I actually think I liked Godzilla Minus One more than Shin Godzilla simply because of how invested I got in the human drama and it's strong anti-war message and felt Godzilla did make great use of his screen time despite not being as scary looking as he does in Shin. Both are excellent films, but as of right now I want to give Minus One the edge.

Minus One is the only kaiju film that moved me to tears. This is the only time you care more about the humans than seeing Goji wreck shit. Easily godlike for me.

Fun fact: SpaceGodzilla's design is a modified version of Super Godzilla, the transformation of Godzilla found in the Super Nintendo game of the same name. Minoru Yoshida designed the concepts for both monsters, originally creating Super Godzilla for the game, but later recycling the look and turning it into what would eventually become SpaceGodzilla's final design.

Can we just take a second to say that damn near all the movie posters are godlike

I think a Minus one trilogy would work as kind of a modernization of the Showa era. Have the next movie set in the 60s and the finale in the 70s. If they could do monster fights without making Godzilla a hero like in the Legendary movies.

Can’t wait to see ‘Godzilla Minus Garfield’; how will Jon Arbuckle handle a giant lizard that isn’t even there?

Good list! I think the only change I would really make for myself is putting Minus One up top with '54 and Shin. I think it just serves as such a good companion piece for both the original and Shin, especially regarding Japan's relationship to WW2 and their own government. Also, without spoiling, I think the ending subverts tropes of Kaiju flicks in a way that I really liked. Excited for GxK!!!

finally, someone who acknowledges and understands the unfettered gigachad energy of Jet Jaguar

Always good to see a fellow King of the Monsters enjoyer. Tired of the slandered that film's gotten over the years smh

minus one was made with only 15 million... huge middle finger to Hollywood's overinflated block busters

Oh, hell yeah. I was hoping you'd do this. Godzilla vs Hedorah has a really strong place in my list, but Shin and Minus One are honestly tough to beat due to just being great films overall.

Godzilla Minus One is God tier for me, but it's kind of tied with Shin Godzilla as one has a better paced story and good human motivation while the other has an unexpected take on Godzilla that keeps you guessing yet also heavy focuses on bureaucracy, which, while I liked it, can be a bit dull. Minus One was a bit cliche at points, but overall was great and had heart, which makes the overly happy ending understandable. Shin's "Who Will Know (Tragedy)" atomic breath scene was more dramatic, but, as mentioned, the film kinda peak there. Interestingly enough, apparently the novelization of Minus One incorporate some elements of cut Shin Godzilla concepts, so a sequel could be wild 😂

FUN FACT for GMK is that Ko Otani did the score for it and it sounds VERY reminiscent of Shadow of the Colossus. One of my favorite Godzilla scores up until Minus One. It's very fitting with the more mystical tone it sets up for Mothra, Ghidorah and Baragon. (I know he did Gamera as well)

I think the reason I like Minus Zero so much is that it feels like more than the sum of it's parts. I think thematically it's the strongest portrayal of Godzilla since the original film, and the way Godzilla's presence in the story ties into/elevates the human drama makes his scenes (as simple as they are) hit way harder in turn. While I do think some of the appeal could fade over time, I'd argue Minus One could stand by itself in God Tier as a pure distillation of what made Godzilla iconic in the first place - with some kick-ass modern effects to boot. Sidebar - I'd actually argue that Minus One, like Shin Godzilla, also works best as a standalone film. Where Shin Godzilla is a modernization of Godzilla to the point of rationalizing his invincibility with OP biology such that sequels seem unappealing by virtue of the fact that he would essentially have to transcend what we know and love as Godzilla completely, The Godzilla of Minus One is appealing & effective in how true the character is to it's roots, but would lack the impact he has in Minus One if he were in a sequel involving more monsters/kaiju fights and seem uninspired in a sequel where he fills the same role he does in Minus One. So personally I think they're almost like two sides of the same coin in terms of quality.

I saw Minus One the other night, and then immediately went to an IMAX showing the next day. Definitely my favourite film of the year. Being someone who's only seen the recent monster verse trilogy and shin godzilla, I didn't have as much connection to the series as many others. But I'm so excited to finally jump into the series and start watching them from the very beginning

Godzilla was responsible for leading me to meet my oldest friend who hails all the way from the UK and to whom I still talk about Godzilla and Ninja Turtles to this day. We wrote fanfics (not even kidding), shared thoughts and what could haves or should haves. Godzilla is such a treasured franchise to the two of us and I will always be thankful for it.

53:26 as a long time Coney fan I can confirm with 100% certainty that adding more tiers in the middle of the video is always going to be funny especially if they are very specific.

If you ever get a chance, watching the original in a theatre is a really cool experience.

I'm not the biggest Godzilla fan (I am a huge Rifftrax/MST3K nerd though), mostly due to the fact that growing up all the Godzilla movies on TV were always the 70s Baby Godzilla/Minilla movies, but Matt's love for the big guy is always great to see. Also Godzilla flying or his flying kick (Godzilla vs. Megalon) never gets old.

Personally, Godzilla Minus One is the BEST film in franchise history! Its just a damn good movie. The acting is the best I've seen in a Godzilla movie other than the original movie. The way Godzilla is presented and what he represents, just makes you terrified of him. It's the first time I've truly viewed Godzilla as "animalistic" rather than just an atomic monster. But what really sells me on the movie is the human drama, the acting, and just the whole story in general. The movie would still be an award winner without Godzilla in it. I've seen it 3 times in theaters and I'm going to see it again. I just find myself on the edge of my seat and sweating just anticipating and wondering "what the hell comes next?!?"

25:00. "I get it, but shut up." is such a good line to say when talking to a critic about something you are passionate about.

Shin Godzilla design is absolutely terrifying to look. He really has that body horror aesthetic to it, and I love how he went from a gross looking salamander to transforming into Godzilla. That menacing zombie look and the skull at the tip of his tail, just really wanted to show that he's a terrifying kaiju. I even looked into the concept art of showing him a humanoid form is in fact very interesting. Really wish that this movie gets a sequel.

Yesss! I was looking forward to a new Godzilla ranking! Your original rankings and Goji vids really helped make me a Kaiju fan! Would love a full Minus One review from you!

This came right as I'm marathoning these movies with my wife, who hasn't seen them before! She's pretty into them, especially Mothra. Unfortunately we're up to Son so uh, hopefully I don't lose her.

I think I agree with a lot of your list. Definitely some surprises. I would probably place 1998 higher simply because I think it's a fun movie even if it plays fast and loose with Godzilla. I think if we are going with how the movie makes you feel as the main criteria, I have to say Minus One made me feel more frightened, more excited, and more emotionally invested than any other Godzilla film ever. I hold the original in the highest esteem, and I think Minus One is truly the first film in the series to match it in every regard, and I think it exceeds it in several ways beyond just visual spectacle. I've seen Minus One 3 times now, and I plan to see it at least one more time before it's gone. Third time and I was still holding my breath. I took my parents and younger brother to see it in IMAX. (THE REAL IMAX) They were all blown away. My brother said it's the best movie he's ever seen, and went to see it with me a second time, which has NEVER happened before. My dad loved it and couldn't stop talking about it for a while, which also NEVER happens. What a great time to be a Godzilla fan!

This was a really fun watch, and it was neat seeing where your opinions lined up or disagreed with my own... I would love to see you do more tier lists like this; might I recommend/request a ranking of the kaiju themselves? I would love to hear your thoughts on each of the Zilla-verse critters (and possibly their different incarnations, though that might make the vid a bit longer than you care to do... Godzilla alone would take up a substantial chunk of time and tier space if you covered all the incarnations...) It would also be fun to hear your thoughts on the Godzilla-related films, like the Mysterians, Rodan, Mothra, and so forth.

At the bottom of the tiermaker page there's an option to change the format of the picture. Selecting Portrait or No Crop will let you see the full image.

as a child I thought return was equally terrifying and heartbreaking. as an adult I feel like that combo yields easily the best material in this franchise

Destroy all Monsters is a snuff film lmao. Dude that beat down is so great

The way you talk about these movies is really mesmerizing. I hope someday you'll try to review some of these Godzilla movies!

Saw Minus One today, and loved it. Kept thinking during, and after "wonder if Matt saw this, and liked it". I was not a fan of Shin personally down to how it was shot. While some of the CG was roughish, it was still probably the best looking Japanese movie I have ever seen. Was very impressed with the level of polish. Totally agree that it could have maybe used one one action set peice around the middle maybe. But great otherwise. Going in just for the novelty of getting to see a japanese made Godzilla movie in a theater really paid off. Never had the opportunity before.

Ah, this feels good to watch I tried watching other "ranking godzilla films" videos and it was annoying how a lot of other youtubers tried to sound like super cool experts with "my opinion is a reflection of objective reality because I'm an expert in godzilla". Meanwhile Matt sounds like a honest fan having an honest opinion who honestly just loves these movies. I don't even need to agree with his placement or ranking, it just feels really good to hear him talk about something he is clearly passionate about. Godspeed

I like how clear on your reasons to the point that, even when I disagree with a few lower rankings, I can't fault your logic. Love to hear from another big fan. Thanks!

HELL yeah, so glad to see you do a full Godzilla tier list. Can't watch the end though since I'm waiting on Minus One to come out in my area, but it was fun hearing your opinions on the Big G's legacy.

There’s something about that Showa-era King Ghidorah noise that fills my heart with awe and dread. Like it’s an eldritch space monstrosity that could probably kill me with a thought and yet it has this bizarre high pitched noise.

I loved Shin Godzilla so much. It wasn't anything like I expected it to be. Rather than cheesy or "hip" for the modern times it was a somber and intelligent look at what might happen if such a creature attacked Tokyo today. It was a talky movie about the failure of bureaucracy set against the backdrop of a living atrocity. Very, very good film.

I haven't seen much godzilla outside the original, Shin, and the American ones. Gonna check out the ones you rated highly cause I'm starting to feel the hype for Minus

To be fair from the accounts I've heard. Bandai through toho told Anno to include multiple forms to bump up merchandise potential rather than the other way around. Collaboration with Anno was meant to be earlier but took back seat due the rebuild of eva series.

Fun fact: I could watch your ranking videos all. Day! keep em up!

Does anyone remember Matt's "Drunkenly Explains Every Godzilla Movie" video? I really want to watch it again but I'm afraid it's lost to time. That buzzed out "JET JAGUAR BUM BUM BUM BAAAHH" has lived rent free in my head for years.

Man i remember watching your drunk recap of all the movies in the anticipation of the 2014 movie, wanted to rewatch it and was pleasantly surprised to see this vid JUST uploaded, love ya skelly boi❤

Best part of GMK is the utterly adorable Rie Ota doing her little "Rawr!" as she did her acting as Baragon. :D

"Ask James Rolfe, he'll know that shit" Spoken like a man who watched Monster Madness Godzillthon growing up!

I've been reading a lot through the years, that Hideaki Anno's intention is that all his Shin works are the same universe, so Ultraman, Kamen Rider, and Godzilla. I'm hopeful they give him the chance to get that madness done, eventually.

I would personally place Ghidorah: the Three-Headed Monster into awesome tier. It was the first Godzilla movie I ever saw, and it is important to the series overall, as it introduced King Ghidorah.

Godzillas revenge when I was a kid was always on Saturday mornings it seemed and is one reason why I love it. Gimmie that cheese!

Hey dude! Shout out that I love you! I also appreciate you bringing up the Universal Monster Cross-overs. Definitely started a subculture of cross over cinema that Godzilla capitalized on.

Jipp, Loved the Guest, a real calm....badass villian

Poor Jet Jaguar. His parents never really love him.

I haven't seen Godzilla vs Kong, but I have a friend who's a huge Godzilla fan and HATES the human characters, and compared the writing of those scenes to "an extended segment of Whose Line is it Anyway?" so I'm surprised to hear such praise for it.

Man, I was also randomly recommended that recent Megalon short and hot damn! Really badass. Funny but I guess kind of expected to see it mentioned here as well. xD

I literally got an ad for Godzilla Minus One. 😂😂😂 Freaking perfect.

Matt this was very helpful since I've never seen a Godzilla film but I've always been curious about them (I like Tokusatsu). Now I have a hankering to watch some of your top picks.

Awesome list! Personally I’d put Minus one in the “S” class for the tier due to being one of the very few if not the “only” one with such amazing human characters that you genuinely care about, I’ve seen it twice and it improved if anything. More Kaiju stuff please!

Best Goji tier list I’ve ever seen, every take is correct (except -1.0 bump that to godlike lol)

It's called Godzilla Minus One, but I give it an A+. It's an amazing post war story that happens to have Godzilla in it.

Really solid tier list, my own would of course differ but I think we're on the same vibe of loving both the serious and goofier stuff. My own, rough ranking, I'd put Goji 54, Shin Goji, GMK, Minus One and maybe Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster in the top tier. Those are just my personal faves. With KOTM, GvK 2023, Goji vs King Ghidorah, Vs Megalon (purely for Jet Jaguar) Final Wars and Goji vs. Mechagodzilla (2002) as near perfects. Everything else, even stuff I know most folks hate like the anime trilogy, would pretty much fall under Okay. I personally don't think there is a bad Goji movie. Even the '98 flick has some fun bits that keep me from hating it. I genuinely think Godzilla's Revenge is a beautiful, if flawed, modern fairytale take on Godzilla.

Good list, some changes from my own would be moving GvK down in line with the other Legendary films, Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla and vs Biollante in Near perfect, vs King Ghidorah down, and Return of Godzilla in godlike. Godzilla Minus One hasn't released in my country yet but given the universal praise and being talked about the tone being on similar level as Gojira & Return of Godzilla, two of my favourite, has me hyped for its release.

I like a Godzilla tier list more than just a numbered ranking list. There are just too many movies to list them in order. It puts some really good entries far down the list. Also I'm with Matt on Captain Gordon. Most badass human character in any G-flick by far.

As someone that’s not a huge fan of Godzilla, Godzilla:Minus One is probably my favorite out of the handful of movies I have seen. I think Monster movies are only as good as the human characters that are affected by the presence of the monster, and by the design/effects of the monster. I’d like to see the Minus One story continue.

Perfect video for work! Love it!

"Godzilla Minus one" is an easy god-like tier for me

Definitely down for a revisit when the new Legendary Goji is out. Find the spot for it and see where Minus One is for you then, especially now that we also have Minus Color maybe being that x-factor you were wanting to bump it up

I did my own list on Letterboxd back when GvK came out, this is comewhat similar in that you've also considered how fun a movie is, rather than just other qualities or lack there of. Very good!

The Netflix Anime movies burned the term "Belasaludo" into my brain. I've lost hard drive space because of a bunch of space Ganons.

2014 is in my top five. I love it, and I think the creative choices were excellent. The only thing I would change is that I would have had about five more minutes of Kaiju battling added throughout the movie. Funnily enough, my top 4 movies are the 4 Godzilla solo movies: Gojira, Minus One, Shin Godzilla, and The Return of Godzilla.

I nearly spit my drink when he said Astro Monster influenced Tekken 😂

With a purposeful grimace and a terrible sound, he pulls the spinning high-tension wires down.

everytime someone says New Order on New World Order I just get the NWO theme in my head.

I knew going in I would love Minus One. I watched it in 4D and it was a life changing experience. I felt emotion for all the characters, Godzilla felt terrifying and it gave you a bit of everything. But like Matt said it didn't really tell you much about Godzilla himself but I feel like that's on purpose cuz we know who he is. But yeah Minus One is a masterpiece in my eyes and it truly does set it up for more and I will be there for that.

I always dig Kaiju films, no matter what type of creature, robot, alien and other species they are. They have a special place in my heart, thanks for the tier list!

No Spoilers -- if you haven't seen "Godzilla Minus One" inside a theater where all the STOMPS and SCREAMS of the monster are loud as fuck, please go do this ASAP! 😁

Godzilla Raids Again does have one of the best fights in monster history. Nothing fancy or silly, just two giant forces of Nature trying to kill each other in a frenzy in a dark city. Eerily horrifying.

Pretty solid list. Though for changes, personally I'd put Biollante at Godlike, Space Godzilla up to awesome tier, Ebirah at Near Perfect. King of the Monsters is Near Perfect to me, the kaiju druff more than makes up for its faults imo & some of rhe best imagery we've seen for this franchise.

Bro when he saw Godzilla 1998 chat I laugh when he skip it

We all obviously know the 98 American Godzilla is totally S tier (if we’re going by that soundtrack)😂

Titanosaurus has one of my favorite roars or cries in all of Godzilla. I love him

Fun fact: Godzilla Vs Kong 1962 was originally envisioned as “King Kong Vs Frankenstein” Written by Willis Obrien one of the original animators of the RKO pictures King Kong film. He shopped the film idea around However, many studios were not keen on the idea, mostly because O'Brien's script would need a lot of expensive stop-motion animation. Eventually it would land at Toho who wanted to make a king kong film for a long time and they chose to replace the “Frankenstein” part with godzilla. Merian C. Cooper the original creator of kong hated this adaptation of kong cause of the whole “guy in rubber suit” aesthetic saying “Toho should of used stop motion and not cheaped out” he even tried suing toho to stop the localization of the 1962 film

I'd definitely be interested in an addition to this tier list ranking other kaiju series alongside Big G.

Once, out of curiosity, I re-cut Godzilla vs Kong and only removed Milly Bobby Brown's character's story. It made the movie simpler, easier to follow, and it freed up 31 minutes of extra screentime. That's 31 minutes that could have been spent explaining or building up so many other things. 😮‍💨

King of the Monsters (2019) feels very similar to Final Wars. It's not great but it's a fun ride.

Nice vid Matt please do more tier list

OG MechaGodzilla is the coolest looking MechaGodzilla. Anguirus is the best kaiju. Minus One really is one of the best Godzilla movies.

I think G vs. Ebirah has that same lovely cheese factor as G vs. Kong before it. I also rate it highly out of the campy ones. Also the Heisei era SFX are off the wall if you ask me. The explosions, miniatures blowing up and getting destroyed, the lighting, it's sick. I would put Minus One up there with the other 2 in Godlike tier. It does have flaws, like all the character conflicts felt instantly solved. Some of the characters also felt like they were too anime. I did like it a lot and I do think it could serve as a good introduction for new viewers.

I freaking loved Space Godzilla! I only watched that movie because Matt made a top 10 list so many years ago, but Destroyah is my favorite

Let's gooooo thanks Matt my Xmas dream came true

Son of Godzilla always seems underrated. It is a truly unique entry in location, music and kaiju (they are all gigantic insects and whatnot.) Add in a touching ending and you get a top 10 for me.

The mst3k version of Godzilla vs Megalon should be in the God-like tier.

My top 3: 1.) Godzilla Minus One 2.) Shin Godzilla 3.) Godzilla 1954 But as much as I love Minus One, I want a sequel to Shin instead lmao

Good list. I don't agree with every placement, but we all have our own opinions. I think my biggest changes would be to put Godzilla 54 in the S'okay section and Godzilla 2014 in the Eh section, while elevating Final Wars, GMK and Godzilla vs Kong to God-Like.

As someone who knows little of Godzilla other than the US made stuff, this was very interesting to listen to.

My favorite scenes are when Godzilla goes "AAAAAAHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEUUUUUUURRRRRRAAAGGGHHHH".

Terror of mechagodzilla is burned in my brain. I remember as a kid being scared for Godzilla. Cuz it was one of few times he was by himself fighting two kaiju. So it felt more dangerous.

So much fun with this list. 1:24 Watching Gojira 54 for the first time when it was finally released in the US after seeing KotM 54 for decades was like seeing the Extended Editions of LotR for the first time, but 50 years after the theatrical release. I now only can watch the Raymond Burr versions for Raymond Burr and thats it. Soooo much was cut from the original it's just feels dirty. I love 54 so much. 4:33 I have a back and forth with KvG 62, mostly because there are 2 versions. After finally getting to see the Japanese version with the Criterion collection's extra features, the JP version's first half is so much funnier that the dull scenes of the US's first half. 7:49 Sea Monster was the second film I ever saw and probably more responsible for my love of the series. Honest to God, if you write out the plot points just in the first 15 minutes from the opening to stranded on the island...it's just so WTF and I love it. You can honestly play a drinking game for every time you hear a main characters name, and that's the Japanese version (Pretty sure 3 characters including Takarada only are said once or twice). I don't even remember if you hear everyone's name in the dub. You just see Akira Takarada has so much fun in this thief role. 15:30 Oh god I hated the Kaiju talking in Gigan so much. The moment I first saw they only used speech bubbles in the JP version, I refused to watch it dubbed ever again. lol 19:38 G1985 was my first as well and will always hold a special place for me, even if the US version is the lesser version and it's near impossible to readily find the Raymond Burr version without exceeding effort. That ending monologue by Burr and final scream hit 6yo me hard. 24:15 I nearly chokelaughed at GvKG "...I get it, but shut up." 27:44 GvSG I love and will defend to my death. Yuki is the most intense human character of the franchise and I love him. The Sony DVD subs are horrible, and kill half of his amazing lines in the movie. I will say, if the film had another 30min (Little's crystal prison, then cut back at the end), the plot wouldn't feel so unfinished. 33:42 I was so pumped to see Megaguirus as soon as we got a subbed copy months after it released in Japan. I have never laughed so hysterically at the broken science of shooting a black hole with that mass of Saturn to kill Godzilla, and miss, twice. 39:04 I absolutely love GFW, and maintain Don Frye was the closest we will ever see to a live-action Mike Haggar. This Godzilla movie has the best one-liners of the franchise, don't @ me. lol 41:20 1000% agree on the Bryan Cranston take. The movie was great up to that point...then they just kept cutting away from G and just pissing me off. Confirming the atomic breath with blue was the last thing I had to look to in the movie. Also cutting and not even putting a deleted scene of Akira Takarada on the DVD release is still something I will never forgive. Absolutely loved this and hope to see that return you mentioned in the end.

My dream for a sequel: modern sequel to Minus 1 with another monster, then decently into the future with mecha Godzilla where they deference the monsters we’ve seen off-screen since then

nothing beats Shin Godzilla. Matt is spot on. Shin Godzilla is utterly terrifying, on a kind of gut level. The ending was iconic imo.

Never realized, but makes so much sense to see the anti monster ray gun tanks from E.D.F.5 in Godzilla movies. 15:27 😂

Woah. The final wars love. Unexpected. Most people shit on that movie but it’s honestly one of my all time favorites

Minus One made me cry lmao. Can’t say that about any of the others

Minus One is God-like. It just is.