With over 30 movies in the franchise, Godzilla films run the gamut from philosophical and haunting to ludicrously over the top. Like any large franchise that has lasted for a significant amount of time, Godzilla has gone through several different adaptations and remakes. The first phase is commonly known as the Showa era and covers the 15 titles released between 1954 and 1975. The second phase is called the Heisei era and consists of seven titles released between 1984 and 1995. The third phase is the Millennium era which covers the six titles released between 1999 and 2004. Then, there are the multiple reboots, both Japanese and American, and the three-part Netflix series. To simplify matters here is a ranked list of the existing films.
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36 All Monsters Attack
Toho
All Monsters Attack was designed with children in mind and feels like a very special episode of the Godzilla series. Bullied young Ichiro dream travels to Monster Island where he meets Minilla (Godzilla’s son) who is being bullied by the ogre Gabara. Ichiro helps Minilla deal with Gabara and gains the courage to face his own bullies. The character of Minilla is not well received and the special effects on this one are particularly bad.
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35 Godzilla vs. Megalon
This film was the product of a design competition among Japanese schoolchildren that resulted in the creation of Jet Jaguar. An underwater race get sick of the nuclear testing in the area and unleashed the monster, Megalon. Godzilla and robot superhero Jet Jaguar team up to deal with him. The character Megalon was not well-liked and the monster fights are visually quite dull.
34 Son of Godzilla
Scientists are working on a giant weather control system on an island filled with giant insects. They find an egg that hatches, revealing a baby Godzilla. The adult Godzilla eventually shows up to defend his offspring from the island’s creatures. This film introduced Minilla who is not a well-received character and the movie suffers because of it.
33 Ebirah: Horror of the Deep
While part of the first wave this film works best as a stand-alone. Terrorists have been kidnapping the residents of Mothra’s Island to manufacture heavy water for them. An encounter with Ebirah, a giant lobster monster, shipwrecks them on the island where they accidentally wake Godzilla up. Ebirah is not the best antagonist but the monster fights are not too bad on this one.
32 Godzilla vs. Gigan
This film is the last one that has Haruo Nakajima, the original Godzilla, wearing the suit. Aliens disguised as humans are planning to use Ghidorah and Gigan, an alien cyborg dragon combo, to destroy humanity Godzilla and his friend Anguirius must fight them off. Gigan is a fun monster but the storyline on this one is confusing at best.
31 Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla
Godzilla’s cells are exposed to energy from a black hole which creates Space Godzilla. The government sends giant Mecha’s to deal with SpaceGodzilla but they are defeated. Shortly after, Godzilla is defeated and the two must team up to defeat SpaceGodzilla. This results in a film that isn’t particularly bad but it feels like a copy of several of the films that came before.
30 Godzilla (1998)
Centropolis Entertainment
Hollywood’s first attempt at a Godzilla movie. This film featured a Godzilla that is the result of irradiated iguanas. The end result is a movie that feels more like a Jurassic Park spin-off than a Godzilla movie. The movie was heavily criticized, in a large part for how different this Godzilla was.
29 Godzilla Raids Again
Arguably not a Godzilla movie as the film specifies that this is not the same creature awakened in the first Godzilla movie but another similar one. The American edition called this creature “Gigantis” and replaced Godzilla’s signature roar with Anguriurs’ roar to further differentiate it. This film introduced the fan-favorite Anguirus but that’s the only notable thing it did.
28 King Kong vs. Godzilla
Godzilla thaws out and heads to Fuji looking for trouble. Meanwhile, King Kong has been taken by a movie mogul and is being transported to Japan. The two collide partway and have it out. The special effects on King Kong vs Godzilla are particularly bad especially when it comes to Kong’s suit.
27 Invasion of the Astro Monster
The residents of a planet only known as Planet X ask Earth to borrow Godzilla and Rodan to fight King Ghidorah who is threatening their planet. Earth agrees and Planet X mind controls the kaiju into attacking Earth. One of the crazier more convoluted entries on this list.
26 Destroy All Monsters
The giant monster bash film. All the monsters have been safely deposited on monster Island. That is until aliens break them out unleash them on Earth. Lots of monster battles and not much else
25 Terror of Mechagodzilla
Interpol searches for the remnants of Mechagodzilla and runs into the sea monster Titanosaurus. Titanosaurus was created by a scientist who wanted to destroy the Earth. Godzilla must battle will Titanosaurus and the newly rebuilt Mechagodzilla. The kaiju battles are subpar but this is one of the franchises’ better attempts at injecting some human drama into the franchise.
24 Godzilla vs. Hedorah
An alien microbe melds with pollution to form the giant sludge monster, Hedorah. The creature goes through a series of evolutions to reach a form that can even defeat Godzilla. Earth’s scientists must find a way to weaken him so Godzilla can defeat him. The resulting film is trippy but entertaining
23 Godzilla: City On The Edge of Battle
Toho Animation
Number two of the Netflix Godzilla trilogy. The humans who have returned to earth join with the descendants of the humans who have remained on earth who are living in Mechagodzilla city. The slowest of the Netflix series. This film promised to reinvent Mechagodzilla with disappointing consequences.
22 Godzilla: The Planet Eater
Number three of the Netflix Godzilla trilogy. In a desperate attempt to deal with Godzilla, a cult summons their god, Ghidorah, to deal with him. Some impressive monster battles but all in all the monster fights left something to be desired.
21 Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters
Post-Apocalyptic Godzilla. Humanity had fled Godzilla’s rampage on earth to another planet but the planet proved uninhabitable. Now, humanity must return to an earth that is greatly changed from being inhabited by Godzilla. Has good ideas and some great shots but boring, flat characters drag the story down.
20 Godzilla (2014)
Legendary Pictures
Hollywood’s next attempt. Uranium and nuclear testing wake monsters who go on a rampage The only hope is Godzilla who has been subdued in what the US passed off as the 1945 atomic tests. Godzilla (2014) isn’t bad, but the fog and lighting often make it hard to tell what’s going on and the use of the 1945 tests probably wasn’t the best idea.
19 Godzilla Final Wars
It’s the year 2044 and the Earth Defense Force is spent fighting the various Kaiju rampaging earth. Things get worse when aliens come to earth and mind controls the Kaiju. The Earth Defense Force’s only hope is to awaken Godzilla. This film was the last in the millennium error and director Ryuhei Kitamura wanted to go out with a bang and it shows.
18 Godzilla Tokyo SOS
Godzilla is returning to Earth and scientists are prepping by repairing Mechagodzilla. Mothra warns against this as this is not gone well. However, when Godzilla defeats Mothra, Mechagodzilla is sent in. The plot is not original but the monster battles are pretty good
17 Godzilla (2000)
This film ignores all films since the original film. Godzilla is a literal force of nature in this movie with a Godzilla prediction force quite similar to a tornado warning force. The prediction shows that Godzilla will be returning soon. Aliens rise from the pacific and harvest Godzilla’s DNA to create the monster Orga to fight Godzilla. The plot is fine but fights are average and Orga is a forgettable antagonist
