4. Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)
Quite the title huh?
After the US put out the awful Godzilla in 1998, Toho responded by bringing back their iconic monster for a new run of movies to show how the movie should be. The Millenium series started with Godzilla 2000 in 1999 and would end in 2004 with the epic (but very flawed) Godzilla: Final Wars. While the Millenium series wasn’t particuarly great, Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack is the clear stand-out. It’s sharp, it’s got a great story and interesting characters, but more importantly it has a truly epic monster rumble.
It is odd to see King Ghidorah team up with Mothra to take down the evil Godzilla, but it really words for this movie – even though the inclusion of Baragon seems a trite unnecessary. The Godzilla design is one of the all-time greats as they removed his pupils to leave just dead white eyes, giving the monster a terrifying look – something he’d been lacking for some time. And unlike the movies that came before and after this one, Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack manages to seamlessly blend the suitmation work of Godzilla and King Ghidorah with the CGI and puppet effects of Mothra.
It’s a movie that deserves to be seen for its title alone, but this is easily one of the best movies of the whole series.
Originally published May 14, 2014. Updated April 12, 2018.
