Top 5 Godzilla Movies You Should Watch / Godzilla 1998 Speed-Art
Hey guys! I'm back, and with me another Speed-Art! So in the past I did a ranking of every era of the Godzilla franchise, but this time, I wanted to go over 5 must see Godzilla movies, because I know anybody hopping into this Franchise, that’s been around for over 65 years, has a lot of films to go through. These won't necessarily be my 5 favourite films, but just the ones that I think would be a good starting point for Franchise newbies. So let's jump into it!
5. Godzilla (1954)
So when watching Godzilla movies, I typically suggest starting with the original 1954 Godzilla film. Now there are two main cuts of this movie, the original 1954 version that was released in Japan and a version cut with a few American actors which was dubbed and re-edited to be released in America. The version I suggest the most is the original Japanese version. While the American version is good, the new scenes do make me lose immersion with the story and it reminds me I'm watching a movie. But either one is fine depending on where you can see it. This film is an absolute classic. The effects still hold up, the suitmation is groundbreaking, and the human story is top notch. Whenever I hear someone say the story doesn't matter in a Godzilla film I like to point them to the original. The human story is the heart of the movie and Godzilla is really only a background focus, but both parts of the story are utilized and come together nicely in the climax. So if you're gonna start anywhere, start here.
4. King Kong Vs. Godzilla (1962)
The next film I'm gonna suggest is gonna be King Kong Vs. Godzilla, not to be confused with Godzilla Vs Kong. This is the 1962 original mash-up. Now this isn't one of my favourite Godzilla films, but it is probably the best example of a more light hearted Showa-era monster-fight type movies and it is the first of it's kind. While there was a brief fight scene between Godzilla and Anguirus in Godzilla Raids Again, this is really the first movie to drop the serious tone of the first two Showa films and just allow the monsters to fight like wrestlers. Kong's suit in this is certainly laughable, but if you want to get a taste of the cheesy Showa era of Godzilla films, give King Kong Vs. Godzilla a try. And if you like it, keep watching the rest of the Showa era. It has a lot of ups and downs – but the template really started with this film.
3. The Return of Godzilla (1984)
But if the 60s and 70s era of Godzilla films are a little too much for you, then I suggest checking out The Return of Godzilla. This is the 1984 reboot of the Godzilla franchise. More or less it's just a sequel to the original 1954 film, and it sets the stage for Godzilla to be taken more seriously inside of this era. While the human storyline doesn't reach the same emotional heights as the original, the humans here are a bigger part of picture and less like the caricatures of the later Showa films. The suitmation looks amazing here, minus a couple of shots where Godzilla looks a little cross-eyed, but other than that the effects at work here look great for it's time and still hold up really well. If you like this film I highly suggest watching the entire Heisei era. It has it's ups and downs but overall I think it's the most consistent era of Godzilla films. Godzilla vs. Biollante is my favourite of the batch and introduces Miki, who is one of my favourite characters in the franchise.
2. Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack
Zooming over to the Millennium era, this era of Japanese Godzilla films were typically marked with poor CGI and rushed story lines. Plus, there's almost no continuity between films, making it hard to relate to the series the same way I would the Heisei or even Showa eras. With that said they did release a few good films, and my favourite to suggest is the crazily titled Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack. This was actually directed by the same person who directed the Gamera trilogy from the 90s and he brings the same sensibilities to this entry in the Godzilla series. It's another reboot of the franchise, only referencing the events of his first film, so you don't need to watch any of the other sequel films. In this film, Godzilla looks super menacing. This is the version of him without any pupils which was done to make him look like the big-bad because Mothra and Ghidorah here are actually both good and face off against him. This film is lined with Japanese history more so than a lot of the other Millennium films, and because Godzilla is allowed to be bad again, the film actually has stakes that are interesting. So if you want to dip your toes in the Millennium era, I highly suggest trying out GMK.
1. Shin Godzilla
But if you are still not convinced to watch some of the older Godzilla films then I want my last suggestion to be a newer film, Shin Godzilla. This is currently the latest live-action Japanese Godzilla movie. It's another reboot of the franchise that uses modern day tragedies to repaint Godzilla as a force of nature. This also follows the trend of having Kaiju evolve on film, something that other monsters in the Godzilla franchise have done. But typically Godzilla hasn't had an evolution like this. This is also the first Japanese Godzilla film to be fully CGI, and it looks fantastic, rivalling any of the modern American Godzilla films. Now a criticism I hear a lot about this film is that it's a lot of boardroom meetings and not enough action, but that really doesn’t bother me because we get a different view-point for this franchise that we haven't seen before, one that allows for some dark comedy and lets us know the characters a little more. So if you are looking for a modern Godzilla film to toss on, I really highly recommend Shin Godzilla.
So what do you guys think of my top 5 Godzilla films? Do you agree? Feel free to leave your top 5 Godzilla films in this video’s comments on my Tell It Aaron Channel!