The Best Godzilla Movie Of Each Decade Since The Franchise Began In 1954

Godzilla celebrated his 70th anniversary in 2024, and in the years since he first terrified and trashed Tokyo each decade has had at least one truly great Godzilla film. The radioactive lizard has undergone a number of changes, most notably when it comes to his alignment with humanity. In some of Godzilla’s best and most underrated movies, he’s not the savior of the world, but rather its most destructive threat. His movies have also changed in tone with each subsequent era of Godzilla movies, ranging anywhere from campy and family-friendly to legitimate horror.

With over 50 Godzilla movies in existence between Japanese and American studios, there are plenty of critical flops for each genuinely excellent film. As special and practical effects have improved, Godzilla’s suits have also ranged from downright silly to truly terrifying. However, no matter what version of Godzilla appears on the big screen, he has continued to resonate with each generation from the 1950s to the 2020s.

8

1950s – Godzilla (1954)

Godzilla’s First Appearance

70 years later, the original Godzilla is still considered by many to be the best film to ever feature the scaly atomic menace. Godzilla was famously intended to act as metaphor for the devastation of nuclear war, and the 1954 version of the movie makes the effects of Godzilla both on a city scale and at the more personal ground level horrifyingly clear. As one of the first true monster movies, Godzilla set the standard for tokusatsu, the practice of using largely practical effects (and notably monster suits) to manufacture size, scale, and destruction.

Somehow, the Godzilla suit and some of the special effects of Godzilla still look better than several of the 1960s Showa Era movies despite being produced years earlier. It introduces many of the key elements of Godzilla’s lore, including his atomic breath, the Oxygen Destroyer, and his radioactive origins. Dozens of later Godzilla movies reference the original Godzilla both in script and in spirit, and for good reason given its iconic nature.

7

1960s – Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)

The Introduction Of Godzilla’s Greatest Ally (And Oftentimes Enemy)

For starters, Mothra vs. Godzilla features one of Godzilla’s very best suit designs, as it featured an updated version of the solid King Kong vs. Godzilla design by rounding off Big G’s face and giving him more personality. Mothra has played such a key role in the story of Godzilla over the years that her introduction, which was a result of Toho’s desire to keep pairing Godzilla with popular monsters, deserves its flowers even decades later. The effects were elevated for Mothra vs. Godzilla, yielding a slicker and more modern-looking production than its predecessors.

The battles in the movie are among the most memorable for either Godzilla or Mothra (in either form), and their final clash is easily one of the best fights of the Showa Era. Mothra vs. Godzilla is also notable as a transition period for Godzilla: it’s the first time he doesn’t feel entirely like a villain, despite technically occupying that role while Mothra acted as a defender of humanity. The very next film in the franchise, Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster would also be a worthwhile choice, but Mothra vs. Godzilla gets the edge for its superior monster effects.

6

1970s – Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)

The Explosive Introduction Of Godzilla’s Evil Robotic Counterpart

Godzilla was at his silliest in the latter stages of the Showa Era, but 1974’s Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla is the best of the bunch due to its introduction of Mechagodzilla. The movie’s main asset is its central villain of course, as Mechagodzilla is presented as a completely legitimate threat after devastating poor Anguirus and putting both Godzilla and King Caesar on the ropes. Godzilla uses his bizarre magnetism power to defeat Mechagodzilla in an admittedly silly way, but before that, the onslaught of weaponry from Mechagodzilla is given proper deference, as Godzilla winds up bloodied and broken.

The ape-like aliens in control of Mechagodzilla help prop up one of the most ridiculous but entertaining human-based plots in the Showa Era, which helps accent the monster mayhem. Many Godzilla fans still consider the original version of Mechagodzilla to be the superior design over the sleeker modern versions of the 2000s, another point in this movie’s favor. The 1970s were not kind to Godzilla at the box office or with critics, but Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla is the best of the bunch.

5

1980s – Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)

A Science-Heavy Monster Thriller

After a nine-year hiatus, Godzilla resurfaced on the silver screen with a new design and a bad attitude in 1984 with The Return of Godzilla, but the best film of the 1980s came a full five years later. Godzilla vs. Biollante has been celebrated for years for its originality in both theme and plot, as it focuses not on the threat of nuclear war, but on the awesome power of genetic engineering and biotechnology. The special effects won’t blow anyone away, but the Godzilla suit and the practical effects of Biollante stand up next to anything from the 1980s and 1990s.

Godzilla vs. Biollante also features one of the coolest monster designs in Godzilla’s long history, as the massive Plant Beast version of Biollante is one of the most unique and physically imposing creatures that Godzilla has ever fought. While the original version of Biollante is dispatched relatively easily (the dangers of pitting a plant monster against a lizard that breathes atomic fire), the Plant Beast manages plenty of damage against the bacterial infection-weakened Godzilla before it dies. It’s exciting and fresh throughout, and easily the better of the two 1980s Godzilla movies.

4

1990s – Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

An Emotional Goodbye To Godzilla

It’s admittedly far more difficult to pick the best film out of the 1990s, as there were a number of classics churned out in relatively short order. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II is typically found on many Godzilla top ten lists, and the wild and convoluted Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah has plenty of merits as well. However, the best movie of the decade remains Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, the movie that sees Godzilla melt down and die from what is essentially a nuclear heart attack, but not before managing to defeat one of the most powerful enemies he’s ever faced.

Destoroyah’s origin as a symptom of the original 1954 Oxygen Destroyer makes for a tremendous full-circle narrative, with Destoroyah there at both the beginning and the end of Godzilla. The evolution between different, terrifying versions of the Precambrian organisms before achieving the final “perfect” form of Destoroyah is entertaining and well-executed from an effects perspective. Additionally, the final battle carries plenty of emotional weight to it with the death and subsequent resurrection of Godzilla Junior. It serves as a fitting exclamation point for the Heisei Era of Godzilla, which is considered by many to be the best collection of movies.

3

2000s – Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)

Godzilla At His Most Menacing

The 6 movies produced in the 2000s have a few notable moments scattered throughout, but by and large, they’re forgettable in the grand scale of Godzilla’s 70-year history. The significant exception is Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, which ignores the events of all the other Godzilla movies that have come before it except for 1954’s Godzilla, which it acts as a direct sequel to. It returns Godzilla to his villainous status from the original movie, but gives him an even darker motivation and origin.

The movie colloquially referred to as GMK is rich in mythology, but it’s relatively easy to follow in comparison to past movies. Godzilla is described as a manifestation of the angry souls of all those killed in the Pacific War who are back to take revenge on Japan for denying its own past crimes. The white-eyed, heartless version of Godzilla might be the scariest he’s ever looked, and it’s interesting to see King Ghidorah on the side of humanity for once. GMK is the best movie of the 2000s thanks to its engrossing story, excellent monster action, and weak competition.

2

2010s – Shin Godzilla (2016)

Godzilla’s Terrifying Past Restored

Shin Godzilla vaulted the radioactive lizard into an entirely new genre, acting partially as a body horror movie in addition to a breathtaking kaiju feature. The record-breakingly tall, keloid-scarred version of Godzilla borrows the evolution concept from Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, but this time it’s Godzilla that undergoes the transformation between creatures of advancing levels of complexity. The purple-colored atomic energy that pours out of multiple points of Godzilla’s body made him (at the time) the most destructive he’s ever been, and it truly restored the simultaneously majestic and terrifying aura that the original Godzilla had.

The 2010s also saw the beginning of the American Legendary Monsterverse, kicking the interconnected cinematic universe with the introduction of Big G in Godzilla (2014) and the fleshing out of his world in Godzilla: King of the Monsters. While both movies redeemed American studios after the disastrous Tristar Godzilla of 1998, neither quite measures up to the awesome might of Shin Godzilla. The heroic version of Godzilla in those movies will always be embraced, but simply put, the horrifying Shin Godzilla is a better overall movie.

1

2020s – Godzilla Minus One (2023)

The Award-Winning Modern Masterpiece

Those watching All Monsters Attack back in 1969 would never have dreamed that Godzilla would be featured in an Academy Award-winning movie, yet that is just what happened with Godzilla Minus One. Toho’s triumphant return to the character after a hiatus for the Monsterverse to produce movies yielded an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects at the 96th Academy Awards, which is even more impressive considering that its budget was a fraction of big-budget American blockbusters. Writer and Director Takashi Yamazaki was praised the world over for his work on the film.

It featured perhaps the strongest human story ever in a Godzilla movie in addition to a mighty depiction of the monster, balancing heart and despair in equal measure. His vision of an ever-regenerating Godzilla whose atomic breath directly mimics a nuclear explosion is exceptionally memorable and distinct, and the script is extremely well-constructed and well-paced. He pays homage to the lengthy history of Godzilla while putting his own stamp on the lore.

Godzilla

Movie(s)

Godzilla, Godzilla 2, Godzilla 3, Shin Godzilla, Godzilla, Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Kong, Godzilla Minus One, Mothra vs. Godzilla, Godzilla Vs King Kong, Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., godzilla: monster planet, Godzilla vs. Gigan, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, Godzilla: Final Wars, King Kong vs. Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, Godzilla: The Showa Era Films, Godzilla vs. Biollante

Created by

Tomoyuki Tanaka, Akira Watanabe

First Episode Air Date

November 17, 2023

Cast

Akira Takarada, Momoko Kôchi, Akihiko Hirata, Takashi Shimura, Anna Sawai, Kiersey Clemons, Ren Watabe, Kurt Russell, Wyatt Russell

Expand