1. Godzilla vs. Mothra 1964 - This is the cream of the crop IMO. Godzilla is just a bad a** in this one. I love the look of the G-suit in this one. It’s all about those angry eyes! This one has a pretty good plot that centers around the monsters and not annoying subplots. I love that the two monsters could not be anymore different. The big angry Godzilla and the gentle Mothra. I love that she and her offspring give G one of his most difficult battles. The effects and acting in this film are top notch. The Dubbing in the american version is actually pretty good also. The film score is fantastic. This G film is By far the best in the series IMO.
2. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II 1993 - Again the plot focuses more on the monsters, which is always a plus. Lots of monster mayhem in this one. Plenty of action and the return of Rodan makes this one a winner for me. This one has a great score also. Love the Mecha-G theme.
3. Ghidorah, the Three Headed Monster - Godzilla turns good guy. I don’t care I love them both. Yes monster speak is a bit much but this film is a fun time. Top notch effects work again. Ghidorah is done so well. I love the long battle between Godzilla and Rodan also. Love Godzilla laughing at Rodan when mothra sprays him with the silk. Some silly moments but still series in tone.
4. Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack - BY FAR the best effects in a Godzilla film. Godzilla is so evil in this one. The one thing that keeps this from being perfect is that Mothra and King Ghidorah are in it again It just felt stale. Especially when we got Baragon in the beginning. Because he had not been seen for so long, the film felt fresh. I love the G fight with Baragon. From what I read the director originally wanted Baragon, Varan, and Anguirus in the film but Toho wanted the more familiar monsters. This might be my # 2 fav if the director got his way.
5. Godzilla vs. Destroyah - Godzilla dies. Makes me sad. Lots of monster action with great effects and score. Love the burning Godzilla.
6. Destroy All Monsters - All of the Toho greats come together for one film. How can you go wrong? Great score again and great monster fights. A bit slow at times but still always fun to watch.
7. Son of Godzilla - WHAT!!!!!! Son of Godzilla at #7! Before the ’54 original?? That’s right baby! I still love this one. Yes it’s got by FAR the worst G-Suit but I love the parenting G does with his boy and the insect monster effects are great. If this had the G-suit from ’64 this one might actually be higher on my list. I just find it easy to sit through.
8. King Kong vs. Godzilla - The Japanese version is far better with the original score intact. This one is very campy but I love the G-suit and the fun feel of the film. Yes I hate that kong wins. Lightning, really?? But the good outweighs the bad in this one.
9. Godzilla 1954 - Some are probably wondering why this is so low. I am sure it will be number 1 on many other lists but for me it’s just not easy to sit through. It is by far the most serious and has a great plot. There is just not enough Big G for me and the tone makes this more of a chore for me then a pleasure. I will not argue about the greatness of this film. It’s just does not do it for me like the others.
10. Godzilla vs. Biollante - An underrated and overlooked gem. This film has an original and well rendered G-foe in Biollante. Not the best plot but the Godzilla fighting biollante stuff is great. I also thought this was a big step up from Godzilla 1984.
11. Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster - I love how this one feels and looks like an Elvis movie.
12. Godzilla vs. Mothra 1992 - Much is the same as the original but not nearly as good. The Battra larva is pretty cool and the music again is great. Not bad but not great.
13. Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah - The plot has some interesting ideas but the Terminator 2 rip off stuff makes this one unwatchable at times. Still fun to see the return of Ghidorah after all these years Mecha King Ghidorah was pretty cool also.
14. Godzilla Raids Again - MUCH better than Gigantis the Fire monster. My second fav. G monster shows up. Got to love that scrappy Anguirus
15. Godzilla vs. Hedorah - The Most depressing Godzilla and slightly creepy one. This one scared me as a child because Hedorah was an actual threat to humanity.
16. Invasion of the Astro- Monster - Not enough monster mayhem. Godzilla dancing and boxing takes things a tad far.
17. Godzilla 1984 - The film and Godzilla are very slow. It takes Godzilla forever to move in this film. I must have been hard to move in that suit. Again another fan fav. But just not for me.
18. Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla - one of G’s worst villains IMO. I love the G suit in this one but the problem with these 90’s G films is that most of the action is laser and atomic breath action. Very little hand to hand combat. It was OK in the first few but this one really relies on it. Very boring IMO.
19, 20, 21, and 22. Godzilla 2000, Godzilla vs. Megaguirus, Godzilla against Mechagodzilla and Godzilla Tokyo SOS - These films don’t really move me either way. They are not bad enough to hate and not good enough to love. I mean it’s Godzilla so I can sit through them but I would rather watch one of the classics.
23. Godzilla vs. Gigan - Gigan is a pretty cool monster but all the reused footage from the other G films and cheap effects make this one a struggle to watch. The return of Anguirus save this film from being a total waste of time for me.
24 and 25. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla and Terror of MechaGodzilla - The films returned to more serious roots but these have never been favs of mine. I think it’s the whole 70’s era thing. Not a fan of the g suit either.
26. Godzilla vs. Megalon - Godzilla’s suit comes very close to looking like a cartoon in this one. MST3K makes fun of this one for good reason
27. All Monsters Attack - Toho should be ashamed of themselves for trying to pass this off as a real movie with all the footage used from other films. Not a bad one for very young kids and still better than
28. Godzilla Final Wars - One would think that this was a can’t miss. Another Destroy all monsters type with a bunch or Toho creatures showing up for fun. Again how could it go wrong?? Well it sure did. The Overacting villain, hyper direction, awful kung fu fights, average effects and all around boring feel of the film is not as bad as the biggest crime of all - The Monsters felt like and looked like Actors in costumes. Sure that’s all any of the Godzilla films are but you could always get lost in the fantasy of it. Godzilla and friends felt real. They were giant living breathing monsters. Most of the creatures, including Godzilla himself, have the worst suit acting of any of the Godzilla films. The Movements, they way they are filmed, the way the action is done, and the thinner tighter suits all help to destroy the illusion. And Godzilla trying to block an Anguirus ball - Soccer style - If one of the worst things in any G film. I really hate this one. Probably the only G film I hate and it all comes down to ruining that illusion of making the monsters real.
Now I don’t really count the American Godzilla film because as we all know, that just is not Godzilla. But it was the most disappointing film I had ever seen in theaters.
