There is a lot of Godzilla media out there. The dozens of films, spin-offs, continuities, characters, and monsters that cover a decades-long spread of material can make it difficult for newcomers to gain a foothold in the franchise. This difficulty is compounded by the fact that Godzilla films range wildly in quality, tone, and topicality. Some are somber meditations on the fatal flaws of humanity, while others are uncomplicated kaiju wrestling romps. It can be hard to know where to start.
Luckily for newcomers, most Godzilla films are largely self-contained in nature, with usually only passing references and the occasional reoccurring character linking the sequels to their predecessors. Furthermore, the diversity of subjects and themes in the franchise means that nearly everyone will be able to find something they like in Godzilla's library.
Terror Of Mechagodzilla (1974)
Love, betrayal, aliens, kaiju, and Mechagodzilla (who was recently rebooted in Godzilla vs. Kong) collide in Godzilla creator Ishiro Honda's final entry in the franchise. The film once again tells a tale of human meddling in kaiju affairs, but this time there are aliens messing around with Mechagodzilla who promise to make things more complicated.
Terror of Mechagodzilla is a more somber affair than many of its counterparts in the series, and notably, the only Godzilla film to have a woman, Yukiko Takayama, credited as its lead screenwriter. There's a heavy dose of pathos in the character drama here, and even one of the film's lead kaiju, Titanosaurus, has a tragic twist. The result is a surprisingly affecting human story that intertwines perfectly with the monster action, all without losing sight of Godzilla's original legacy.
Godzilla (2014)
The inaugural film in Legendary's "Monsterverse" series, 2014's Godzilla is a bold, dramatic reimagining of the classic monster. The story might not do anything particularly unique in kaiju terms (Godzilla attacks cities, fights some monsters, and people try and figure out how to stop it), but the movie has some excellent action sequences and several memorable set pieces that make it an outstanding kaiju romp.
Director Gareth Edwards does an outstanding job of capturing the sheer scale of Godzilla and his enemies, often shooting from close to eye level to help sell the awesome weight of the movie's monsters. The spectacle with which Godzilla stomps into view alone makes this one worth the price of admission and establishes it as a worthy bearer of the big G's formidable legacy.
Godzilla Vs. King Ghidorah (1991)
One of the great things about the Godzilla franchise is that its entries can range from deeply serious meditations on humanity's penchant for self-destruction via nuclear fire to utterly absurd tales about time-traveling Furbies and flying mechanical dinosaurs. Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah is one such silly story in the franchise, but it's hard to top as lovable schlock.
Featuring an utterly incoherent time travel plot, a number of scenes that blatantly rip off the Terminator films, some poorly disguised Japanese historical revisionism, and gloriously hammy dub acting, vs. Ghidorah is the kind of delightful mess best enjoyed with friends and some popcorn. It's also of the best appearances of King Ghidorah, one of Godzilla's most powerful adversaries.
Godzilla Vs. Hedorah (1971)
Hedorah is a weird one, even for a franchise about outrageous battles between huge monsters. Hedorah, the embodiment of pollution, mutates into a fearsome beast thanks to the toxic byproducts of human society's industrial greed, and Japan is once again threatened. That might sound conventional, but the experience is laced with a ridiculous amount of psychedelic surrealism that gives the movie a unique identity in the franchise.
Juxtaposed with the acid-trip imagery and disco music are some surprisingly graphic scenes of the human cost incurred by kaiju attack, which gives Hedorah an edge missing from many Showa-era Godzilla films.
Godzilla, Mothra And King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)
Helpfully, fans typically abbreviate this one's title to a simple GMK, rather than the mouthful it's typically referred to by, which is good because it's impossible to oversell this excellent film with a cumbersome title. Director Shusuke Kaneko brings a fresh take on the franchise by making this film's Godzilla the most overtly villainous (and scary) version of the monster yet put to film.
Far from the unfeeling force of nature, misunderstood creature, or protector of humanity that he's been in previous films, this Godzilla is a vengeful specter borne from the atrocities of the past, the vessel by which the ghosts of old wars or imperialist ambitions will exact their revenge on the fabricated comfort of our modern society. It's an intense, exhilarating, and altogether new take on the classic monster that isn't to be missed by newcomers and old fans alike.
Mothra Vs. Godzilla (1964)
Fan-favorite monster Mothra makes her first appearance with Godzilla in the aptly-titled Mothra vs. Godzilla (not to be confused with 1991's Godzilla vs. Mothra), and it's one of Mothra's best films. Mothra distinguishes herself from the rest of the kaiju catalog by being an unambiguous force for good and a protector of Earth and its inhabitants, provided that no greedy businessmen attempt to exploit her eggs for profit, that is.
Unfortunately, the greedy businessmen of the Godzilla universe appear to take specialized classes in business school about exploiting kaiju eggs for profit, because it happens all the time, with this film being no exception. The only problem is that Godzilla himself is on the loose, meaning that Mothra is all that stands between Japan and total annihilation.
Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)
Detractors might describe Final Wars as stupid or incoherent. These are the opinions of the unenlightened though, because Final Wars is in fact a maximalist cinematic recreation of a child smacking kaiju action figures together and making up the plot along the way (in a good way). Do the plot and characters hold up to any sort of logical scrutiny? Certainly not. Is it an awesome movie anyway? Absolutely yes.
Nearly every iconic kaiju in the Toho library gets lined up in this one to duke it out with Godzilla in an absolutely off the rails, breakneck kaiju beatdown. Once the movie gets started it simply doesn't stop, upping the chaos by swapping the typically introspective human drama of other titles for superpowered martial arts battles with aliens that occur alongside the unceasing kaiju combat.
Godzilla Vs. Biollante (1989)
Godzilla vs. Biollante features all of the elements that anyone expects in a great Godzilla film -- awesome special effects, science run amok, and a cool plot that plays on the political anxieties of the era. Following one of Godzilla's attacks on Tokyo, the governments of the world scramble to get ahold of samples of his cells and trigger an arms race of sorts in trying to find military applications for the big guy's tissue. Meanwhile, a grieving father sets in motion a chain of events that will unleash Godzilla's most fearsome opponent yet.
A tightly paced, intelligent, and action-packed entry; Godzilla vs. Biollante is rightly regarded as among the best of the Heisei era Godzilla movies.
Shin Godzilla (2016)
Director Hideaki Anno of Evangelion fame was tasked with restoring Godzilla to his former glory on the big screen, and succeeded on all counts. Shin Godzilla is a sharp reimagining of the monster for a modern era; once again presenting him as an implacable force of nature capable of bringing governments to their knees.
Shin Godzilla also delivers a satirical take on the bureaucratic black hole that emerges during a federal crisis response. Anno shows in painstaking detail how the chain of command within the Japanese government might plausibly operate when faced with a Godzilla-level crisis, which makes the movie feel true to life and poignant.
Gojira (1954)
In the classic film that started it all, unrestrained nuclear testing awakens an ancient monster bent on punishing humanity for its scientific and technological hubris. Godzilla is the living embodiment of the horrors of atomic warfare, and a powerful reminder that mankind's supposed "mastery" over nature is imaginary.
Far from the campy charm of the later films, the original Gojira is a tragic story that transparently bears the generational trauma of the Second World War and the nuclear attacks that concluded it. Also on display here is a deep-seated anxiety about the future of post-war Japan, suggesting that a sense of national security is an illusion easily shattered by monsters borne from past mistakes, here taking the form of Godzilla.