Ranking the Godzilla & Kong “MonsterVerse” Movies
The latest “MonsterVerse” film is coming in 2024. So I figured why not make a list before that. The upcoming movie is titled “Godzilla x Kong”, find out more at the link. Thanks to my podcast partner “The Horror King” for helping out with this.
To be clear, these are for the shared universe from Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures. There are four films, with a fifth on the way. So there will be spoilers from those movies.
We have all kinds of lists in our LISTractions section. Get it? Distractions…Listractions? Ok, let’s get to it.
#4: Godzilla (2014)
Normally I don’t like making lists where the original movie is last. It feels odd, because without this, there are no other movies. But life is odd. Gareth Edwards (Rogue One) directed the Godzilla reboot. This was a solid movie and a nice way to set things up. It’s a Godzilla origin story with some cool monster fights.
One thing I could never get over is why kill off Bryan Cranston’s character so early? Unless it was a contract thing. I don’t know and it really stands out when the other characters are not memorable in any way. This franchise is fun and isn’t trying to be too much. But imagine if Cranston was the main human character of the franchise? That would take it to the next level.
#3: Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
I’m totally not a Godzilla-hater, just the way the list falls. So, “King of the Monsters” was directed and co-written by Michael Dougherty. He’s also credited as a writer for X-2, one of the best superhero movies ever. KotM was a nice step up from the original.
The plot is basically some eco-terrorists release Ghidorah who awakens other monsters or “Titans”, which brings out Godzilla and Mothra. Nice and simple, with a bunch of monster fights. The big negative for me, is once again, the bland human characters. With the exception of Millie Bobby Brown, who I find enjoyable in everything.
#2: Kong: Skull Island (2017)
The top two were very tough for me. While I enjoyed the Godzilla films, these two are much better. Skull Island has an awesome setting, simple, fun plot, and a lot of action. This one had the best cast of them all, by far. With Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman, and John C. Reilly!
Sadly again, most weren’t good or memorable characters. Which is kind of amazing considering that talent. Still, it’s a really fun action movie. Very close to being the best of the MonsterVerse.
#1: Godzilla vs. Kong (2019)
Look at that picture! It was the kind of thing I never thought I’d see. I did and it was pretty awesome. This was directed by Adam Wingard and finally had some fun, memorable characters in actors Brian Tyree Henry and Millie Bobbie Brown.
More importantly, it had Godzilla fighting King Kong! I won’t ruin who wins, I’ll leave that spoiler out. Watching those two fight was a total blast. Of course, I wanted more but that’s how it should be. A fun movie that leaves you wanting more.
