Ranking Godzilla’s Heisei Era

There have been four eras of Japan’s storied Godzilla saga. First was Shōwa, which was comprised of 15 films. Then there was the Heisei era, which started in 1984 and ran until 1995. Of the seven films throughout those eleven years, three brought back old friends and foes from the previous era, one was just the Big-G, and three introduced new monsters that haven’t reappeared since (not even in the subsequent Millennium era’s monster-stuffed Godzilla: Final Wars). Speaking of the Millennium era, that featured six films, all of which were over-stylized and lacked the charm of the two eras that preceded it. Fourth was Reiwa, which is ongoing and most recently was blessed with the best G-film in decades: Godzilla Minus One. Thankfully, Minus One director Takahashi Yamazaki is gearing up for more.

As for the Heisei era movies, they were the ones that were widely available on VHS so ’90s kids could get hooked on the franchise back when Roland Emmerich’s heavily marketed reboot was about to hit theaters. These days you certainly don’t need a VHS player to watch them, though, as the first three are available to stream on Max courtesy of The Criterion Channel, right alongside the vast majority of the Shōwa era (all but King Kong vs. Godzilla).

7) Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla

Two positive things can be said about Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla. One is that the design of the title antagonist is solid (though not spectacular). Two is that the very end, with Godzilla becoming atomically supercharged, laid the groundwork for an infinitely better film. The rest of it feels tonally scattershot and formulaic.

For one, the addition of The Mysterians‘ M.O.G.U.E.R.A. doesn’t quite work. The bot is just an inferior version of Mechagodzilla from the previous film. Two, it’s a movie with mostly unlikable human characters, only one of whom really stands out as an individual (excluding Heisei era stalwart character Miki Saegusa). Three, there’s the tone, with a subplot about Godzilla’s son being kidnapped by SpaceGodzilla standing in stark contrast to the film’s overall goofy mood. The third act battle is fun, but by the time the viewer gets there, they’ve pretty much forgotten everything that came before.

Stream Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla for free with ads on Pluto TV.

6) Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah

When it comes to the three Heisei movies that introduced new monsters, Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla was the worst by a country mile. When it comes to the three Heisei movies that brought old characters back, the same can nearly be said about Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah. “Nearly” because the two fight scenes are some of the best stretches of minutes the era had to provide.

However, the blatantly Terminator-inspired time travel plot and, especially, the “pew pew” laser beam shootout scenes are wretched. Things aren’t helped by the three American actors brought in, who even with dubbed voices are clearly overacting. It’s a movie that wants to be taken somewhat seriously, but the plot and those performances forbid that from happening. That said, one positive aspect of the whole time travel narrative is Emmy Kano’s part in it. Her personal dilemma is interesting as is the revelation she drops in the film’s final moments. Oh, and her piloting of Mecha-King Ghidorah, which manages to give a whole new edge to the most oft-utilized Godzilla antagonist, not just in terms of the metal plating on his chest and one of his three heads being roboticized, but in terms of Ghidorah actually being the “good guy.”

Stream Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah on Max.

5) Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II

If there’s a Heisei era Godzilla movie that’s fully middle of the road, it’s Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II. It’s a film where the good most certainly outweighs the bad, but it just doesn’t outweigh the bad enough for it to be seen as one of the saga’s better entries.

Focusing on the positive, it was wise to switch Mechagodzilla from antagonist to protagonist. And, while the Shōwa era’s Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla is undoubtedly the better film, Mechagodzilla II has the better plot. The Shōwa film’s silver suited monkey aliens were in line with that era’s tone, but undoubtedly silly. Turning Mechagodzilla into a tool of G-Force to combat Godzilla, while a full 180-degree turn, manages to work quite well.

Stream Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II for free with ads on Pluto TV.

4) Godzilla vs. Mothra

After the mixed bag at best that was Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, Godzilla vs. Mothra (known as Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth in the States) showed how a dormant Shōwa era character could be resurrected successfully. The film’s ace in the hole in that respect is the continued focus on humanity’s greed.

But Godzilla vs. Mothra, while primarily treading familiar ground, has another ace in the hole, and that’s Battra. Not many kaiju get full-on character arcs, but Battra is one of them. Alongside the genuinely compelling human characters, who carry diverse personalities, Godzilla vs. Mothra is a lot better than it could have been. And like with Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah and Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II its third act battle is well-crafted. It’s one of those G-films where even those with an adversity to the kaiju movie could find at least something to appreciate, e.g. the plot thread regarding parental responsibility.

Stream Godzilla vs. Mothra on The Criterion Channel.

[RELATED: Godzilla Minus One Director Shares New Movie Update With Saturn Awards Win]

3) Godzilla vs. Biollante

The Heisei era’s most heartfelt and most bizarre G-film, even the origins of Godzilla vs. Biollante were far from conventional. The Return of Godzilla didn’t quite perform as Toho had expected (and it outright bombed in the U.S., resulting in it being the final Godzilla film to receive a stateside theatrical release until Godzilla 2000, which also bombed). But when Little Shop of Horrors did fairly well across the globe, a public story-writing contest was held with the only qualification being that it feature monster versus monster action.

No mention of Little Shop was made in that writing contest, and yet the plant monster Biollante was born, nonetheless. The idea for the monster came from dentist Shinichiro Kobayashi, as did the film’s central theme of grief, and they’re just two elements that help Godzilla vs. Biollante stand above other Heisei era films. The film can be slow in spots, but on the whole it’s a nice change of pace for the franchise, and for those with an affinity for The Return of Godzilla, this is the only film which replicated that reboot’s distinctive tone.

Stream Godzilla vs. Biollante on Max.

2) Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

Now that the Monsterverse seems to be on sure footing thanks to the two Godzilla vs. Kong films, there needs to be some space saved in a future tag team film for the title antagonist of Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. As far as big bads who would need at least two adversaries to bring down go, the rebooted monster-fueled cinematic universe could do a lot worse. After all, Godzilla: King of the Monsters already somewhat incorporated this film’s major running thread, an increasingly ill Godzilla’s over-nuclearization, so why not bring in the parasitic crab monster, too?

If anything can be said about the Heisei era it’s that it both started and ended very well. Killing off Godzilla was like the once-unthinkable notion of killing off James Bond, but Godzilla vs. Destoroyah managed to not only do it, but also do it in a way that felt organic to the era’s loosely running narrative thread (especially the conclusion of SpaceGodzilla, where his over-nuclearization process begins). Destoroyah is one of the very best entries of the franchise, regardless of era, because it’s actually fairly tense. There’s far more at stake than the usual G-film. The title antagonist is the biggest threat Godzilla had faced up to that point (and since), but there’s the hovering knowledge that, even if Godzilla wins out, he’s still going to overload in that process and destroy all of Tokyo. From the Aliens-referencing military versus smaller Destoroyah scene to the ice beam-fueled attempts by G-Force to cool Godzilla down, it works front to back.

Stream Godzilla vs. Destoroyah for free with ads on Pluto TV.

1) The Return of Godzilla

Perfectly paced and featuring a cool animatronic head for the Big-G, The Return of Godzilla is the ultimate starter G-film. For years, this film was only available in the United States as Godzilla 1985, which like with the original film, was a version where some key scenes were excised and replaced with utterly disposable commentary-based scenes featuring American actors that only served to slow down the narrative. Though, with the original film, Raymond Burr’s Steve Martin was actually integrated into the film fairly well, whereas here it was very clunky.

Then, for just as many years, one couldn’t get their hands on this film at all, be it as Return or as 1985. For those who favor this grim, Cold War era monster flick over even the original film, that was a tough stretch of years. But now, it’s available to stream, which feels like nothing short of a small miracle.

Stream The Return of Godzilla on Max.