Ranking the ENTIRE series...

[Legion]

I had seen all the Heisei films by the time I was 16, and went through a period where I thought they were the best Godzilla films, period. This is especially true of Biollante through Mechagodzilla and Destroyah. I thought these films were perfect, and I preferred them over the older films. I loved the more bombastic Ifukube scores, the updated monster designs, the in-your-face optical effects...everything. Every time I would see a new film (which was always 7-10 months after they first came out) I would be obsessed with them. Obsessed. If you asked me 20 years ago what the best Godzilla movies were, I would have listed something made between 1989 and 1995. This lasted longer than I wish it did, as I believed Godzilla vs Destroyah was "fantastic" more recently than I care to admit (remember the thread, guys?)

But as I got older I started looking at Godzilla movies from a different perspective. Monster battles and laser shows weren't as appealing as competently made movies, or at least movies with some sincerity and a soul. All of a sudden, the Heisei series started looking like the rushed, poorly written and increasingly lazy DTV-quality films they actually are, and even the lesser films of the golden era started looking like gems in comparison. I'll take something like Godzilla vs Megalon over most of the Heisei output because at least it doesn't hide what it is: a cheap kids movie with absolutely no pretension. Son of Godzilla has a poor Godzilla suit and homely Minya but, DAMN, everything else about it works, and the entire thing succeeds as an actual film. But I bet a lot of younger films would never give the movie a second thought because the monsters aren't powerhouses, and thus aren't useful in fantasy battles or playable in video games.

And that's really the thing here. I don't think younger fans care to assess these movies are complete films. If my experience as a younger teen in any indication, this is nothing new. I think a lot of younger fans couldn't care less about Toho history, or what the company was doing behind the scenes in the '60s and '70s, or who any of the actors and crew here (outside of the big names). For these fans, it's really the monsters themselves that are important, usually to the point that movies like Godzilla vs Destroyah automatically become "good films" because they star the monsters that usually win the majority of fantasy battles. And that's where you get the "if I like it, it's good" mentality that ends up putting Heisei films and garbage like GFW above what were once accepted classics like Mothra vs Godzilla and Ghidrah on "best of lists".

Someone mentioned that no Godzilla film has dropped in popularity like Godzilla VS Mechagodzilla. I beg to differ and counter with Destroy all Monsters. It used to be accepted as THE ultimate giant monster film, and for a long time I didn't know a single person who didn't like it. Now it's amazing how often I see it turn up at the very bottom of favorites lists. It's kind of scary.

[jellydonut25]

I don't think people not liking DAM is scary. I think it's appropriate and shows perhaps a normalization for the fanbase overall. There was a period where it seemed like everyone loved the Heisei era. Then we over-corrected and everyone loved everything from the golden era no matter what. Now we're settling into a period where we can honestly appraise these movies and their faults. DAM is boring, honestly.

I actually wish I liked the Heisei films a little more, but one of the things I think helps it for SOME people is nostalgia, because of what you said in the first part of your post: for some people (the people who bought or whose parents bought them bootlegs) the Heisei films were treasures and they were THE Godzilla films of their childhood (I know quite a few people who still say that Ken Satsuma is "MY Godzilla"). I don't have any of that. I can remember very vividly the first time I saw each of the 90s movies because it was when they were released on VHS in the wake of the 1998 movie...so I was 13, 14, 15...and watching GvsKG (which is actually easily my favorite 90s Heisei movie these days) was the first time I ever felt embarrassed watching a Godzilla movie. It was one of the first times I can recall watching a movie (ANY movie) and finding it to be incredibly amateurish and dated. GvsM was the first time I ever physically cringed watching a Godzilla movie "Niiiice!" made me vomit in my mouth a little bit. GvsSG was what it is, which is really bad. GvsD did get to me, and I think it's maybe the only one of the Heisei films that I have a good first impression of. And GvsMG2 was supposedly the best (at the time that seemed to be the consensus) and so I figured it should be better than GvsD, which it wasn't...and so yeah, my first memories of most of the 90s Heisei films are bad, and there's no nostalgia to help me out with them.

These days, I actually enjoy GvsKG as a sort of kitschy fun thing...especially once we get past the opening 45 minutes, which probably should have been cut down by 15 minutes or so. I also at least get some enjoyment out of GvsD's opening, ending, and unintentionally hilarious "science", but the rest of those 90s Heisei movies are just too much for me, sadly. Or maybe not enough?

I AM liking the Millennium films a little more as time goes on though...except for GMK, which I had the highest initial opinion of...but now just kinda frustrates me with its pretentiousness.

[king_ghidorah]

Ok, ok. Hopefully the last updated ranking for me for a long time.

Why has my list jumped around so much over the past year or two? Well, to be honest (and taking a page from Legion's excellent post about his own history with the Heisei Godzilla films)...Godzilla (2014) caused me to reexamine what I like about Godzilla. I had been pulling away from Godzilla for many years....almost a decade. Don't get me wrong, I was becoming more and more of a tokusatsu genre fan but Godzilla was becoming an increasingly tiny aspect of what I liked. It all started with the ADV releases of the Heisei Gamera films and the Daimajin trilogy. I suddenly saw an entire world of stuff that was just like the stuff I loved as a kid, but it was different and new. I soon graduated to things like Kamen Rider, Kikaider and Ultraman. Godzilla was for beginners.

I started to consider myself a Gamera fan first and foremost. I found the Heisei films to be superior to anything Toho had done since the 60s and Gamera himself matched my own sensibilities (the good guy role, the underdog...weird and bizarre villains). I even grew fond of the Showa Gamera films for their campy humor and I still maintain that if you take those films in the spirit of how they were intended, they are great fun.

Godzilla became the kaiju equivalent to Batman, or Wolverine, to me. Angst-y, sheltered man children responded strongly to these angry anti-social heroes and something about that connection irked me. I felt like I had matured past Godzilla. I also started to take exception to a trait that Godzilla shares with Superman (when written poorly)...both are invunerable, unbeatable and insanely powerful. I felt like there was little drama to be had in watching Godzilla fight another kaiju. Godzilla was the bully that would inevitably win..the inverse Superman.

If Godzilla had any meaning to me at all, it was the original film. The only One-True Godzilla to me was the original incarnation. Had I seen the Shin Godzilla design two years ago I would have been floored. It's exactly what I wanted. I believed that Godzilla shouldn't fight other monsters...he was supposed to be a living warning against war and nuclear weapons. Basically, I was an entitled pretentious ass.

Godzilla (2014) came out and it felt like Phantom Menace all over again. I kept trying to convince myself that it was awesome and that I loved it but it didn't jive with the Godzilla I had in my mind's eye. I was listening to podcasts, reading reviews, all from people less familiar with Godzilla than me, and these people were claiming that Godzilla (2014) was keeping in spirit with the original Showa era films. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. How could everyone be so wrong? One day I was listening to a podcast where the host mentioned that while Godzilla was created as an anti-nuclear beast of destruction, he had morphed into something else, something arguably better that had permeated the pulp culture in a way the original version never did.

It's such an obvious statement (and perhaps debatable) but something about hearing this...from a casual fan...made me take a step back and think. So, every time I've been posting a list, it's been because I've just started watching a certain era of Godzilla films again. It's been a roller coaster of "Oh man the 70's films are horrible" pops in Godzilla vs. Gigan "Oh wow the 70s films are the best ever!!!" Over and over again, this pattern has continued for me. I've now been through roughly every era and can finally appreciate the Big G once again. My preferred version of Godzilla is the Showa anti-hero from the 60s. I started to really respond to that version of Godzilla...yes, he was the strongest of the Earth kaiju but he wasn't all powerful, in fact he's often the underdog, and what's more he had a lot of personality. He was a lovable ass-hole. Case in point, my favorite suit/ version of Godzilla? The 62. The Showa era has once again become king for me but I've also found a love for a certain small selection of films from the Heisei and Millennium eras.

Godzilla, like Superman, had been bastardized by lazy writers in the 90s. In an effort to make him bigger, better, stronger than before they removed almost all of his personality and his unique brand of noble snappiness. It turns out that the Godzilla I had grown tired of, was more of less the recent versions of the character. The classic Showa era Godzilla remained as powerful to me as when I saw these films for the first time as a kid.

I won't post a whole list, just a top 10. I feel like most of these films represent the version of Godzilla that I have come to like the most: anti-hero, protector of Earth (oddly enough, the same "type" of Godzilla depicted in the 2014...a film I now love BTW)

1. King Kong vs. Godzilla
2. Terror of MechaGodzilla
3. Son of Godzilla
4. Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster
5. Godzilla vs. Gigan
6. Ghidrah-The Three Headed Monster
7. Mothra vs. Godzilla
8. Destroy All Monsters
9. Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah
10. Godzilla 2014

[jellydonut25]

Whenever the latest and "greatest" Godzilla movie comes along, everyone always wants to talk about where it ranks in the franchise. Here's my list for the franchise as of right now including my far-too-early-in-my-life-cycle-with-the-movie placement of Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
https://letterboxd.com/jellydonut25/lis ... ovies-wip/

[klen7]

I'm going to need a few rewatches before ranking it, right now it feels like it might be in a position like Final Wars, which bounces up and down my list depending on my mood when i watch it

[Gentleman]

There was a thread about this a while back, with a link to a site where you would answer questions about preferences and it would give you your list. This was mine:

Godzilla Mothra King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)
Destroy All Monsters (1968)
Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)
Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)
Godzilla (1954)
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1993)
Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)
Return of Godzilla (1984)
Godzilla (2014)
Godzilla Final Wars (2004)
Son of Godzilla (1967)
Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992)
Shin Godzilla (2016)
Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)
Godzilla's Revenge (1969)
Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)
Godzilla Raids Again (1955)
Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002)
Monster Zero (1965)
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)
Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster (1966)
Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla (1994)
Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)
Godzilla Tokyo SOS (2003)
Godzilla 2000 (1999)
Godzilla (1998)

It's pretty spot-on. I'd put KotM right in the neighborhood of G'14.

This was the thread, BTW, just for historical purposes. The link seems to be dead now.

[Benjamin Haines]

[tbeasley]

Top tier films
Godzilla
Mothra vs Godzilla
Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster
Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah
Ebirah, Horror of the Deep
Invasion of Astro-Monster
Son of Godzilla
Godzilla vs Hedorah
The Return of Godzilla
Shin Godzilla
Godzilla vs Biollante
King Kong vs Godzilla
Terror of Mechagodzilla

Mid range films
Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla
Destroy All Monsters
Godzilla vs Gigan
Godzilla vs King Ghidorah
Godzilla vs Destoroyah
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
All Monsters Attack
Godzilla: Tokyo SOS
Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla II
Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters
Godzilla (2014)

Bottom rung films
Godzilla: The Planet Eater
Godzilla vs Megalon
Godzilla vs Mothra
Godzilla vs Megaguirus
Godzilla Raids Again
Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle
Godzilla 2000: Millennium
Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla
Godzilla vs SpaceGodzilla
Godzilla: Final Wars
Godzilla (1998)

[Rody]

Here's how the list came out for me:

Still the best
Mothra vs Godzilla
Son of Godzilla
Godzilla (1954)
Godzilla vs Monster Zero
Godzilla vs the Sea Monster

Close seconds:
Godzilla vs Biollante
King Kong vs Godzilla
Godzilla vs Hedorah
Shin Godzilla
Godzilla (2014)
GMK: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack
Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla (1974)

Mid range:
Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster
Godzilla King of the Monsters
Godzilla's Revenge
Godzilla vs Megalon
The Return of Godzilla
Terror of Mechagodzilla
Godzilla 2000
Destroy All Monsters
Godzilla vs King Ghidorah

Subpar:
Godzilla vs Gigan
Godzilla vs Megaguirus
Godzilla: The Planet Eater
Godzilla Raids Again
Godzilla: Tokyo SOS
Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla (1993)
Godzilla: Planet of Monsters
Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle
Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla

Bottom of the barrel:
Godzilla vs Destroyah
Godzilla vs Spacegodzilla
Godzilla: Final Wars
Godzilla (1998)
Godzilla vs Mothra

I didn't expect Revenge to end up quite so high on the list compared to others; then again, I'm probably due for another review on the 70s, 90s, and 00s films. Sometimes how much I like a film comes down to the nuance in presentation, which I forget over time.

[O.Supreme]

The top and bottom I pretty much knew, but this was more about the middle for me. G:KOTM, ranks far higher than even I expected, but I'm not ashamed of that. I am a bit ashamed about how high Final Wars ranked, I guess my sons love of that film has rubbed off a bit on me . Some of those asked to compare, were tough calls though.

FAVORITES
Destroy All Monsters (1968)
Godzilla (1954)
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)
Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1993)

GOOD
Monster Zero (1965)
Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
Godzilla vs. Destroyer (1995)
Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)
Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)
Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)
Shin Godzilla (2016)


OK
Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster (1966)
Godzilla (2014)
The Return of Godzilla (1984)
Son of Godzilla (1967)
Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)
Godzilla x Mechagodzilla (2002)
Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)
Godzilla 2000 (1999)

NOT GOOD
Godzilla: Tokyo SOS (2003)
Godzilla Raids Again (1955)
Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992)
Godzilla's Revenge (1969)
Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla (1994)
Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)
Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters (2017)
Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle (2018)
Godzilla: The Planet Eater (2018)

[Giganfan]

Ghidorah The Three Headed Monster
Godzilla On Monster Island
Monster Zero
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah
Terror of Mechagodzilla
Mothra vs. Godzilla
Destroy All Monsters
Ebirah Horror of the Deep
Godzilla vs. The Cosmic Monster
Son of Godzilla
Godzilla 1985
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1993)
King Kong vs. Godzilla
Godzilla Mothra King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack
Godzilla vs. Biollante
Godzilla vs. The Smog Monster
Godzilla vs. Megalon
Godzilla's Revenge
Godzilla x Mechagodzilla
Godzilla Mothra Mechagodzilla: Tokyo SOS
Godzilla vs. Mothra
Godzilla Raids Again
Godzilla x Megaguirus
Godzilla vs. The Destroyer
Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla
Godzilla Final Wars
Godzilla 2000

The original is always in a class all its own, and therefore, not included in my list. Nor are GINO '98 (for obvious reasons), Shin Godzilla and the Legendary movies, because I have yet to figure out where they rank amongst the rest of the series.

[Benjamin Haines]

[Giganfan]

I tried. I did five minutes of the first one, and couldn’t make it any further. Anime just doesn’t do anything for me. I had thought that the fact that it was Godzilla would help me warm up to it, but unfortunately, no. It’s nothing against anime, personally. I understand that it’s an art-form with a huge following, but it’s never been something that interests me, Godzilla, or not.

[klen7]

-- Top 10 --
Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)
Godzilla Mothra King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)
Godzilla (2014)
Godzilla (1954)
Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
Shin Godzilla (2016)
Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster (1966)
Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002)
Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)

-- Highly Enjoyable, but not Top 10 --
King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)
Godzilla 2000 (1999)
Godzilla Tokyo SOS (2003)
Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster (1964)
Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)
Godzilla's Revenge (1969)
Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)
Son of Godzilla (1967)
Monster Zero (1965)
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)
Godzilla (1998)

-- I Never Met a Godzilla movie I didn't like --
Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
Destroy All Monsters (1968)
Godzilla Final Wars (2004)
Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992)
Godzilla: King of the Monsters 2019
Godzilla Raids Again (1955)
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1993)
Godzilla vs. Spacegodzilla (1994)
Return of Godzilla (1984)

-- Ok, Maybe I have met a Godzilla movie I didn't like... --
Godzilla: The Planet Eater (2018)
Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters (2017)
Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle (2018)

[H-Man]

It's interesting to look back at this thread and see how my preferences have changed over 12 years.

Not a lot has changed for me in five years, although there are five new Godzilla movies to include (mostly at the bottom of the list, lol), but I realize there's a short shelf life on some of the more recent movies. The Heisei and Millennium films have shifted a lot and now I've found I'm pretty tired of most of those movies. I've given especially the Millennium Godzilla movies more shots than some of them deserve and I'm ready to all but retire all of them but GMK. I get so much play out of the Showa films, even entries I used to despise like Godzilla Raids Again, but somehow they're immune to that.

Anyway I'm going to mix things up a bit with this version of my list because I can.

-The 10 Best Godzilla Movies-
Godzilla (1954)
Mothra vs. Godzilla
King Kong vs. Godzilla (IMO the most underrated Godzilla film)
Shin Godzilla
Son of Godzilla
Godzilla vs. Biollante
GMK
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah
Monster Zero
Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster

-Love to Like-
Godzilla vs. Gigan (Good? No, but it's immensely entertaining.)
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla '74(Ditto)
Godzilla versus the Sea Monster
Terror of Mechagodzilla
Destroy All Monsters
Godzilla vs. Megalon
Godzilla vs. Hedorah
Godzilla Raids Again
Godzilla's Revenge
Godzilla vs. Mothra

The order of these last three is pretty fluid.

-"Diminishing Returns"-
The Return of Godzilla -or- Godzilla 1985
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II
Godzilla 2000
Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla
Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla
Godzilla (2014)
Godzilla vs. Megaguirus
Godzilla Tokyo SOS
Godzilla Final Wars

I don't really know how to rank G14. I think it's an OK film, so it would probably be towards to the top of that group, but I feel weird about putting it ahead of the '90s films, which I enjoy in spite of their obvious flaws.

-Bottom Five-
Godzilla King of the Monsters (2019)
Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle
Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters
Godzilla: The Planet Eater
Godzilla (1998)

Eventually I'll revisit all of the last group except GINO but I don't see them moving up into other tiers.

[klen7]

Most recent rewatch really escalated Sea Monster, further sunk ToM and the Heisei series. G'98 is so different from the rest of the franchise that it's a little easier to rewatch than some of the other flicks, which have better counterparts higher in the list. The animated series are little more than curiosities to me

[Gojizilla]

Instead of ranking the entire series I'll just post my top three each from the Showa and Heisei periods.

Showa:

Godzilla 1954 & 1984 tie
Mothra vs Godzilla
Ghidorah, the Three Headed Monster

Heisei:

Godzilla vs Biollante
Godzilla vs King Ghidorah
Shin Godzilla

[Gojizilla]

Btw, I'm defining Shōwa as 1926–1989 and Heisei as 1989–2019. We are now in the Reiwa period and the first Godzilla movies will be American.