Day 31: Godzilla Ranked

We are at the end of the journey through all thirty live action Godzilla films. We laughed, we cried (not really), but we had a good time the whole way. And so, we come to the rankings. Before getting into this I do want to say, there is only one of those films that I actively dislike, and the vast majority of them I enjoyed overall despite any issues that may or may not have existed within them. I have enjoyed watching all of these and I have found a few films that I will definitely want to come back to. But I’m blabbering, so without further ado, here are all thirty of these films ranked.

30th: All Monsters Attack (1969) – dir. Ishiro Honda

The first we come to is the one I actively dislike. It feels lazy, it feels cheap, and overall is just not a fun time in any capacity. Bad film.

29th: Godzilla Raids Again (1955) – dir. Motoyoshi Oda

Not a terrible film, but is just a bit dull. It was always going to be hard following on from that first film and I don’t think this achieves what it set out to do. I’ve seen a lot worse films, but can’t see myself coming back to this.

28^th: Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972) – dir. Jun Fukuda

This film suffered by coming directly after a film that took risks and was a changeup from the formula that I had become so used to. This returns to that formula and not overly successfully. I may enjoy it more if I had seen it in isolation, but as it is it was not for me.

27^th: Godzilla 2000 (1999) – dir. Takao Okawara

This was the first film of the Millenium era and it did not excite me for what was to come. A weak narrative mixed with a Godzilla design I don’t love and some terrible CGI that has aged like fine milk means it lands low down in these rankings.

26^th: Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973) dir. Jun Fukuda

You would think that Godzilla doing a dropkick would have this higher in my list. While that is genuinely hilarious, it doesn’t save the rest of the film that I just could not get into. This is deep in the trenches of child friendly Godzilla, and it is not the Godzilla I love.

25^th: Son Of Godzilla (1967) – dir. Jun Fukuda

I feel like I should really dislike this one. Godzilla looks terrible, Minilla looks like a turd, and the narrative is very child friendly nonsense. But it is also really charming and so silly that it becomes entertaining.

24^th: Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994) – dir. Kensho Yamashita

Honestly I’m trying to remember this and I’m struggling to come up with anything, which basically says it all. I remember SpaceGodzilla looking very silly, and someone using telekinesis to lift a table they were strapped too, but other than that I am struggling.

23^rd: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993) – dir. Takao Okawara

This film struggles from the fact that it has almost no real narrative to sink your teeth into, and a Mechagodzilla design that I wasn’t took keen on. But Rodan finally looked good and there was good kaiju action throughout.

22^nd: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974) – dir. Jun Fukuda

This is a top tier Mechagodzilla design. It’s a shame that the alien era is in full throttle here. But they made them apes so that makes up for them. Hilarious.

21^st: Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964) – Ishiro Honda

Another alien focused film, and the narrative here feels really disconnected from the Godzilla stuff. But both areas of the film are fun in and of themselves, and Ghidorah looks bloody brilliant.

20^th: Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S (2003) – dir. Masaaki Tezuka

This film is basically the same as the one that came before it, except it decides not to bring back any of the fun characters from that film. Fortunately, all the kaiju stuff is a ton of fun, and Mechagodzilla looks kick-ass.

19^th: King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) – dir. Ishiro Honda

The first ‘proper’ versus film of the franchise and it is a fun one. It is very silly at times and the King Kong suit looks absolutely terrible, but that is somewhat charming in its own way. I also just cant hate a film that has a big gorilla shove a tree down a big lizards throat.

18^th: Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965) – dir. Ishiro Honda

If memory serves, this is the first time aliens were introduced into the franchise and so I was not sick of the sight of them at this point. There is also a decent narrative here that sticks in my memory a lot more than a good amount of Showa era films.

17^th: Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992) – dir. Takao Okawara

A pretty decent Mothra film, but I am not here for her so I was a little disappointed that Godzilla took a backseat in his own film. Taking that a way and it is a fun enough film, and Mothra and Battra both look great, but could do with more of the big guy.

16^th: Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) – dir. Ryuhei Kitamura

This is the anomaly on this list as I think this film is actually not very good. And yet, it is unbelievably entertaining. I laughed several times out loud and fist bumped even more when all my past favourites kept turning up. Absolutely bonkers film, but I can’t help but like it.

15^th: Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966) – dir. Jun Fukuda

This was the first film to delve into the more silly tone that came to define the back end of the Showa era, so it has not quite jumped the shark yet. The introduction of Ebirah is superb, and I even enjoy the boulder tennis match between Ebirah and Godzilla.

14^th: Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000) – dir. Masaaki Tezuka

Some poorly aged CGI does not stop this being a fun Godzilla film. While the narrative leaves a little to be desired, the kaiju action is great, and the final fight scene is one of the more memorable ones from the whole series.

13^th: Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975) – dir. Ishiro Honda

The end of the Showa era and it ends on a good note. I love the Showa era Mechagodzilla and so I’m happy for more of him, and this is a fun film. It is aliens again, but they are built into a narrative that is interesting and the Kaiju action is great fun.

12^th: Destroy All Monsters (1968) – dir. Ishiro Honda

The first time that the series brought all the monsters together for some Avengers style action. It is a lot of fun, and it was nice to see some of the monsters make their return and also the introduction of some that were not in the franchise at this point. Fun stuff.

11^th: Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991) – dir. Kazuki Omori

When this film opened up with time travel, I was very worried it was going to fall off a cliff. Instead, they make it really work. This is a lot of fun regardless of how silly the narrative can be.

 10^th: Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002) – dir. Masaaki Tezuka

This is a film that puts as much focus into its human characters as it odes its kaiju ones and it really helps. It is also the first glimpse of Mechagodzilla post-millennium and he looks bloody great.

9^th: Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964) – dir. Ishiro Honda

The first appearance of Mothra in the Godzilla series and its no wonder that they kept bringing her back. The Mothra twins are fine here even if I dislike them later down the line, but the narrative otherwise is solid and the kaiju scenes are great fun.

8^th: Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001) – dir. Shusuke Kaneko

A possessed Godzilla sounds ridiculous, but oh boy does it work. He is an absolute monster in the film and it makes all the fight scenes so much fun with him absolutely wrecking everything in his way.

7^th: Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989) – dir. Kazuki Omori

What do you get when you mix Godzilla DNA with a rose? You get a bloody fun film that’s what you get. Top tier Godzilla against a top tier kaiju. Great stuff.

6^th: The Return of Godzilla (1984) – dir. Koji Hasimoto

Not just a return from hiatus and the start of a new ear, but also a return to the big, bad Godzilla that I love. Brilliant effects and miniatures make for a great Godzilla film harkening back to its original roots.

5^th: Shin Godzilla (2016) – dir. Shinji Higuchi, Hideaki Anno

After a long time away from the silver screen Godzilla comes back with a bang, and several new forms. One of the weirder Godzilla films but all the better for it, with some genuinely funny satire sprinkled throughout.

4^th: Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971) – dir. Yoshimitsu Banno

When Godzilla went psychedelic. A massive departure from what the series was doing at the time and such a breath of fresh air. Visually one of the more interesting and daring Godzilla films and a really fun time to boot.

3^rd: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995) – dir. Takao Okawara

What a bloody treat this film is. You need to have seen the other Heisei films to feel the full emotional punch that it is going for, but as someone who had this was stellar. Brilliant kaiju action, a great narrative, and an emotional climax that Godzilla films rarely hit.

2^nd: Godzilla (1954) – dir. Ishiro Honda

The one that started it all, and it still sits almost at the top of the tree. A couple of effects haven’t aged the best, but for the most part the yare still stellar for being over 70 years old. The narrative is and themes of the film are what drive this though. A genuine classic.

1^st: Godzilla Minus One (2023) – dir. Takashi Yamazaki

Call this recency bias if you want, I do not care. This is the best Godzilla film. It takes the emotional heft and narrative themes of the first and develops them to pack more punch. Godzilla himself is an absolute behemoth and has possibly never looked better, and the devastation he causes is both awesome and heart-breaking. Bring on that sequel, I cannot wait.