Ranking the Heisei Films

[Irish Gfan]

[BruceAReville]

I'm Going To Copy-Cat Again

Godzilla 1984 (American Version Is Completely Different For Japanese)
7) Godzilla Mothra Battle For The Earth
6) Godzilla vs Space Godzilla
5) Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla 2
4) Godzilla vs King Ghidorah
3) Return of Godzilla (AKA Godzilla 1984 Japanese Original)
2) Godzilla vs Destroyah
1) Godzilla vs Biollante

[MekaGojira3k]

1. Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)
2. Godzilla (1984)
3. Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla (1993)
4. Godzilla vs Destroyah (1995)
5. Godzilla vs Mothra (1992)
6. Godzilla vs King Ghidorah (1991)
7. Godzilla vs SpaceGodzilla (1994)

that's mine.

[Giganfan]

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah - The time-travelling fubar notwithstanding, this is one of the best Godzilla movies ever. Bad occidental actors are the norm in these films. Deal with it.

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla - Okawara got a simple story from screenwriter, Mimura and he made just that. A light-weight, daikaiju epic with a touching climax.

Godzilla vs. Biollante - To this day, I'll contend that Kazuki Omori was one of the top directors of the Godzilla movies, even if he didn't particularly like the genre. The story was inventive, the characters, interesting (most of them, anyway) and it features not only some of the best effects work of any Godzilla movie (this is Kawakita's masterpiece), but one of the most original and frightening opponents the Big Guy has ever faced.

Godzilla vs. Mothra - Unjustly underrated. Sure the effects work is lacking in many areas, and the Indiana Jones-laden opening is lame, but other than that, I think this is a pretty solid movie. The characters aren't particularly annoying, and they're all given enough to do before the final kaiju fight. It also includes one of Akira Ifukube's very best scores for any Godzilla movie.

Godzilla vs. Destroyah - Considering the fact that this was the film where "Godzilla Dies!" as was so loudly proclaimed, it had a lot to live up to. And when contrasting the pros and cons, I think it lived up to the hype, atleast partially. Like Godzilla vs. Mothra, it has its flaws, but it's still a well-rounded story. And Ifukube once again delivers a first-class score. Godzilla's rampage on Hong Kong was the perfect way to start the movie.

Godzilla 1985 - I just recently watched this movie, and it gave me a completely different perspective than what I had previously about it. Despite the enormous amount of sentiment I have for Godzilla 1985 (it was the first film I can ever remember seeing when I was little), this has to be one of the worst Godzilla movies ever made. And I'm talking about the Japanese version too, because the U.S. release goes without saying. The story is paper-thin, most of the acting is weak and you don't really care about any of the principal characters (the Prime Minister and Dr. Hayashida are cool though). And why does the Prime Minister cry when Godzilla falls into the volcano? It has to be the cheesiest moment of any Godzilla movie. I feel terrible now, because this film created so many happy childhood moments for me.

Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla - I used to damn this film as the absolute worst of the entire series. I still feel the same way, but the truth of the matter is I don't hate any Godzilla movie, and this one has plenty to offer. Spacegodzilla is a bad-ass foe, MOGERA is alot cooler than most fans give him credit, and Godzilla looks the best that he's ever looked. The final battle is probably about as long as the one in GvsMG, but the only difference is in who was directing the film. Okawara made him film seem like a breeze, while Kensho Yamashita's work just comes off as a hassle. The main problem with this movie is that it has more story packed into it than any other Godzilla movie, and more than it really needs. You have the Japanese mafia, Fairy Mothra, the Cosmos, Little Godzilla's ugly-ass, T-Project, MOGERA splitting in two, Yuki hates Godzilla, Shindo likes Miki, Miki has telekinesis all of a sudden, etc. etc. etc. I don't condemn a film for having so many story elements, but this one is justa mess.

[MekaGojira3k]

[Andrew Nguyen]

1. Godzilla vs Biollante
2. Return of Godzilla
3. Godzilla vs Mecha-Godzilla
4. Godzilla vs King-Ghidorah
5. Godzilla vs Destroyer
6. Godzilla vs Space-Godzilla
7. Godzilla vs Mothra

[Brick Side]

Worst to First:

-G vs SpaceG- Honestly, I do like this film. It's rather stupid, sure, but the final battle is fun to watch.

-G vs MG- The Godzilla/Rodan battle at the beginning is one of the stronger moments in the series for me. Unfortuantely Mecha-Godzilla doesn't have many parts where it does nothing more than just stands there. The secondary-brain idea was kinda odd, but I liked how the whole plot centered around Baby Godzilla.

-G vs Mothra- Sadly I remember this film more as the one when they gave Godzilla his Showa-style roar back, and when they changed the sound effect for his beam. Regardless, the battles were great to watch, but it felt like there was such a long stretch between the two fights. Plus the little kid annoyed me... especially her dubbed voice. Ugh...

-G vs KG- I didn't even know this existed until I saw a report on NBC about Godzilla's return in the American version. While the whole time traveling thing can be confusing, I liked how after the fight with KG the first time, the story just completely shifts from bringing Godzilla back to stopping him. It was also odd to see KG go from bad to good, but I enjoyed the battles.

-G1985- I say 1985 and not the Return of Godzilla because unlike many, I actually find the American version superior in terms of pacing and overall story due to moving scenes around. I always found the music to be particularly effective. Even though I am not too fond of the American added scenes (only one of them really worked and that's when the general was talking to the PM's assistant about firing a counter-missle), to me this is an underrated film. And before anyone asks, yes, after watching the Japanese versions of most of the films lately this is the only one where I think the American version is better.

-G vs Bio- One of the more unique entries in the series due to how it was brought about, and the story itself. Biollante is perhaps the best looking monster in the series, I think. Stand-out moments for me is part 2 of both the Biollante fight and the Super-X2 fight.

-G vs Destroyah- I think this was the favorite of many in the Hesei series. The fact that Destroyah was born from the only weapon effective against Godzilla is a very interesting plot point, as is the fact that Godzilla is melting down. Destroyah is demonic, and if there were still any believers as to Godzilla being an abusive parent like he was in the Showa films, it had to have been put to rest with this film. Godzilla's death is one of the more well-done scenes in the whole series.

[Jon Leo]

Godzilla vs. Biollante- 9/10
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah- 7/10
Godzilla vs. Mothra- 6/10
The Return of Godzilla- 5/10
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla 2- 5/10
Godzilla vs. Destroyah- 4/10
Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla- 3/10


Would have ranked Return of Godzilla higher in the past, and certainly ahead of Godzilla vs. Mothra, but I've really started to notice just how boring and sloppy it is.

[goji4ever]

7) Godzilla vs Space Godzilla ---- the baby godzilla that was so expertly introduced in g vs mechag is updated for the worst. The movie feels as if Mothra is present the whole time with its focus on Miki and her wing like ears. Moguera is terrible as an "advancement" from mecha-g. Major kudos to the crew for tying this movie in to events and characters from other Hesei movies (despite g vs king ghidorah messing continuity up).

6) Godzilla Mothra Battle For The Earth ----- mothra the godzilla slayer returns yet again and relegates godzilla to second banana status...the sound of godzillas roar, footsteps, and beam has been changed for the worst.

5) Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla 2 -------horrible effort in bringing rodan to the new series, turning him into a punching bag for godzilla and mecha-g is sinful. The tail of the godzilla suit is awful.....the baby godzilla is expertly done in this movie. The human aspect of the story is very enjoyable, funny at times (well except for the awful "americans")...lots of action and plenty of destruction..the "death ray" is a great addition.

4) Godzilla vs King Ghidorah ----- time travel, king ghidorah, new origin for godzilla, android m-11, godzilla walking by cows (something about godzilla being contrasted with other animlas)...the movie has everything, and if that werent enough they introduce mecha king ghidorah...fun movie

3) Godzilla vs Destroyah ------a great movie.... the plot becomes the primary driving force for the story rather than the anticipated monster battle. Destroyah is a great monster as well, the battle is tense as you constantly see the monster inflict great damage to godzilla, to destroyahs credit he manages to also break godzillas momentum during various parts of the battle. Godzillas death is genuinely moving.
The film finally makes it perfectly clear that Miki is a traitorous cow, her manipulation of Jr sends him to his eventual death. Her "our job is done now godzilla" phrase always makes me sick to my stomach. Miki is the true villain of the Hesei series, the palpatine responsible for many of the horrible things that happen to godzilla....one of the milestones of the series


2) Godzilla 1985 -----my first godzilla movie, human characters are likeable...lots of great destruction, godzilla hunting the super x shows his malice, gojis beam disintegrates people, martins' speech at the end was a good closing


1) Godzilla vs Biollante -------my favorite goji-suit, best roar, great military combat sequences, miki acts normal (if you notice her ears are smaller, methinks they got bigger each time she betrayed godzilla)....visually this is my one of my favorites from the whole series, godzilla battling during a storm just ramps up the atmosphere. Lastly Biollante was an inspired creation.

[kiryugoji04]

1. Godzilla 1985
2. Godzilla vs. Biollante
3. Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla
4. Godzilla vs. Mothra
5. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla
6. Godzilla vs. Destoroyah
7. Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah

Yeah, I know I'm a backwards kind of guy with this series. Yes, I do enjooy Spacegodzilla more than Ghidorah and Destoroyah, though I'm beginning to warm up to this series more lately. But one thing is still the same: the 80s films are great but then the 90s turned into one big snoozefest.

[briizilla]

[Benjamin Haines]

[DannyBeane]

[godziwolf]

[Benjamin Haines]

[Tiburon]

[swfreakjpb]

[planetxleader]

[Giganfan]

Godzilla was balooned to 100 meters tall in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah which is why some of the minatures look less than spectacular. And the final scene where Mecha King Ghidorah and Godzilla fly off, and fall into the ocean is particularly bad. But other than that, "PXL" I've always felt that the effects work in this movie was very good. Kawakita's down-fall came with the next movie, which is unfortunate because the concepts for many of the battle scenes in Godzilla vs. Mothra were very incredible.

[Benjamin Haines]

[Gooberzilla]

[jellydonut25]

[MouthForWar]

[Giganfan]

I just watched Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla not one week, ago, and considering that it has always been one of my favorite Godzilla movies (atleast, one of my top Heisei films), I was surprised at how well it held up. It is a straight-forward, rousing and very entertaining Godzilla film, which is light on the subtext, and perfectly heavy on the entertainment, and all of the right emotions. The characters are all likeable, The story is well-rounded and Akira Ifukube delivers one of his very finest scores for the series. Takao Okawara is the ultimate popcorn director of Godzilla movies, and his legacy is secured with this, his masterpiece of the series. But the real credit has to go to Koichi Kawakita, who has, atleast in my opinion, received a fair amount of discredit for his later work in the Heisei Godzilla series. Kawakita is an old-school, pro who started out in the business when Eiji Tsuburaya was lord-and-master of tokusatsu. He had great faith in the tried and true methods, and worked hard to achieve the best, possible result with each film. Sure, he did have a few embarassing mishaps along the way, but those sort of things come with the territory. Miniatures and suitmation are not always going to look realistic, and he understands that. Anyway, Kawakita's work in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla is some of his best, mainly because the story catered so perfectly to his strengths as a tokusatsu master.

[canofhumdingers]