilated in a matter of seconds after throwing it into the Sydney Opera House and using his atomic blast to finish the one sided encounter. The biggest issue was the fact that the kaiju Ebirah, is the first and as far as I know, the only kaiju to lose outright to humans. Sure the humans were super powered or something. It also featured MMA great, Don Frye. Which was so cool. All in all a very enjoyable film.
11. Godzilla 2014. A lot of the complaints were the screen time of Godzilla and the humans. Which both have been complaints for nearly every Godzilla film. But it was an original Godzilla story and the main antagonists, although very Cloverfield-ish, were actually quite cool. Sans the humans, this Godzilla film was enjoyable. If they didn’t write off their best human character, in Bryan Cranston, this would have been higher too. He was also quite chonky. A trait he would keep for the 2 further sequels in the MonsterVerse films. An interesting side note here is that the soundtrack for this film, was made up entirely of an original score. There was none of the traditional and furthermore classic music that fans were familiar with. Which included familiar themes for Godzilla, made famous by Akira Ifukube.
10. Godzilla vs Gigan. I thoroughly enjoyed this entry. It was very campy. And like most of the films from here on out, are in the showa era and silliness and campiness were abound in the Showa era. Not much to say here. I enjoyed Gigan’ design. One of the most unique designs ever. I do prefer this design more than his re-design in Final Wars. A very enjoyable film.
9. Godzilla. The original. Where it all began. A metaphor for nuclear power. I know fans are going to groan about me not placing this at the top spot. It simply was not my favorite. Is it the best? Yeah probably. But the best and my favorite are two different things. It was very sombre and serious. It really highlighted the issues of the time, perfectly. It would be the penultimate release before Godzilla shifted to color too. While it isn’t my favorite, it remains the standard for which most films in the genre would follow. Truly a masterpiece.
8. Godzilla vs the Sea Monster. Aside from having one of the weakest if not the weakest villains of the Godzilla franchise, being a giant lobster whose biggest feat is playing rock volleyball with Godzilla, I actually liked this entry. It could have been because Ebirah, the sea monster, was not in it as much. The humans although flawed, were to me, one of the better human characters. Oh Mothra also plays a role in the film too. Although it’s interesting, in the english dubbed version at least, it refers to Mothra as a male. In all other appearances as far as I know, they refer to Mothra as a female. Which makes sense, because once her time is up, her offspring continue her lore. Still, as I said before, one of my favorites.
7. Godzilla vs Kong. The long awaited rematch. One that finally gave us a definitive, albeit a rather obvious winner. Being Kong was not enough here. No matter how much bigger he got in the years since. The first Kong film in the MonsterVerse took place during the tail end of the Vietnam war. So he had like 50 years to grow to over 330 feet. Although he has his moments, he was clearly outmatched by Godzilla. But the piece de resistance was the final battle, between Godzilla and Kong vs MechaGodzilla who is the real big bad here. They work together to defeat MechaGodzilla. It is stated by director Adam Wingard, that had Godzilla not wasted time facing off with Kong, he would have defeated MechaGodzilla with ease. But you know, plot armor. Still, it cannot be denied just how powerful MechaGodzilla is here. I really loved MechaGodzilla’s version of the atomic blast, the proton scream. He really outclasses the previous iterations of MechaGodzilla but considering he wasn’t revealed fully until the third act, it didn’t give us much character development outside of the fact King Ghidorah from KOTM, controls MechaGodzilla. Going back to the humans, the human characters were meh but this is also a recurring theme with the human characters too in just about every Godzilla film. One of the coolest scenes is when Godzilla and Kong are duking it out in china, as Kong is swinging through the buildings and he gets grazed by Godzilla’s atomic breath and after Kong crashes to the ground, Godzilla laughs. So I’m glad we can finally put to rest the debate on who really won in 1962 & 2021.
6. Shin Godzilla. The God Incarnate as one character so beautifully put it. It was the first Toho Godzilla since 2004’s Godzilla Final Wars. And until King of the Monsters, in 2019 was the largest none anime Godzilla in the films. It gave us yet another redesign. He looked very scary. And gave us one of the most powerful atomic blasts. It was also utilized through his dorsal spines and tail. The score during those scenes were so haunting and sombre and really fit the atmosphere. The song is Who Will Know, by Shiro Sagisu. There was also humanoids in his tail that got frozen after Godzilla was frozen. Which, obviously was extremely cool and frightening. But it was also outside the box and creative. Were it not for his cooldown period after using his signature ability and the fact that he was extremely slow he could have been even more powerful. Plus the fact that the lore centering around Shin, was going to make Shin the most scarily OP Godzilla ever, we are left befuddled at what could have been. But alas it never came to be. Oh well.
5. Godzilla vs Hedorah. This was one of the trippiest films in the series. Fans would be wondering why I put this one near the top. Again, because I enjoyed it. It may not be the best film in the series, but it is in my top 5 favorites. I just enjoyed it. Plus the design of the villain, was unique and cool. It was sludge. A simple design and a simple payoff.
4. Godzilla vs Destoroyah. The final film in the Heisei era. Arguably the most OP Godzilla of this era. It was known as the burning Godzilla. He was a literal nuclear reactor entering his nuclear fission phase. In layman’s terms, he was the ultimate doom. But his rival, Destoroyah was the embodiment of evil. His design was done extremely well and it gave me nightmares. Outside of Ghidorah, Destoroyah was without doubt his toughest foe. It brought an emotional end to that Godzilla, and Godzilla junior became the “new” Godzilla. Albeit after some plot armor bringing him back as he had sadly passed earlier. Still, one of the better temporary sendoffs in the franchise. Simply put, well done.
3. Godzilla, King of the Monsters. The sequel to the 2014 Godzilla. Godzilla was given a slight dorsal spine redesign which was explained in the prequel graphic novel. It brings Mothra, Rodan and King Ghidorah as well as a group of new kaiju into the Monsterverse era. If the Ghidorah from the anime Godzilla film wasn’t so OP, this Ghidorah could have very well been the most powerful. I loved this sequel. I also learned that during the final battle, when Godzilla ran at King Ghidorah, he was running at 200mph. Scary. Through Mothra, Godzilla entered the absolute OP nuclear pulse phase of which annihilated King Ghidorah. It didn’t do too well with critics. But it did well with Godzilla fans. I enjoyed it too. It also marks a return of the classic theme songs of Godzilla made famous by Akira Ifukube, though slightly updated to the standards of today. Which was a huge upside compared to the 2014 Godzilla film which lacked that particular classic feel.
2. Godzilla vs Biollante. This was a difficult choice. But still, this one was very good. It featured an original and tragic kaiju story. Its lore and design were near perfection. It was one of the first films of the series I watched. I also got it as a Christmas present. The VHS version. Not much else needs to be said. My second favorite Godzilla film and one that I still watch to this day.
1. Ghidorah, the Three Headed Monster. And this, is my favorite Godzilla film. Of. All. Time. It introduced the fans to Ghidorah as well as Rodan. Mothra is also important as well as the twins that speak for Mothra. I absolutely loved this entry. It was so enjoyable. There is also a little backstory as to how I first got introduced to this film and franchise. It was in a clear basket at the dump. The VHS tape was just sitting there. It just proved that in the trash, you can still find treasure and a treasure indeed is what I found. So that was my literal introduction to the series. Not glamorous but it was indeed an important factor. This will remain my favorite film of the series for a long time. A new Godzilla film is on the horizon. If everything goes as planned, it should be released sometime in March 2024. Regardless, Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster, is my all time favorite. It will be very difficult to top.
I will say this, one thing that the films fail to do is present just how powerful Godzilla is. With the comics, they go into depth with the lore and history of Godzilla. Read the IDW comics for Godzilla for instance, particularly the Rage Across Time set of comics. Anyhow, I do hope you enjoyed my rankings of all of the Godzilla films. 🙂
36. Godzilla 98. This movie was no Godzilla film. It stunk. Obviously much of the criticism was at the name. It looked nothing like Godzilla. The thing is aside from the bland human characters this movie… well was still horrible. The fact that it lost it’s “God” moniker in the east AND the west is a testament to how bad it truly was. Weaker still was that he actually loses to a bunch of helicopters, which any fan of the series knows, just doesn’t happen to an actual Godzilla. The animated series followup did a better job, because it introduced other kaiju for Zilla to face. The bar was still low. So it means very little. But Godzilla fans rejoice, Zilla gets annihilated in one of the succeeding entries…
35. All Monsters Atk. The worst Godzilla movie of all time. Sorry, I’m not counting the Zilla entry from before. I know effects were limited back then, but Godzilla’s son was just the absolute worst design. Ever.
34. Son of Godzilla. And speaking of which, what in the world was this? Completely horrible. One of the worst entries.
33. Destroy all Monsters. Not the worst. But you would think with the amount of kaiju’s featured here they would not still have to rely on footage from other G films to show kaijus battling. Especially scenes with Ghidorah.
32. Terror of MechaGodzilla. Not a bad entry. Just not very good. I do like Titanosaurus’ design. But he was not a very durable kaiju. I wish they used Titanosaurus in more films though.
31. Godzilla raids Again. The second entry in the long lasting series. It was still not in color. It would be the final film not to be in color. It was also the first to feature another kaiju for Godzilla to face, which was called Anguirus, and it would become a staple for nearly every Godzilla film to follow.
30. Godzilla vs Megalon. I actually liked the design of Megalon. A giant beetle. But the film just did not do a great job introducing this character. Not a bad entry. But mediocre at best. I was not a fan of Jet Jaguar at first, but I ended up enjoying his inclusion. Plus his theme song is as people these days say, absolutely lit. It also gave us what is in my opinion the greatest moment in Godzilla film history. The famous Godzilla dropkick to Megalon while Jet Jaguar held him. It was so good, that they did it a second time. Literally the same clip played again. It was the greatest moment ever.
29. Godzilla: Planet of Monsters. As the first entry in the series in anime form, I gotta say, it was not very good. Not much else to say.
28. Godzilla, City on the Edge of Battle… As the second film in the anime series of films, again not very good. I wish they had done a better job considering they could have had something special here. But it falls flat. Like a soda without carbonation.
27. Godzilla 1984. Or 1985 in the US. I would have expected to place the 3rd and final anime Godzilla film here, but this entry felt less enjoyable. This was one of the few films that did not feature another kaiju for Godzilla and that keeps the ranking low. It was the typical Godzilla vs the humans thing. His design began what is in my opinion, the most intimidating versions of Godzilla. This film ushered in what would be called the Heisei era of Godzilla films.
26. Godzilla: the Planet Eater. The 3rd and final film in the anime Godzilla trilogy. Certainly the best of the 3 films. But the bar was set pretty low after the first film. So that’s not saying much. It has arguably the most powerful version of Godzilla and the most powerful version of Ghidorah, bar none.
25. Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla. The first to feature the pretty cool, MechaGodzilla. It also introduces the new King Caesar kaiju. Which looks like the mythical lion dogs of Okinawan culture. He did have a very nice theme song that was sung by some woman. I liked both of their designs. The film was, ok I guess. Certainly a lot better than some others.
24. Mothra vs Godzilla. The first to feature the long lasting, Mothra. It was not my favorite to feature her. But considering this film was the 4th in the series, she would grow as a kaiju character and certainly a fan favorite.
23. Godzilla vs Megaguirus. One of the most scientific entries in the series. It was a rather subpar entry. However it gave fans the most OP feat Godzilla ever accomplished. At least within film canon. He not only survived a black hole, but he survived it virtually unscathed. That is without doubt the coolest thing ever.
22. Invasion of Astro Monster. The second film in the series to feature Ghidorah. Probably one of my least favorite films featuring Ghidorah. Being Godzilla’s most frequent foe aside from on again, off again friend and enemy, Mothra, it was one of the weaker entries.
21. Godzilla vs Mothra. Not to be confused with Mothra vs Godzilla. This was the Heisei era of the matchup. Only this time we are introduced to Battra. It was not a very interesting kaiju. I was not a fan of the environmental tone the plot took. Because it came off too preachy. Which I don’t like. Especially in a Godzilla film. Still a rather enjoyable entry.
20. Godzilla against MechaGodzilla. Another entry where MechaGodzilla is considered a good guy. One of the better films to feature MechaGodzilla despite looking nearly identical to the previous iterations, just modernized to the time. Much like other films in the series, this entry completely ignores previous canon established in the earlier films and picks up right after the original 1954 film.
19. Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. It was probably my favorite film to feature MechaGodzilla. Until 2021. Mainly because it establishes MechaGodzilla as a good guy. Which I liked. It also features kaiju staple, Mothra.
18. Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla II. Perhaps the best film to feature MechaGodzilla until Godzilla vs Kong, some 28 years later. It also gave us Rodan. Which much the same way Mothra powered up Godzilla in Godzilla king of the Monsters in 2019, he powered up Godzilla too. Which was pretty cool.
17. King Kong vs Godzilla. The heavyweight matchup of the Showa era. The weird thing is, the showdown wasn’t all that great. You can chalk it up to the era of special effects. If I’m not mistaken, there is a scene where it just looks like two hand puppets arguing. And one that is immortalized in Gifs, as Godzilla dancing on a hill. Which was funny. The tree bit, is one of the best moments in the franchise. Second or third only to the jumping Godzilla bit and the famous dropkick scene from Godzilla vs Megalon. The result was not clear and the ending was left with a little bit of ambiguity. Despite this, we see Kong resurface after their battle in the water and we don’t see Godzilla again. So people seem to think that decides things. But considering Godzilla is amphibious I find it hard to believe he “lost”. Alas there was a myth regarding two endings. But that is just not true. On a side note, it was first for both characters to be in color. So that was cool. But this feud would not have a definitive winner until these two would meet again, almost 60 years later in Godzilla vs Kong in 2021.
16. Godzilla vs SpaceGodzilla. Many people consider this the weakest of the Heisei era of films. It’s not the best. Made worse by the fact that the antagonist is literally a Godzilla with shoulder crystals. But that aside, SpaceGodzilla is actually quite a powerful foe. We are also introduced to another version of Godzilla’s son. Which although not perfect, was a huge improvement over the Showa era version. I love that the character Miki made another appearance as that psychic type character. I felt it gave the otherwise boring human characters more interesting development. Its a character she played in a total of 6 Godzilla films, starting in Godzilla vs Biollante in 1989.
15. GMK. One of the longest titles. It also established or re-established Godzilla as the true bad guy. His design was top notch too. The backstory of Godzilla being the embodiment of the restless souls of the countrymen of Godzilla’s birthplace was a great touch. It gave him a terrifying and ruthless personality. It’s also the resting place of a kaiju named Baragon who lost to Godzilla during their battle. That was sad. Weirdly enough it made King Ghidorah a good guy too. So yeah… it was a great film. One of the better entries.
14. Godzilla 2000. One of the only Toho made Godzilla films to get a theatrical release in the states. I am proud to say that I watched this in theaters and it was as cool as I remember. It did badly at the box office. But this was the first design of the Millenium era of Godzilla films. The antagonist was pretty cool too. Orga. An alien. There was a scene where Godzilla makes landfall on a beach. Anyway when the scene moves back to reveal his size, there are cars in the scene that don’t seem up to scale. When they also reveal the tanks, the tanks look smaller compared to the cars. Even though the screen pans back. Granted Godzilla was only listed at 180 feet. So he was one of the smaller Godzilla’s but the scale of the cars and tanks still seemed off. Ironic considering when I watched it in theaters, I thought the whole scene sans cars and tanks, made him look really huge. Still one of my favorites.
13. Godzilla vs King Ghidorah. One of the best Godzilla films. And in my top 13 films. The dorats were cute. Even though they were the first forms of King Ghidorah. Just everything about the film was good. King Ghidorah was at one of his most strongest forms. The backstory of Godzilla being an actual dinosaur, the fictional Godzillasaurus was a nice touch. Not very many people notice this, but there is an easter egg tacitly referencing director Steven Spielberg and ET. That was a nice touch too. Still, again one of my favorites.
12. Godzilla Final Wars. One of the most out there Godzilla films. They went all out. I mean why not? It was Godzilla’s 50th anniversary and he had finally and rightfully, earned a Hollywood Star. A star I would visit, in May 2022. It was so in your face. It was crouching tiger, hidden dragon meets Godzilla. It gave us the most OP Godzilla in the franchise’ history. Not to mention the largest Godzilla made by Toho, until 12 years later in Shin Godzilla. Also we got one of the most coolest forms of Ghidorah, Keizer Ghidorah. As I mentioned, it also gave us the most OP Godzilla. He was absolutely starching every kaiju. Including the 1998 version who he annihilated in a matter of seconds after throwing it into the Sydney Opera House and using his atomic blast to finish the one sided encounter. The biggest issue was the fact that the kaiju Ebirah, is the first and as far as I know, the only kaiju to lose outright to humans. Sure the humans were super powered or something. It also featured MMA great, Don Frye. Which was so cool. All in all a very enjoyable film.
11. Godzilla 2014. A lot of the complaints were the screen time of Godzilla and the humans. Which both have been complaints for nearly every Godzilla film. But it was an original Godzilla story and the main antagonists, although very Cloverfield-ish, were actually quite cool. Sans the humans, this Godzilla film was enjoyable. If they didn’t write off their best human character, in Bryan Cranston, this would have been higher too. He was also quite chonky. A trait he would keep for the 2 further sequels in the MonsterVerse films. An interesting side note here is that the soundtrack for this film, was made up entirely of an original score. There was none of the traditional and furthermore classic music that fans were familiar with. Which included familiar themes for Godzilla, made famous by Akira Ifukube.
10. Godzilla vs Gigan. I thoroughly enjoyed this entry. It was very campy. And like most of the films from here on out, are in the showa era and silliness and campiness were abound in the Showa era. Not much to say here. I enjoyed Gigan’ design. One of the most unique designs ever. I do prefer this design more than his re-design in Final Wars. A very enjoyable film.
9. Godzilla. The original. Where it all began. A metaphor for nuclear power. I know fans are going to groan about me not placing this at the top spot. It simply was not my favorite. Is it the best? Yeah probably. But the best and my favorite are two different things. It was very sombre and serious. It really highlighted the issues of the time, perfectly. It would be the penultimate release before Godzilla shifted to color too. While it isn’t my favorite, it remains the standard for which most films in the genre would follow. Truly a masterpiece.
8. Godzilla vs the Sea Monster. Aside from having one of the weakest if not the weakest villains of the Godzilla franchise, being a giant lobster whose biggest feat is playing rock volleyball with Godzilla, I actually liked this entry. It could have been because Ebirah, the sea monster, was not in it as much. The humans although flawed, were to me, one of the better human characters. Oh Mothra also plays a role in the film too. Although it’s interesting, in the english dubbed version at least, it refers to Mothra as a male. In all other appearances as far as I know, they refer to Mothra as a female. Which makes sense, because once her time is up, her offspring continue her lore. Still, as I said before, one of my favorites.
7. Godzilla vs Kong. The long awaited rematch. One that finally gave us a definitive, albeit a rather obvious winner. Being Kong was not enough here. No matter how much bigger he got in the years since. The first Kong film in the MonsterVerse took place during the tail end of the Vietnam war. So he had like 50 years to grow to over 330 feet. Although he has his moments, he was clearly outmatched by Godzilla. But the piece de resistance was the final battle, between Godzilla and Kong vs MechaGodzilla who is the real big bad here. They work together to defeat MechaGodzilla. It is stated by director Adam Wingard, that had Godzilla not wasted time facing off with Kong, he would have defeated MechaGodzilla with ease. But you know, plot armor. Still, it cannot be denied just how powerful MechaGodzilla is here. I really loved MechaGodzilla’s version of the atomic blast, the proton scream. He really outclasses the previous iterations of MechaGodzilla but considering he wasn’t revealed fully until the third act, it didn’t give us much character development outside of the fact King Ghidorah from KOTM, controls MechaGodzilla. Going back to the humans, the human characters were meh but this is also a recurring theme with the human characters too in just about every Godzilla film. One of the coolest scenes is when Godzilla and Kong are duking it out in china, as Kong is swinging through the buildings and he gets grazed by Godzilla’s atomic breath and after Kong crashes to the ground, Godzilla laughs. So I’m glad we can finally put to rest the debate on who really won in 1962 & 2021.
6. Shin Godzilla. The God Incarnate as one character so beautifully put it. It was the first Toho Godzilla since 2004’s Godzilla Final Wars. And until King of the Monsters, in 2019 was the largest none anime Godzilla in the films. It gave us yet another redesign. He looked very scary. And gave us one of the most powerful atomic blasts. It was also utilized through his dorsal spines and tail. The score during those scenes were so haunting and sombre and really fit the atmosphere. The song is Who Will Know, by Shiro Sagisu. There was also humanoids in his tail that got frozen after Godzilla was frozen. Which, obviously was extremely cool and frightening. But it was also outside the box and creative. Were it not for his cooldown period after using his signature ability and the fact that he was extremely slow he could have been even more powerful. Plus the fact that the lore centering around Shin, was going to make Shin the most scarily OP Godzilla ever, we are left befuddled at what could have been. But alas it never came to be. Oh well.
5. Godzilla vs Hedorah. This was one of the trippiest films in the series. Fans would be wondering why I put this one near the top. Again, because I enjoyed it. It may not be the best film in the series, but it is in my top 5 favorites. I just enjoyed it. Plus the design of the villain, was unique and cool. It was sludge. A simple design and a simple payoff.
4. Godzilla vs Destoroyah. The final film in the Heisei era. Arguably the most OP Godzilla of this era. It was known as the burning Godzilla. He was a literal nuclear reactor entering his nuclear fission phase. In layman’s terms, he was the ultimate doom. But his rival, Destoroyah was the embodiment of evil. His design was done extremely well and it gave me nightmares. Outside of Ghidorah, Destoroyah was without doubt his toughest foe. It brought an emotional end to that Godzilla, and Godzilla junior became the “new” Godzilla. Albeit after some plot armor bringing him back as he had sadly passed earlier. Still, one of the better temporary sendoffs in the franchise. Simply put, well done.
3. Godzilla, King of the Monsters. The sequel to the 2014 Godzilla. Godzilla was given a slight dorsal spine redesign which was explained in the prequel graphic novel. It brings Mothra, Rodan and King Ghidorah as well as a group of new kaiju into the Monsterverse era. If the Ghidorah from the anime Godzilla film wasn’t so OP, this Ghidorah could have very well been the most powerful. I loved this sequel. I also learned that during the final battle, when Godzilla ran at King Ghidorah, he was running at 200mph. Scary. Through Mothra, Godzilla entered the absolute OP nuclear pulse phase of which annihilated King Ghidorah. It didn’t do too well with critics. But it did well with Godzilla fans. I enjoyed it too. It also marks a return of the classic theme songs of Godzilla made famous by Akira Ifukube, though slightly updated to the standards of today. Which was a huge upside compared to the 2014 Godzilla film which lacked that particular classic feel.
2. Godzilla vs Biollante. This was a difficult choice. But still, this one was very good. It featured an original and tragic kaiju story. Its lore and design were near perfection. It was one of the first films of the series I watched. I also got it as a Christmas present. The VHS version. Not much else needs to be said. My second favorite Godzilla film and one that I still watch to this day.
1. Ghidorah, the Three Headed Monster. And this, is my favorite Godzilla film. Of. All. Time. It introduced the fans to Ghidorah as well as Rodan. Mothra is also important as well as the twins that speak for Mothra. I absolutely loved this entry. It was so enjoyable. There is also a little backstory as to how I first got introduced to this film and franchise. It was in a clear basket at the dump. The VHS tape was just sitting there. It just proved that in the trash, you can still find treasure and a treasure indeed is what I found. So that was my literal introduction to the series. Not glamorous but it was indeed an important factor. This will remain my favorite film of the series for a long time. A new Godzilla film is on the horizon. If everything goes as planned, it should be released sometime in March 2024. Regardless, Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster, is my all time favorite. It will be very difficult to top.
I will say this, one thing that the films fail to do is present just how powerful Godzilla is. With the comics, they go into depth with the lore and history of Godzilla. Read the IDW comics for Godzilla for instance, particularly the Rage Across Time set of comics. Anyhow, I do hope you enjoyed my rankings of all of the Godzilla films. 🙂
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