Every MonsterVerse Movie (So Far) Ranked
For a full decade now, Warner Bros. and Legendary have been bringing Godzilla and many other classic monsters to the big screen via the MonsterVerse. Beginning with 2014's "Godzilla," this universe has brought Toho's beloved creations — as well as some brand new beasts — to audiences around the world. In stark contrast to 1998's "Godzilla," these Hollywood-produced takes on the long-running franchise have worked like gangbusters as blockbuster crowdpleasers. Five movies (and a TV show) later, the MonsterVerse is showing no signs of slowing down.
While other cinematic universes have come and gone over the years, largely because they bit off more than they could chew, the MonsterVerse has succeeded by being patient and letting audiences be hungry for more. Most recently, "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" proved that moviegoers were happy to show up for a big, ridiculous ride just months after the very serious, Oscar-winning "Godzilla Minus One" left theaters. It's a franchise that keeps finding its way, through different filmmakers, different tones, and yes, different monsters.
But which of these movies reign supreme a decade into its existence? Which of them fell short of the mark? We're ranking the MonsterVerse films (so far), from deeply disappointing to hugely entertaining, and everything in between. From jam-packed kaiju romps to surprisingly grounded takes on the King of the Monsters, we're going to take a long, hard look at the good, the great, and the ugly of it all. Let's get into it.
5. Godzilla: King of the Monsters
2019's "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" might be the biggest gap in history between the quality of the film's trailer versus the quality of the film itself. The trailer for "King of the Monsters" that dropped at San Diego Comic-Con in 2018 is, divorced from the final product, a work of art. Sadly, director Michael Dougherty's monster mash-up couldn't come close to living up to the promise of that trailer. It was an overstuffed mess that introduced far too many ideas, far too many human characters with too little to do, and, worst of all, wasted fan-favorite monsters Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah.
There's nothing wrong with a "Godzilla" movie being silly — heck, some of the best classic films in the franchise embrace it freely. But this franchise runs into trouble when it can't pick a lane. This movie wants to be dark and gritty, yet colorful. It wants to be silly, yet intensely serious. It commits the cardinal sin of trying to build out a larger universe to the determinant of the movie at hand. All of the right pieces are on the board, they just don't come together in a satisfying enough way, given the promise of those pieces. This should have been a slam dunk.
This is a movie that has its defenders, and I freely admit that subsequent viewings have slightly lessened the sting of my initial, crushingly disappointing visit to theaters on opening night. That said, it would be difficult for anyone to fairly argue against this being the worst of the bunch. The movie wrote a big check that it just couldn't cash, and that gap between what we were sold versus what we got is too big to ignore. Yes, it has more monster action than 2014's "Godzilla" (which we'll talk about later), but it's a prime reminder that more doesn't equal better.
4. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
It's always a little difficult to judge the newcomer to the party. We've all had five years to reckon with our feelings regarding "King of the Monsters." On the contrary, we've only had several weeks (as of this writing) to gather thoughts on director Adam Wingard's "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire." That said, this is a jam-packed monster flick that feels right at home with many of the classic Showa-era "Godzilla" films of the '60s and '70s. It's big, utterly ridiculous, over-the-top, colorful, bombastic, and a great deal of fun. It's a pretty fine example of the whole "turn off your brain and enjoy it" mentality working like it's supposed to. I say that as a compliment to what Wingard was able to accomplish here.
After the events of "Godzilla vs. Kong," this movie forces the two legendary monsters to form an uneasy alliance to take on a much bigger threat to the world. The resulting film takes us much deeper into the Hollow Earth, which gives off some serious Monster Island vibes. We also get to explore a very different take on Godzilla, both in terms of his look and demeanor. Kong becomes an even more fleshed-out, fully realized character here, even if that does mean that Godzilla kind of has to take a backseat in his own movie to some degree. There's also far less human stuff, and the human stuff that is there gets really weird at times. Dan Stevens' Trapper, however, is arguably one of the most likable human characters we've had in the MonsterVerse to date.
Even if it feels like it's held together with scotch tape and a rich color palette at times, "The New Empire" succeeds at having fun with the "give 'em more" mantra in a way that "King of the Monsters" couldn't. Wingard chose a lane, and that lane was far more silly than serious.
3. Godzilla vs. Kong
There is something to be said for delivering on a simple premise promised by a film's title. Director Adam Wingard's first entry in the MonsterVerse, 2021's "Godzilla vs. Kong," did precisely that. As one of the first blockbusters to open in theaters in the aftermath of the pandemic, this movie has a bit of a special place in the hearts of many people (myself included), as it was one of the biggest "movies are back" moments most of us are ever likely to experience. It just so happened that watching King Kong and Godzilla duke it out multiple times in two hours proved to be a wildly satisfying way to return to theaters.
Not to pick on "King of the Monsters" again, but that movie massively underdelivered both critically and commercially. Were it not for the fact that Wingard was already deep into production on this movie by the time that happened, the MonsterVerse might have been dead in its tracks. But Wingard's film was a major rebound, scaling things back to focus on one epic showdown, with a surprise appearance by Mechagodzilla in the third act. Yes, the human characters are a bit silly at times, and much of the fluff in this movie, such as having to explain Hollow Earth, is because it had to pick up where "King of the Monsters" left off. Even so, Wingard manages to make this one move at a satisfying, blistering pace, crafting enough of a story to facilitate the hugely entertaining monster brawls.
From a nearly 20-minute long battle sequence in the middle of the ocean to the final battle in Japan, these fights look excellent, are hugely satisfying, and deliver the straight-up, no-nonsense big monster fun that fans had been waiting for. It's a plain and simple blast, a movie that knows exactly what it is and never forgets it. And, not for nothing, a visually well-crafted entry in the series.
2. Kong: Skull Island
There are certainly a great many fans of this franchise who would rank 2017's "Kong: Skull Island" at the tippy-top of the hill. I couldn't fault a single person who would do so. Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts expanded the MonsterVerse by introducing a brand new cinematic version of King Kong, which is no easy thing to do. In exploring a terrifying version of Skull Island set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War in the '70s, what we're left with is a "King Kong" movie by way of "Apocalypse Now." It's a thrilling exploration of a forgotten land without a single ounce of fat on it.
Without even trying, "Skull Island" also does a nice job of expanding the universe by further exploring Monarch's history decades before the events of 2014's "Godzilla." It's effortless world-building that benefits the story at hand. We're also dealing with, quite possibly, the best human cast in this franchise's decade-long history. From A-listers like Samuel L. Jackson, Brie Larson, and John Goodman, to sturdy character actors like Shea Whigham, the ensemble is top-to-bottom excellent. We also get a pretty delightfully weird performance from John C. Reilly in the mix.
This movie has downright stunning visuals, arguably the scariest version of Skull Island ever put to screen, and a fully realized version of Kong that stands on his own as a real character in this world. The surrounding monsters, such as the giant spiders and the Skullcrawlers, also make for welcome additions to the universe. There's a lot of creativity on display with these creatures. It all gels together to make a spectacular kaiju-sized blockbuster. It's rare that something so roundly satisfying comes together within a gigantic franchise, particularly one that has been around since the '30s, but that's precisely what happened here.
1. Godzilla (2014)
Much as "Iron Man" is still oft-cited as the best movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, 2014's "Godzilla" remains the king of the hill in the MonsterVerse. Director Gareth Edwards, who had only directed the low-budget feature "Monsters" previously, was given the task of making an American version of this franchise, one that wouldn't go down in flames like Roland Emmerich's did in 1998. Edwards took this potentially thankless job and delivered a visionary take on a then-60-year-old franchise. While the reception was a bit mixed at the time, there is no denying that Edwards did something truly unique with this film.
In stark contrast to more recent entries in the MonsterVerse, Edwards' film is a dark, gritty, and relatively grounded look at a world reckoning with the existence of monsters. It all stems from a central idea of "take it seriously," and it pays off handsomely. It's more than a little hard to believe we somehow get from here to "Godzilla x Kong," looking back.
It may not feature all that much monster action, particularly compared to "Skull Island." But when the monster action does kick in, the payoff is palpable. It's not altogether unlike "Alien" in the "less is more" approach. So much of the monster action is demonstrated from a human POV. As a result, it feels different than anything that has come before or since. The HALO jump sequence, in particular, is quite harrowing. Edwards is unparalleled when it comes to demonstrating scale. Godzilla is absolutely massive in this movie, and Edwards makes us feel that. For a "Godzilla" movie to work, Godzilla himself has to be cool. I think it's fair to say this movie nailed that element.
What we're left with is a movie that demonstrates a great deal of patience, delivers big moments of wildly satisfying payoff (such as Godzilla finally using his atomic breath), and features grounded human characters. Its only real sin was killing off Bryan Cranston too early. A sin that can be forgiven, as this movie has aged exceptionally well.