A much shorter era, and definitely a more consistent one, here are my rankings for Godzilla’s second batch of movies, the Heisei era.
Godzilla vs. Biollante
When we’re starting at 5 it just shows you that this era is generally of better quality, but the first two films in the are definitely the worst. In this, Godzilla has to fight a monster made by combining DNA from himself, and plant, and maybe a human? The story is honestly the dumbest yet, and Godzilla barely fights Biollante. But in the final 10 minutes, Biollante’s full form is revealed, and it is insane, one of the best designs of the series, which just makes you even sadder its around for literally 5 minutes before dying. It’s a shame, this is the first one where I’ve really felt a lot of wasted potential.
The Return of Godzilla
Godzilla’s BACK! And as okay as ever. This movie is solidly fine, but it really comes across as a worse version of the first movie. The music is actually very good, but the story is boring, and there’s little destruction even when compared with the original. It was nice to see Godzilla next to skyscrapers for the first time, but as a direct sequel to the original, it just doesn’t compare.
Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla
Out of all the Godzilla films I’ve watched, this one felt the most like a monster of the week situation, like they were really just trying to fill a year. Don’t mistake that for me thinking it was bad though. The star is definitely SpaceGodzilla, who feels like a genuinely malicious foe, who starts the film off by capturing Godzilla’s adopted child. The films ends with a really great fight between Godzilla, SpaceGodzilla, and Mechagodzilla knockoff MOGUERA. A good entry, if a bit rote by this point.
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah
Godzilla’s most legendary foe returns, with a new origin, and a new take on whether he should just destroy everything (sometimes). Time travellers from the future come to teleport a random dinosaur that still happens to be alive in World War II out of the way of a nuclear blast which would have transformed it into Godzilla. However, strange creatures they leave behind are transformed instead, into King Ghidorah, who goes on a rampage. As luck would have it, a new Godzilla gets created anyway, and they have a fight, with Godzilla winning. Now there’s still a Godzilla to deal with, but quick thinking from one of the time travellers brings back Mecha-King Ghidorah, who beats Godzilla before tumbling to the bottom of the sea. All in all, pretty solid, but the story is definitely not well thought out, and the monsters don’t really fight as much as these classic foes should have.
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah
In this epic finale, Godzilla must face the personification (monsterification?) of the Oxygen Destroyer which first beat him in the original film. It starts off as a bunch of human sized crab things (which the military fights in a scene that totally rips off Aliens), but by the end transforms into something that literally looks like Satan, it’s insane. So now Godzilla has to beat that, while also dying, as his body is quickly going into meltdown. Luckily he has an all-grown-up Godzilla Jr. to help out. The fight Godzilla has with Destoroyah isn’t actually amazing, but it’s made up for with Godzilla’s amazing meltdown suit, Godzilla Jr. holding his own, and Godzilla’s death scene, which will definitely make you feel emotional.
Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II
In a twist on the original, this Mechagodzilla is made by humans to fight an attacking Godzilla, not the other way around. Godzilla finds an egg that belongs to a child of his species, but unfortunately, Rodan is on hand to cause hassle as always, eventually resulting in humans being able to leave with the egg, which Godzilla isn’t very happy about. This movie ends with an amazing battle where Godzilla and Rodan work together to beat Mechagodzilla and get his baby back. Overall not quite as good as the next film on this list, and I prefer the original Mechagodzilla design, but this was a really fun movie.
Godzilla vs. Mothra
The original Mothra vs. Godzilla is definitely a film I find to be overrated by other fans. Yes it definitely has a good story, but the monsters barely interact in their fights, and other films have better fighting AND better stories. It even made me wonder if a fight with Mothra could be exciting and impactful. They proved me totally wrong with Godzilla vs. Mothra. A solid story about caring the for environment, some of the best effects in the series, and an evil Mothra called Battra who is genuinely intimidating. The final fight in which Mothra and Battra put their differences aside to fight Godzilla is the best of the era, if not the whole series. I wholeheartedly apologise for my previous Mothra opinions, and I will never underestimate Mothra again.
