The 10 Most Underrated Godzilla Movies That No One Seems To Love

2024 marks the 70th anniversary of the first on-screen appearance of the one and only Godzillaand with this timing, it’s worth revisiting some of the most underrated films from his filmography. Godzilla’s story is filled with classics that G fans universally appreciate, such as Godzilla vs. Biollante, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzillaand Mothra versus Godzilla. The radioactive lizard has also enjoyed a renaissance in recent years, with Legendary’s Monsterverse breaking box office records and Toho’s Godzilla: Minus One winning an Oscar. However, some of the best Godzilla films have fallen out of the public consciousness and deserve more love.

Godzilla’s cinematic history has historically been divided into different “eras,” each with its own distinct tone and aesthetic, and each era has films of varying popularity. Every era has at least one or two films that tend to rise to the top of the Godzilla film rankings, but as a result, some very solid films go unnoticed. With global cinema about to embark on a new decade of Godzilla films and appreciation for Big G at an all-time high, let’s look back at 10 of his most underrated films that never seem to get the love they deserve.

10

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)

The second battle between Godzilla and his robot Doppelgänger

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II is the perfect example of a good film being overshadowed by the films that come before and after it. Many Godzilla fans consider the Heisei Era (1984-1995) to be the best section of Toho Godzilla history, as it includes some of the franchise’s most beloved films, including The Return of Godzilla and Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. This caused Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II fall short of the recognition it deserves as one of the best monster-focused stories in Godzilla history.

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II provides a new origin for Godzilla’s mechanical reflection and introduces the birth of Super Mechagodzilla, who is armed with enough power and weapons to put Godzilla on the ropes once again. Rodan features prominently in the film, and in the process of his death, he overwhelms Godzilla; this leads to the introduction of the spiraling heat ray, which is one of Godzilla’s strongest attacks, which helps him destroy Mechagodzilla. It’s a very solid entry into the Heisei canon that shows appropriate deference to its three main monsters.

9

Godzilla Strikes Again (1955)

Godzilla’s first battle against another monster

With the spectacular success of the original Godzilla (1954), Toho accelerated by producing a sequel, which led to Godzilla strikes again being released just a year later. There are a lot of details to pick out in the sequel, as it’s quite evident that some of the production was rushed. However, introduces the concept of Godzilla fighting another monsterwhich became the basis of Toho’s Godzilla strategy, and the monster Anguirus, which evolved into one of the most beloved monsters on Godzilla’s list of friends and enemies.

8

Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)

The height of Showa-era foolishness

Godzilla vs. Megalon has become somewhat famous for featuring one of Godzilla’s coolest fighting moves and his general silliness. The incredibly anthropomorphic Godzilla teams up with the size-shifting robot Jet Jaguar, and they duke it out with a beetle monster on Megalon, who sides with Gigan, why not? While many G fans despise Megalan for its inherent absurdity, a minority consider it perhaps the best representation of the middle stages of the Showa Erawhich saw Godzilla become more familiar and, well… silly. The hatred was exaggerated as more serious Godzilla films gained prominence.

7

Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth (1992)

The first appearance of Mothra’s dark counterpart

The direct predecessor of Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II suffered from a similar lack of attention despite some of the strongest storytelling and monster action of the Heisei Era. Godzilla and Mothra: Battle for Earth was a smash hit upon its release in Japanand is still one of the three highest-grossing Toho Godzilla entries. Like so many films before it, the two titular monsters carry the film, but the introduction of Battra, a dark reflection of the Queen of the Monsters created by Earth itself, elevates this entry into the canon.

In addition to having one of the coolest monster designs in a Godzilla movie, Battra comes in two extremely badass forms, each of which is capable of taking on Godzilla and Mothra. The Battle for Earth has received criticism for its overly complex story, but compared to some of the other entries from the 1980s and 1990s, it’s not that complicated. It’s one of the best films in which Godzilla plays the villainand deserves more modern recognition.

6

Ebirah, Horror from the Deep (1966)

A unique starter that offers a refreshing change of pace

Poor Ebirah got dirty by Toho nearly 40 years after his original appearance in Godzilla: Final Warsas the massive lobster was killed by a handful of superhumans with laser weapons rather than falling under Godzilla’s atomic breath. However, he has a cult following among G fans thanks to his first appearancewhich featured a much more self-contained story than the typical high-stakes battles that Godzilla engages in. It takes place around Children’s Island as opposed to mainland Japan, which provides a welcome change of scenery and is a lot of fun. .

5

Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)

The debut of one of Godzilla’s fan-favorite adversaries

Gigan has one of the best monster designs in Toho’s entire historyand as a result, he had a lasting influence on Godzilla’s larger legacy; it got a couple of awesome updates Godzilla: Final Wars largely due to its popularity. His first appearance in Godzilla vs. Gigan positioned him as a legitimate threat to Godzilla, as he manages to draw a shocking amount of blood from Big G during battle.

Godzilla vs. Gigan has one of the most fun final battleswhich takes place in a Godzilla-themed amusement park and features Godzilla teaming up with Anguirus. It was mostly lost in the later stages of the Showa Era, which has historically been dominated in public memory by the first two appearances of Mechagodzilla Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla and Mechagodzilla Terror. However, the debut of one of Godzilla’s most menacing and impressive foes deserves much more recognition.

4

Godzilla: Tokyo SOS (2003)

Familiar monsters meet for high-level fights

Godzilla: Tokyo SOS had the unfortunate position of directly preceding Godzilla: Final Warswhich is almost universally recognized as one of the most entertaining and memorable entries in Godzilla history. Godzilla: Tokyo SOS features the return of Kiryu, the updated version of Mechagodzilla that debuted in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla. The sequel pits Millennium Godzilla in a battle royale against Kiryu and Mothra in their larval and imago forms, and although these are familiar players, the fight sequences in SOS Tokyo are among the strongest of the modern Godzilla films.

3

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)

A streamlined return to classic Godzilla plots

The Millennium Era hasn’t aged very well for many Godzilla fanswith the exception of Godzilla: Final Wars and Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: all-out attack from giant monsters. However, the advanced fusion of special effects and tokusatsu made for some very fun visuals and fight scenes, and this is easily apparent in Godzilla x Megaguirus. Megaguirus isn’t the strongest monster Godzilla has ever faced, but the lightning-fast flying insect queen has an incredible creature design and a simple, effective backstory.

While many of the Heisei and Millennium films featured complicated, over-the-top plots to bring together the monsters at their center, Godzilla x Megaguirus presents an easy-to-follow explanation for its villain and ignores all of the previous Godzilla films except the 1954 original. Megaguirus’s powers and abilities lead to some unique fight scenesand ultimately produces a simple but entertaining Godzilla film that harkens back to his simpler one-on-one battles of the past.

2

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)

An absurd plot is a fun entry

Speaking of complicated plots, Godzilla vs King Ghidorah presents a ridiculous story based heavily on the absurd science of time travel. Time travelers from the future (who appropriately call themselves Futurians) travel back in time in an attempt to stop Godzilla from being created so he cannot destroy Japan in the distant future, but it is revealed that their true plan is to create King .Ghidorah to destroy present-day Japan so that it cannot evolve into an economic superpower.

After even more absurd time travel shenanigans and twists/detours, the time travelers eventually return to the future and bring the cybernetic Mecha-King Ghidorah to the present day. Predictably, Godzilla handles business against the robotic version of his archenemy. Godzilla vs King Ghidorah was largely ignored as too complicated by many G fans, but if you turn off your brain and just go along with all the time travel nonsense, is an extremely fun entry that sees Godzilla duke it out with Mecha-King Ghidorahwhich is enough to earn more love than you receive.

1

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (2002)

An updated Mechagodzilla and a plethora of Toho callbacks

Another modern entry that ignores all Godzilla canon except the 1954 original, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla gives the robotic kaiju a more interesting backstory. The version of Mechagodzilla known as Kiryu was actually built around the bones of the original Godzilla who was killed by the Oxygen Destroyer in 1954. Kiryu is one of the best iterations of Mechagodzilla and one of the highlights of Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla is Kiryu’s “driver”, Akane (Yumiko Shaku).

Overall, the 2002 film is one of the highest quality films from the point of view of story, acting and effects. It has gone unnoticed because it is often confused with other, more forgettable Millennium Era entries such as Godzilla 2000: Millennium. In fact, it’s a very strong entry into the canon, full of references to other classic Toho films and memorable fight moments. Deserves to be recognized among the best in the classic Godzilla films.