10 Most Thrilling Godzilla Movies, Ranked (original) (raw)
Godzilla wrecking havoc in 2023's Godzilla Minus One
Image via Toho
Published Mar 2, 2025, 5:35 PM EST
Jeremy has more than 2600 published articles on Collider to his name, and has been writing for the site since February 2022. He's an omnivore when it comes to his movie-watching diet, so will gladly watch and write about almost anything, from old Godzilla films to gangster flicks to samurai movies to classic musicals to the French New Wave to the MCU... well, maybe not the Disney+ shows.
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The Godzilla series hasn’t been around forever, but unless you were born before 1954, it’s been around for longer than you. There are almost 40 movies about the legendary King of the Monsters, most of them being made in Japan, but some being U.S. productions. Different iterations of Godzilla have appeared across the series and, similarly, the films throughout the series have varied tonally.
Some Godzilla movies are serious, others are more comedic/family-friendly, some focus on delivering action, and others lean pretty far into horror. Plenty of Godzilla films can be called thrilling, too, and some might well even qualify as movies that can fit into the thriller genre, in one way or another. In celebration of those particularly thrill-heavy Godzilla movies, here are some of the most intense (many of them also happen to be highlights of the entire series, more generally speaking).
10 'The Return of Godzilla' (1984)
Directed by Koji Hashimoto
Image via Toho
30 years on from the original, the appropriately named The Return of Godzilla wanted to harken back to that first film in many ways, and was pretty successful at doing just that. It was the first post-Showa era Godzilla film, and saw the G-man himself get something of a makeover… principally, he was made a great deal bigger, all so the many new(ish) skyscrapers in Japan didn’t dwarf him too much.
Also, The Return of Godzilla is like the original Godzilla in the sense that it’s all about stopping the titular monster, rather than having him fight another giant monster. Godzilla’s a big threat, the Cold War is making certain countries extra nervous about him emerging, and The Return of Godzilla is overall pretty fast-paced and even nerve-wracking at times, making it a gripping watch.
The Return of Godzilla
Release Date
December 15, 1984
Runtime
103 minutes
Cast
Keiju Kobayashi
Prime Minister Seiki Mitamura
9 'Godzilla vs. Biollante' (1989)
Directed by Kazuki Ōmori
Image via Toho
It took a while for a follow-up to The Return of Godzilla to eventually come out, but the wait was worth it, since said follow-up was the excellent (and kind of underrated) Godzilla vs. Biollante. Godzilla is still something of a threat here, but the other newly introduced monster, Biollante, is even more so, and the two monsters inevitably clash, with the human race looking on nervously.
Biollante hasn’t been resurrected or seen again since this film, and though it would be great to see such a unique and tragic monster once more, maybe Godzilla vs. Biollante is all that Biollante needs to appear in to rank among the best Godzilla foes. Plenty of Heisei era Godzilla movies get more than a little overlooked, and this one’s among them, in a pretty big way.
8 'Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah' (1991)
Directed by Kazuki Ōmori
Image via Toho
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah is one of the wildest Godzilla movies, and so it’s more thrilling because of how non-stop and action-packed it is, rather than because it has supremely high stakes. Well, the fate of the planet is at stake, but that’s kind of par for the course. The time-travel narrative, non-stop action, and persistently crazy sequences all combine to make this thrilling, in the end.
So, if you want something darker or more serious, Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah might not have what you're looking for, but if you're after something unpredictable, this is the film you're looking for. Whenever King Ghidorah shows up, things usually get exciting and/or a little explosive, and the three-headed dragon himself more than earns the right to share the title of this film alongside the actual King of the Monsters, Godzilla.
Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah
Release Date
December 14, 1991
Runtime
103 Minutes
Cast
Katsuhiko Sasaki
Professor Mazaki
Kosuke Toyohara
Kenichiro Terasawa
7 'Shin Godzilla' (2016)
Directed by Shinji Higuchi, Hideaki Anno
Godzilla breathing purple fire in TOHO's Shin Godzilla
Image via Toho
The non-monster stuff in Shin Godzilla is surprisingly strong, because this whole film functions as a tense and sometimes darkly funny critique of certain government groups, looking at how they might mismanage the emergence of a monster like Godzilla. The scenes with the monster himself are also stunning and even haunting at times, but so much of this movie takes place inside stuffy government buildings, and it all works weirdly well.
Shin Godzilla goes heavy on the horror alongside its critique of bureaucratic incompetence, making for an odd but also oddly enthralling Godzilla film unlike any other. Maybe it’s something of an acquired taste, but it’s probably one of the best Godzilla films to point anyone toward if they stupidly say something along the lines of “Aren’t all Godzilla movies dumb and mindless?”
Shin Godzilla
Release Date
July 29, 2016
Runtime
120 minutes
Cast
Hiroki Hasegawa
Rando Yaguchi : Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary
Yutaka Takenouchi
Hideki Akasaka : Special Advisor to the Prime Minister
6 'Destroy All Monsters' (1968)
Directed by Ishirō Honda
Godzilla and Rodan at Mt. Fuji
Image via Toho
Like Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, Destroy All Monsters isn't thrilling because it’s super intense or scary, but more so because it features so much action, proves continually fun, and is also non-stop as far as pacing goes. Plenty of older Godzilla films are paced in ways that some (not all) modern-day viewers might find slow, but Destroy All Monsters runs no such risk of inspiring such a response.
Essentially, this movie goes hard on the “_All Monsters_” part of its title, because it features so many giant monsters all being unleashed and wreaking havoc on the world, perhaps as part of an alien plan to conquer Earth. There’s a great deal of destruction featured throughout Destroy All Monsters, and the climax is also excellent, thanks to it working so many monsters into the one epic battle scene.
5 'Godzilla: Final Wars' (2004)
Directed by Ryûhei Kitamura
Godzilla in Godzilla: Final Wars
Image via Toho
You will feel tired if you watch Godzilla: Final Wars in one go, but that feels like a feature rather than a bug. It might only run for about two hours, but it feels as though it has enough wild action to fill half a dozen more subdued kaiju movies, taking a somewhat similar premise to Destroy All Monsters and just escalating things in every way, pushing it all to comical/ridiculous levels.
It’s almost a fever dream of an action movie, and some scenes are so bizarre that entire articles are needed to just break them down and even make sense of them. Godzilla: Final Wars is another one of those “acquired taste” Godzilla movies, but if you can kind of get on its wavelength and enjoy the ride as much as possible, the thrills found in this one are pretty much constant.
4 'Godzilla' (1954)
Directed by Ishirō Honda
Godzilla crosses a river, with a bridge in the forefront and smoke from his destruction behind in 'Gojira' (Godzilla) 1954
Image via Toho Pictures
The only thing that stops the original Godzilla movie from being the most “thrilling” is the fact that the pacing is a little slow at times, but not the kind of slow where things are boring. It takes its time and builds tension very gradually, with the more explosive parts in the second half easily making the wait worthwhile, even if you're just here for the monster stuff.
But there’s so much more to 1954’s Godzilla than just the monster himself. It’s dark and realistic as far as disaster movies with science fiction elements go, and it has a great deal to say about post-World War II – and then-ongoing Cold War – paranoia, sadness, and anger surrounding atomic weapons. It’s gripping and admirably bleak stuff, and undoubtedly a classic of its decade.
Godzilla
Release Date
November 3, 1954
Runtime
96 minutes
Cast
Akira Takarada
Hideto Ogata
Momoko Kôchi
Emiko Yamane
3 'Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack' (2001)
Directed by Shusuke Kaneko
If you watched a movie called Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack and it wasn’t non-stop, wild, and supremely entertaining, wouldn’t you be a little disappointed? This one is up there with the best Godzilla films of the 21st century so far, depicting Godzilla at his most evil, and having King Ghidorah appear in an uncommonly heroic role.
Ghidorah fights alongside Mothra and Baragon to defeat Godzilla, and the whole thing is surprisingly fantastical, too, compared to the usual science fiction-tinged entries found throughout the series. Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack has a ton of action, suspense, and even heartbreak throughout, being one of the most approachable and well-rounded films of the entire series, not to mention one of the most exciting, too.
2 'Godzilla vs. Destoroyah' (1995)
Directed by Takao Okawara
Godzilla nearing meltdown in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah
Image via Toho
For reasons that are obvious to anyone who’s seen it, Godzilla vs. Destoroyah features one of the best and most intimidating monsters Godzilla has ever come up against. The other title monster here, Destoroyah, was born from the weapon that defeated Godzilla back in the 1954 film, and he mutates throughout the duration of this film, gradually becoming larger and larger until he basically looks like a giant demon straight out of hell.
He's cool and terrifying in equal measure, and he adds immeasurably to the stakes of Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. Oh, also, Godzilla himself is constantly melting down throughout the film, threatening to blow at any moment and doing unimaginable damage to everything around him when he does. To call this movie high-stakes overall would be doing it a supreme disservice. It’s devastating, harrowing, and non-stop stuff.
1 'Godzilla Minus One' (2023)
Directed by Takashi Yamazaki
Minami Hamabe as Noriko Oishi staring out a window in Godzilla Minus One
Image via Toho
Maybe some recency bias is in effect here, but Godzilla Minus One really is just that engrossing and full-throttle as far as kaiju movies go. It’s something of an instant classic, mixing in some old and new elements to stunning effect, and telling a story that goes back even further than the original Godzilla film, taking place right after the end of World War II.
That historical context means the human characters here are true underdogs. Plus, Godzilla, as depicted here, is extra menacing, and so the fight to defeat him is naturally more intense. Godzilla Minus One isn't just one of the best Godzilla movies; it’s up there as one of the greatest films of the 2020s so far, and if you're after a highly involving and persistently tense giant monster movie, it’s a must-watch.
Godzilla Minus One
Release Date
November 3, 2023
Runtime
124 minutes
Cast
Ryunosuke Kamiki
Koichi Shikishima
Minami Hamabe
Noriko Oishi
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