Summary
Godzillahas been through multiple iterations since its 1954 debut, butthe monster’s attacks on humanity have been wildly varied, with some far worse than others. The Japanese productionGodzilla Minus Onebecame the first movie in the franchise to obtain a well-deserved Oscar for Best Special Effects, although the entire franchise has developed a following over the years, with good reason.Godzilla’s abilities and strengthshave been compared to nuclear power over the years, creating a metaphor for atomic weapons and their threat to society.
Some ofGodzilla’s strongest attackswere in Tokyo, of course, with the whole story originating in Japan. The 1954 original Godzilla movie,Godzilla, launched a set of movies that would have its titular monster rampaging all around the world.The Godzilla of both Japanese and American films has terrorized Japan, the States, Australia, and moreunfortunate denizens of the world. With some of Godzilla’s most fearsome assaults coming from its atomic blast, no country was safe in the world of Godzilla.
The 10 Saddest Deaths In Godzilla’s Movies, Ranked
Godzilla’s movies have featured some surprisingly poignant deaths, from human characters to giant monsters meeting their demise in single combat.
10The Sydney Opera House Went Down
Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)
Although far from the best Godzilla movie, the Toho Pictures movieGodzilla: Final Warswas co-produced with Australian, American, and Chinese teams, and had an excellent scene of Australian misfortune. This rather ridiculous entry to the Godzilla universe had aliens setting various giant monsters - affectionately known as kaiju in Japan - on unsuspecting parts of the world.The Godzilla of the 1998 movie featured in this story, known as “Zilla,” only to be confronted with “the real Godzilla.” Zilla’s reign of terror ended in an entertaining destruction of the Sydney Opera House.
InGodzilla: Final Wars, Godzilla launched its relentless attack on humanity via some fun, action-packed battle scenes with other monsters - the collateral damage was where the real problem lay here. The movie’s plot became quite contrived and overwhelming, although it was notable for its crossover featuringmultiple iconic kaiju versus Godzilla. This made for a unique cinematic experience, despite lackluster special effects. The movie’s fight choreography and high-energy sequences made thisone attack on humanity hard to forget.
Godzilla: Final Wars
Cast
Godzilla: Final Wars is directed by Ryuhei Kitamura and follows humanity’s attempt to eradicate Godzilla, imprisoning him in the South Pole. However, new monstrous threats emerge, leading to an alliance with mysterious aliens called Xiliens, which conceals a greater danger, ultimately forcing Godzilla’s return.
9Godzilla Brought Nuclear Destruction On Tokyo
Godzilla 1985 (1985)
This 1985 movie is far from the best of the bunch, but it did display an awful attack on humanity on Godzilla’s part.Godzilla returned to its role as antagonistafter becoming a hero in previous movies, making this attack on humanity more surprising and impactful. While the movie did display Godzilla’s power to destroy humanity, it left out the political overtones that made previous movies so important. This Americanized version of events lacked the allegorical significance of the original movie.
Godzilla’s tirade in this movie focused on Tokyo, as it caused ample physical destruction of its buildings and citizens. The plot of this movie lacked some coherence in the movie’s overall narrative, but the dark tone lent the attack some thrills.Visual execution was somewhat lacking in this ’80s flick, but it was a good reminder of Godzilla’s original purposeas a character - to strike fear into the heart of humanity.
Godzilla: All 13 Monster Allies (& Which Movies They Appeared In)
Godzilla has several monster allies who help him in battle against various threats. Here’s who they all are, and which movies they appeared in.
8San Francisco Was The Subject Of Godzilla’s Anger
Godzilla (2014)
2014’sGodzillamovie emerged to a mixed reception, but one highlight was Godzilla’s attack on San Francisco, providing an almost hilarious set piece of cinematic carnage. The Golden Gate Bridge got some merit-worthy attention in this movie, with Godzilla and the army both subjecting American citizens to an unfortunate tirade of violence. As one of the more contemporary additions to theGodzillafranchise,the Gareth Edwards movie provided some updated scareson the part of the titanic monster.
The monster of 2014’sGodzilladidn’t appear to provide that much of a comment on society, like the better versions of it did, but this attack was convincing cinematically. There was something satisfying about seeing a recognizable San Francisco get brutalized by the classic kaiju, although there weren’t too many fully fleshed-out human characters to give this real emotional impact. The humans in the movie felt like afterthoughts compared to the build-up of Godzilla as a dangerous force, butthis still ranks as one of Godzilla’s more destructive conflicts with humanity.
Godzilla
Godzilla is a 2014 American reboot of the popular kaiju property and the first film in Legendary’s Monsterverse franchise. The film centers around Ford Brody (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) who travels to Japan after his father Joe (Bryan Cranston) is detained for trying to uncover the truth about his wife’s death 15 years prior. Together they fight to survive as Joe’s conspiracy theory becomes true and giant monsters begin attacking the world.
7Multiple Kaiju Destroyed Boston
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
This 2019 movie placed Godzilla in the USA, causing significant collateral damage to Boston in its clash with other titans. This is an example of Godzilla playing a protagonist’s role, fighting against other worse creatures, but the damage done by the clash in this movie was impressive.Multiple kaiju took over this monster movie, with Mothra, Rodan, and King Gidorah all going head-to-head with Godzilla. The unfortunate effect this had on Boston was extensive damage to its buildings and infrastructure, with all the unfortunately expected loss of human life to go with it.
Godzilla’s power levelwas at a high in this movie, with its glowing, nuclear fins providing the colorful sign of the atomic misery about to befall its foes. This American monster movie, written and co-directed by Michael Dougherty, had Godzilla’s radiation levels risking a thermonuclear explosion. It was good to see the innate ability of Godzilla kept going behind this reinvention of the Godzilla myth, butthe monster’s worst impacts on humanity were the intentional attacks.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
In Godzilla: King of the Monsters, crypto-zoological agency Monarch faces off against a battery of god-sized monsters known as the Titians. Among these creatures is the mighty Godzilla, who collides with Mothra, Rodan, and his ultimate nemesis, the three-headed King Ghidorah.
6Godzilla Returned To His Old Stomping Ground & Took No Pity On Tokyo
The Return Of Godzilla (1984)
1984’sThe Return of Godzillamade a permanent mark on the Godzilla namewhen Godzilla rampaged in Tokyo yet again, after the previous movies had really begun to carve out their niche. Reasonably early on in theGodzillamovies' timeline, this attack on humanity was set in the original and classic environment of Japan, taking the franchise back to its roots. The antagonistic Godzilla of this movie left no room for doubt that its assault on people and their homes would have huge consequences.
The resonance of Japan’s Cold War associations were not lost in the movie’s symbolism.
Despite providing an early attempt at the kind of action and horror that is now cutting-edge in theGodzillafranchise,this movie’s heartfelt human drama made Godzilla’s attack on humanity both sad and scary. The resonance of Japan’s Cold War associations was not lost in the movie’s symbolism, which placed layers of meaning over the kaiju’s place in the world.
The Return of Godzilla
The Return of Godzilla, released in 1984, marks the resurrection of the iconic kaiju as it threatens Japan. Amid escalating tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union, the Japanese government suppresses news of Godzilla’s return to avert potential nuclear conflict.
5New York City Took A Beating
Destroy All Monsters (1968)
This 1968 movie saw Godzilla attack New York City in one of Godzilla’s affronts on the USA.This was probably the better Godzilla attack on New York presented on screen, when compared with the Americanized 1998 redo. The original Japanese movie is a staple ofGodzillacinema, and it’s worth enduring the dated special effects for a narrative that is just as gripping as anything made more recently.
This movie provided a good run-through of some ofthe strongest monsters in theGodzillaworld, setting the scene for many more movies to come.Godzilla’s atomic breath hit New York in this moviewith devastating effect, while other kaiju attacked throughout the world. Mothra wreaked havoc on China and Gorosaurus created mayhem in France, making this a strong choice of movie for anyone looking to witness the power of kaiju attacking humanity.
10 Best Fights Between Godzilla’s Allies & Villains, Ranked
The heroes and villains in Godzilla’s universe have engaged in several intense battles, many of which are fights that didn’t include Godzilla himself.
4Godzilla Hit Hong Kong Hard
Godzilla Vs. Destoroyah (1995)
The glowing Godzilla ofGodzilla vs. Destoroyahtook a notable turn towards Hong Kong in this interesting addition to the franchise. This ’90s movie directed by Takao Okawara is one of Godzilla’s best outings, with a surprisingly profound take on the death of the famous monster. Famous for featuring the death of Godzilla, this may be one of the best movies of the franchise, although Godzilla and Destroyah’s clash caused extensive damage to Tokyo, whileHong Kong received a healthy dose of Godzilla’s atomic breath.
This movie managed to create sympathy for Godzilla despite its capacity for the ruination of mankind, which was an achievement in and of itself. Despite the kaiju incinerating vast swathes of Hong Kong with its notorious power,the movie realistically portrayed the creature’s struggle, showing a side of Godzilla not often examined. Although many movies tried to show Godzilla as a protagonist, this movie succeeded in ways that many of them didn’t, focusing on Godzilla’s meltdown and ultimate demise.
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah is a 1995 kaiju film directed by Takao Okawara. The movie features Godzilla facing a new adversary, Destoroyah, a fearsome creature born from the Oxygen Destroyer that was used to defeat the original Godzilla in 1954. As Tokyo faces catastrophic threats, the battle between Godzilla and Destoroyah poses dire consequences for the world. The film is a notable entry in the Heisei series of Godzilla films.
3Godzilla’s Fourth Form Horrifically Attacked Tokyo
Shin Godzilla’s (2018)
Toho Pictures' excellentShin Godzillaportrayed a beast with five forms, and Godzilla’s fourth form was the one to destroy Tokyo in this gripping kaiju movie.The Godzilla ofShin Godzillatook no prisoners, ruining boats, bridges, buildings, and streets and causing countless deaths and casualties. Perhaps one of the franchise’s most terrifying versions of Godzilla, this titan leaned into the horror genre to create a truly original kaiju story.
This movie felt like a companion to 1954’s original Gojira, evoking similar emotions towards the impact that Godzilla could have on humanity, and ultimately, the impact that humans have on each other. Spanning multiple grotesque evolutions, the kaiju ofShin Godzillalaunched an attack on Tokyo that was nothing short of apocalyptic. The idea of human waste and thoughtlessness echoed throughout this thoughtful movie, making Godzilla’s power seem all too relevant.
2Godzilla Attacked Ginza In A Franchise Standout
Godzilla Minus One (2023)
Godzilla’s attack on Ginza inGodzilla Minus Onemust be one of the better-looking rampages in terms of quality and CGI, but more to the point,this movie is one of the best Godzilla movies out there, if not one of the best kaiju movies. Standing up against the movie that started it all,Godzilla, this picture’s monster attacked humanity in a scintillating show of power. The movie’s access to modern-day special effects and fight choreography elevated its themes and narrative to a disturbing display of monster potential.
Set in postwar Japan,Godzilla Minus One’sversion of Godzillawas one of the most impressive seen on screen. Produced by Toho Studios and the 37th movie in theGodzillafranchise, this is Japan’s most successfulGodzillamovie to date.The movie’s success is deserved, with Godzilla’s attack on Tokyo reaching epic proportions, using its heat ray to cause boundless annihilation.
Godzilla: Minus One
Godzilla: Minus One is the first Godzilla film since the release of Shin Godzilla in 2016 in the U.S. domestic market. The film brings things back to the start as the King of Monsters returns in destructive fashion.
How Godzilla Minus One Made Godzilla Both Stronger & Weaker Than Ever
On one hand, the version of the kaiju seen in Godzilla Minus One is weaker than ever. But in one regard, he’s at the height of his capabilities.
1Tokyo Fell In 1954
Gojira (1954)
Tokyo stood no chance against the world’s original Godzilla inGodzilla, one of Japan’s best contributions to horror, fantasy, and action in cinema. The originalGodzillablended what was, at the time, avant-garde special effects with serious storytelling to create the genesis of a new era in cinema.This release spawned the longest-running movie franchise in history, marrying an important message with huge entertainment value.
The pop culture icon explored the impact of the bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, offering a compelling metaphor for the risk of war.
Tokyo was left reeling after Godzilla’s attack in this 1954 movie, especially when considering the effect of the tanks and fighter jets that were used to combat the monster. The pop culture icon explored the impact of the bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, offering a compelling metaphor for the risk of war, aggression, and weapons of mass destruction.The underlying political story also hinted at the danger presented by the USAand its colonial advance.
1954 Japanese film Godzilla follows Japan’s panic as ships are mysteriously sunk near Odo Island. An expedition discovers a giant monster, Godzilla, whose rampage threatens global destruction.
The Godzilla franchise, spanning over six decades, follows the adventures of the titular kaiju, a colossal, prehistoric sea monster awakened and empowered by nuclear radiation. Originating in Japan, Godzilla has evolved from a destructive force of nature to a protector of humanity, battling various other giant monsters, including iconic foes like King Ghidorah, Mothra, and Mechagodzilla. The series explores themes of environmental destruction, nuclear anxiety, and human resilience. With numerous films, TV series, and an expanding universe, Godzilla remains a cultural icon, captivating audiences worldwide with its epic battles and compelling narratives.
