This week sees the return of everyone's favorite Kaiju, Godzilla in what is to be an epic battle royale against the likes of Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah. But what if I haven't seen a 'Godzilla' movie I hear you ask? Well, hokey excuses aside I present to you a list of what I feel are essential films in the 'Godzilla' franchise to help you catch up on the various details without having to go through all 35 and counting films in the series. So I present to you five essential 'Godzilla' films you should see before heading to 'King of the Monsters'.
5.) Destroy All Monsters (1968)
I'm going to put this one on the bottom because it feels somewhat like a bait and switch when it comes to seeing the monsters fight. The biggest positive here is that Toho brought every monster from their movies up to this point which results in a big final battle with King Ghidorah against the main seven. The biggest negative and the main reason for such a low placement on this list is that many monsters have little more than brief cameos and a lot of the film's running time is padded out with boring human characters. Still, this one comes recommended for the finale alone.
4.) Godzilla vs. Monster Zero (1965)
Godzilla goes to outer space to fight Rodan and Ghidorah who fall under the control of an evil alien race...and this isn't even the strangest this series would get. Despite the ridiculous premise, this is one of the better entries of the Showa film era. The aliens are a pretty weak aspect of the story but the monster battles are fun and the special effects for the time were pretty impressive. It's also one of the shorter films so you could pop this in and have a fun rainy day movie that won't eat up too much of your time. Plus there's this...
3.) Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)
This one is pure insanity. The final film of the Millennium era, this would be the last Godzilla film for quite a long time and they wanted to go out with a bang. You have alien invaders (of course) taking control of various monsters from the franchise history to destroy humanity (of course) and its up to Godzilla to kick Kaiju ass. On top of the epic monster battles (including a cinematic middle finger to the 1998 US remake) we get over the top Kung Fu battles with the aliens and humans like something out of 'The Matrix'. This really helps the films pace but it can be pretty overwhelming as it takes no breaks throughout the story and ends on an epic high. 'Godzilla: Final Wars' is the best film of the Millennium era and highly recommended.
2.) Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)
After 'Godzilla 1985' and 'Godzilla vs. Biolante' didn't light the international box office on fire, Toho went back to basics and updating them in the right ways coming out with what many consider the best in the series. The Heisei period is probably my personal favorite era and my top 5 Godzilla films (different than these) come from this period including this 1991 entry. Think 'Back to the Future' meets 'Godzilla' and you have this film with alien beings from the future (seriously, aliens hate Japan apparently) erase Godzilla from history and place their monster in its place which predictably results in disaster. Now in the present, the military creates another Godzilla and an epic battle ensues (Oh, and Rodan shows up too). This is probably my personal favorite of this era, with strong acting (seriously), great special effects, and some good Kaiju battles. And Mecha-Ghidorah is awesome.
1.) Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster (1964)
Fun, silly, and a good way to spend a day I can't think of a better film to introduce someone to Godzilla. I know the original is a classic, but it differs in tone and is more for fans of serious films while 'Ghidorah' is a good one to show to your kids or have a good day with friends. The upcoming film also feels strongly connected to this one as it contains the same four monsters and a similar plot so if you need to catch up on which monster is which then look no further.
'Godzilla: King of the Monsters' releases May 31st everywhere. Be sure to check back here for my thoughts and final review.
