As a diehard Godzilla fan, hearing that Minus One was getting a sequel felt like Christmas came early. Being the film that defied all odds, Godzilla Minus One proves you don’t need a Hollywood budget to make good movies. It won numerous awards, in particular for its visual effects and garnered worldwide praise for its storytelling and difficult topics such as war and PTSD. With Minus Zero in the works, one can only wonder how this sequel will live up to the first one’s success.
So to get into the Godzilla hype again, I began hunting down all the films from 1954 to now and watched them, regardless if they’re bad or not (trust me when I say some of them are bad by 2026 standards). So here are my top five favorite Godzilla movies that everyone should watch at least once for different views on the famous monster. Note: none of the films I mention below are the older ones. Because I thought they were awful. But I sat through them regardless just to say that I saw them.
5. Godzilla (1998)
I’m seven years old at this point in time. I just exited the movie theater after seeing what I thought was the greatest movie ever made. Looking back at it now, yes it’s corny. Campy almost. But you can’t deny that it was a solid start to introducing the iconic character to the western world, despite the cultural changes made to attract new viewers. His design was more iguana-like than monster but regardless it was a fresh look. 5/10 would watch again for nostalgia purposes.
4. Godzilla (2014)
Fast forward to 2014 and we have ourselves another western take that hasn’t happened since 1998’s blockbuster film. Our monster is bigger. Beefier. All around just a cooler looking version. And he’s not in the US solely for the fish–unless you count the bigger fish to fry involving other titans (Mutos, in this case). This is our first look at a revamped icon while solidifying a place in what we now call the Monsterverse. 6.5/10, love the introduction.
3. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
Fight me. I don’t care. But Monarch is a spectacular extension of the Monsterverse that shows the effects that Titans have on humanity and the steps we take to protect ourselves to prevent another “G-Day” from happening. “There aren’t enough Titans on the show” “They barely show any monsters” oh but they do. But the focus is more so on the people rather than the titans themselves. The monsters aren’t the legacy, as the title of the show implies. It’s the legacy they leave behind by humanity. It’s the bonds people form. Friendships and found family. That’s their legacy. 7.5/10, absolutely adore this show. Love how it connects the Monsterverse timeline.
2. Godzilla Minus One
Now we’re getting to the good stuff. Because foreign films are more accessible these days than they were in the past, everyone gets to see what Japanese filmmakers are capable of. They make use of every ounce of the budget given to them to create a powerful story about war, the societal consequences of not “fulfilling duties” in Japan all the while throwing in a giant monster during the process of recovering from a war. Take out Godzilla from the film and you still have a phenomenal story about PTSD, trying to find one’s place in the world and learning how to move forward despite the pain and destruction around you. 8.5/10, I watched this seven times in case anyone wanted to know. And I’d watch it again.
1. Shin Godzilla (2016)
This is where the best gets saved for last. Shin Godzilla is by far the most gruesome of all the films I’ve seen. It leans more to the horror side and honestly, we need more Godzilla horror. The entire film is a sped up evolutionary process so brutal that at times the CGI made me gag. You see Godzilla’s pain as evolution takes over his body so fast that he goes from a literal embryo underwater into what’s considered “forms”, slowly going from one to four over the course of the film. Form one is easily the grossest with its gills flapping open and closed while blood spills out from the inside while it crawls through the street (he has no arms at this stage and is struggling to breathe on land after being mostly an aquatic creature). I could rant on and on about the forms he takes but long story short, it’s the best Godzilla movie. It’s such a cool and unique perspective as we get to see how he becomes a fully formed monster before our eyes. 10/10 highly recommended as we need more Godzilla horror enthusiasts aboard this train.
There you have it. My top five Godzilla films you should watch before Minus Zero hits theaters on November 3, 2026.
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