Human drama is often held to be the worst thing about many Godzilla movies, meaning some of the best films are the franchise are the ones solely focused first and foremost on thrilling giant monster battles. Ever since the first 1954 original, the Godzilla films have always put some stock in human characters and plotlines, grounding the larger-than-life antics of the colossal kaiju by balancing them out with a boots-on-the-ground perspective. However, many would-be fans of giant monster movies don’t come to the genre for poignant philosophical stories, preferring to focus on the main attraction that is Godzilla’s fight scenes.

Luckily, there are plenty of films that don’t even make an attempt to squeeze some earnest humanity into Godzilla’s antics, focusing more intently on Godzilla’s rampages and tear-down brawls with other monsters than any human intrigue. That’s not to say that Godzilla films with heavy human plotlines are always bad, with Shin Godzilla and Godzilla Minus One proving how captivating Godzilla can be as an event or force of nature rather than a character. However, it’s totally valid to be more interested in Godzilla films that stick to the series’ strengths in conveying gargantuan action.

5

Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire

Goes All-In On Monster Characterization

The human characters of Legendary’s Monsterverse have, for the most part, re-created the issues with Godzilla’s most classic multi-monster films from the Heisei and Showa eras. That is to say, many of the Monsterverse’s films focus far too much on poorly-developed humans, though a handful of them actually manage to be memorable, worthy additions to the monstrous cast. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire tries a new approach, capitalizing on the relatable nature of King Kong as a simian to give him a personality as the true protagonist of the film.

Taking place after the two iconic monsters’ battle in Godzilla vs. Kong, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire sees the status quo of Godzilla ruling the Earth’s surface while Kong explores the strange lands of Hollow Earth disrupted when Kong finds a troop of other colossal apes of his same species. These apes are ruled by the vile Skar King, who threatens humanity when Kong accidentally releases him, forcing Kong to team up with his old scaly rival to take down a shared threat. Full of colorful non-stop monster action, this Monsterverse film is quite sparse with human plotlines.

4

Godzilla: Final Wars

The Avengers: Endgame Of “Old” Godzilla

The Millennium series was Godzilla’s last time being depicted with rubber suits and puppets, and the entirety of Godzilla’s cinematic history was essentially paid tribute in the show-stopping swansong that is Godzilla: Final Wars. Here, a mysterious race of aliens known as the Xiliens invade Earth and mind-control much of the planet’s megafauna, wreaking havoc across the planet. This forces humanity’s hand, leaving them no choice but to awaken their ultimate weapon: Godzilla himself.

After a bit of housekeeping at the beginning of the film, Godzilla: Final Wars is a revolving door of classic kaiju from Godzilla films of old coming back to get beat down by the King of the Monsters himself. Between Rodan, Mothra, Anguirus, King Caesar, Ebirah, Kumonga, and even “Zilla” from 1998’s disastrous American remake, Godzilla simply has too many foes to handle for the majority of the film not to be dedicated to jaw-dropping spectacle. It all culminates in an amazing final showdown with the brand-new Monster X, who sheds his form to reveal himself as Godzilla’s greatest foe.

3

Godzilla Vs. Destoroyah

Features One Of Godzilla’s Most Fearsome Opponents Yet

Speaking of Godzilla’s most vicious enemies, Godzilla Vs. Destoroyah also deserves special mention for the monstrous carnage it’s able to unleash. The film introduced a brand-new demonic mutant kaiju, the тιтular Destoroyah, so-named due to its origins as an ancient Pre-Cambrian organism mutated by the Oxygen Destroyer weapon that killed the original Godzilla. It takes all Godzilla has to bring down the sinister monster.

Godzilla and Destoroyah’s тιтle fight isn’t the only action that overshadows any human perspectives in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. Before he forms into a proper kaiju, Destoroyah actually exists as a colony of smaller, but still man-eating monsters, creating a verifiable horror movie as the smaller, crab-like Destoroyah forms devour hapless soldiers before forming the mighty singular beast. When the humans do appear, they’re little more than victims or framing devices, unless they’re lending Godzilla the impressive weaponry of the J.S.D.F. to aid his battle.

2

Son Of Godzilla

Makes A Monster Into A Cheerful Main Character

Beyond simply focusing on little more than constant monster combat, some Godzilla movies skirt around human melodrama by making a kaiju a character in their own right. Son of Godzilla certainly does this with Minilla, one of the earliest versions of Godzilla’s child. Between his smaller size, dopey face, and cute inability to fire atomic breath beyond simple rings of smoke, Minilla may as well be the main character of Son of Godzilla, bringing out Godzilla’s more parental instincts.

Of course, the film still features plenty of kaiju combat to satiate the primal entertainment value needed by any Godzilla film. Godzilla and his new offspring fight giant mantids, the Kamacuras, and a mᴀssive spider, the ravenous beast Kumonga, while nesting on Solgell Island. The film might lean into the cutesy and kid-friendly nature of Godzilla’s pint-sized child, but that at least prevents it from being marred in tiring human storylines.

1

Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla

A Tear-Down Brawl Between Two Godzillas

There have been a great variety of different Mechagodzillas over the years of Godzilla’s cinematic reign of terror, but the coolest of all of them is easily the Millennium series’ Kiryu. Not just a simple towering machine, Kiryu is an anti-Godzilla weapon built around the bones of the original Godzilla from 1954, outfitted with a dazzling array of high-tech weaponry to take down his fellow kaiju. Things become complicated when the latent consciousness hiding away in the bones takes over the machinery.

Despite only having two real combatants, Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla is incredibly lean, a series of skirmishes and rampages from broth Godzilla and Kiryu. There is some human sub-plots involving the pilot of Kiryu, but they’re worked into the action well enough as to not hit the brakes so dramatically on the exciting kaiju stakes as is normally the case with Godzilla films. For those wishing that Godzilla movies could find a better balance for the human characters, Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla is a phenomenal choice.