I'm New To The Godzilla Franchise

[Living Corpse]

Just a heads up, don't go into the very first film expecting light hearted fun.

[DagarahX]

You may be in a rather interesting position, because FINAL WARS and the Rebirth of Mothra films are actually considered some of Toho's worst monster films.
What was your opinion of them?

Personally, I recommend pretty much any of the films from the 60's, as well as the 1954 original. those were the golden years for Godzilla and his brethren.

As to Mothra vs. Godzilla, yes, it is rather one-sided --- but that's sort of the point.
This one is a must-see; it is quite possibly the finest giant monster movie of all.

I found Godzilla Final Wars to actually be a great Godzilla film, I found the acting mostly acceptable, although for some interesting reason my class found Captain Gordon and the Xilien Kid as the most interesting characters throughout the whole film. And I have to agree as well they were pretty entertaining and well played.

I found Godzilla himself in that film surprisingly ferocious and seemingly merciless to a certain degree. He wasn't dark or cold, but he did look like a unstoppable force with an agenda. Granted that was the case. The battles were entertaining and pretty unique, at each encounter many classmates thought Godzilla was gonna have some trouble on his hands, but were mostly stunned whenever he finished off the battles within a few short minutes.

Although I remember seeing many of my classmates completely shocked when the "American Godzilla" lost to the "Japanese Godzilla" in mere seconds. Although my teacher did warn the class when pausing the scene when Godzilla arrived in Sydney. "The world hates pseudo copies and false imitators, and many will see first hand that Godzilla feels the same way." After the short encounter he took a few photos of his shocked class. I was confused because I vaguely remember there being a U.S Godzilla. I remember there being a Godzilla film released in the states, but I wasn't into the franchise at that time in my life, so I never learned more about it.

For the most part, I loved the film and the interesting aspects revolving around the whole alien invasion. But the only turn off for me and most of my class was the weird put off Matrix-like scenes during the mutant fighting scenes. Although that was during the first half of the films. Ozaki vs. The Xilien Kid was everyone's favorite non-monster combat fight. Another surprising thing I noticed that the some classmates felt slightly worried for Godzilla when he was fighting against Monster X after it transformed. I'll admit, even I was a bit worried.

But overall I enjoyed Godzilla Final Wars.

But the only time that the whole class was mostly worried, the ONLY time was when Godzilla fought that hulk-ish alien thing in Godzilla 2000 and it was trying to devour and become Godzilla. We were kinda worried because everything that Godzilla did wasn't getting him anywhere, and then out of nowhere, Godzilla goes charging into the alien's mouth?! It honestly left me with the WTF face, and my classmates had the same expressions. Well, the guys had it. The girls kept covering their eyes since the whole scene looked "disturbing and totally gross.".

Just a heads up, don't go into the very first film expecting light hearted fun.

Greatly noted there my friend, besides I'm interested in learning how the franchise begun.

[Kaiju-King42]

^You're lucky. I wish my classes watched Godzilla movies.

[Rody]

Although I remember seeing many of my classmates completely shocked when the "American Godzilla" lost to the "Japanese Godzilla" in mere seconds. Although my teacher did warn the class when pausing the scene when Godzilla arrived in Sydney. "The world hates pseudo copies and false imitators, and many will see first hand that Godzilla feels the same way." After the short encounter he took a few photos of his shocked class. I was confused because I vaguely remember there being a U.S Godzilla. I remember there being a Godzilla film released in the states, but I wasn't into the franchise at that time in my life, so I never learned more about it.

Pretty much the entire fandom HATES the 1998 Tristar film, because it got everything about the character wrong. I would advise avoiding it until you're familiar with the franchise.
Personally, Godzilla pwning G.I.N.O. (Godzilla In Name Only, as we call him) is my favorite part of GFW.

Just a heads up, don't go into the very first film expecting light-hearted fun.

Greatly noted there my friend, besides I'm interested in learning how the franchise begun.

Godzilla was, originally, a metaphor for the atomic bomb. That alone should give you an idea of what to expect.

[Godzillabrawler]

Welcome to the franchise and fanbase! I'm a newbie to the website, but a fan for a while.

When it comes to Godzilla, watch the movies yourself without any outside opinions. That way you have your own opinion and not one biased by others.

^You're lucky. I wish my classes watched Godzilla movies.

Same.

[hammysammy59]

Ha, that class sounds fun as hell. That kind of experience makes me glad my girlfriend suggested showing her niece and nephew some Godzilla movies. It's always fun to watch Godzilla movies with first-timers of any age, but kids especially seem to "get" Godzilla, and have no problem suspending disbelief for the sake of a fun story.

[Living Corpse]

Although I remember seeing many of my classmates completely shocked when the "American Godzilla" lost to the "Japanese Godzilla" in mere seconds. Although my teacher did warn the class when pausing the scene when Godzilla arrived in Sydney. "The world hates pseudo copies and false imitators, and many will see first hand that Godzilla feels the same way." After the short encounter he took a few photos of his shocked class.

I wanna meet your teacher just so I can high-five him for this alone.

[Tyler]

The original Japanese Godzilla is being shown in TCM this June so maybe you could catch it. If not there's a Criterion release of it out now.

It's probaby not the most creative suggestion but I think you should watch the films in order if you can. Not all of them are connected so it's not a big deal, but I think it helps to understand how the character has changed throughout the years.

[hammysammy59]

Watching them in order is a cool idea, and I'd love to do it someday.

I gave my girlfriend a quick crash course with some Godzilla essentials:

Gojira
Mothra
Mothra vs. Godzilla
Ghidrah, The Three-Headed Monster

I think that was a pretty good, abbreviated way to get acquainted with the series.

[Space Hunter M]

While I would recommend King Kong vs. Godzilla as a starter, the far superior Japanese version is legally unobtainable here, so you're best off with Godzilla or Mothra vs. Godzilla instead. Oh, and welcome of course!

[DagarahX]

While I would recommend King Kong vs. Godzilla as a starter, the far superior Japanese version is legally unobtainable here, so you're best off with Godzilla or Mothra vs. Godzilla instead. Oh, and welcome of course!

What the hell? King Kong actually fought Godzilla? Alright I'm seriously going to check out that film! But, what entry is that film? I don't want to head into it blindly if there's a previous film before King Kong vs. Godzilla that helps set it up. I'll be ordering the Godzilla Criterion Blu-Ray in a few minutes through Amazon, with prime shipping I'll be able to get it by Thrusday.

[Living Corpse]

King Kong vs Godzilla is surprisingly early on in the series, it's the third film.

[Rody]

One nice thing about the Godzilla franchise is the generally loose continuity, especially in the Showa series (1954 - 1975). You can watch pretty much any film without knowing what came before.

[JAGzilla]

And here I thought King Kong vs. Godzilla was the one film in the series everyone knew about. Apparantly not. Well, that's one I'd highly reccomend. It was my first G movie, and instantly made me a fan.

As Living Corpse said, it's the third movie in the series, after Gojira ( AKA Godzilla: King of the Monsters) and Godzilla Raids Again (AKA Gigantis: The Fire Monster.) It mostly stands on its own, though, so the other movies aren't really required viewing. I've only seen the American version, though; there might be some differences to the Japanese version. Not really sure.

[Kaiju-King42]

One nice thing about the Godzilla franchise is the generally loose continuity, especially in the Showa series (1954 - 1975). You can watch pretty much any film without knowing what came before.

Except for Godzilla: Tokyo SOS, and maybe Godzilla vs Biollante.

[Space Hunter M]

I've only seen the American version, though; there might be some differences to the Japanese version. Not really sure.

Although it's been partially done before, I'm writing an in detail, scene-by-scene comparison of the two versions right now.

[DagarahX]

The third entry? Must've been a huge hit since Kong is pretty much a iconic cash cow like Godzilla.

I've been reading up on a lot of the monster bios upon the website, and I have to admit that there's plenty of information that has to be absorbed. Never expected Frankenstein's Monster to be given a giant monster role through and as suggested here in this thread by hammysammy, I will give it a look see.

Now are there any Godzilla films that I should have an open mind about when eventually taking a shot at them? I know that every movie franchise has its up and down films (Superman and Tremors come to mind somewhat), so do Godzilla has its share? I don't want to just watch one of those films then decide that its bad, I want to give it a fair shot, but while knowing what I'm in for.

[Kaiju-King42]

The third entry? Must've been a huge hit since Kong is pretty much a iconic cash cow like Godzilla.

I've been reading up on a lot of the monster bios upon the website, and I have to admit that there's plenty of information that has to be absorbed. Never expected Frankenstein's Monster to be given a giant monster role through and as suggested here in this thread by hammysammy, I will give it a look see.

Now are there any Godzilla films that I should have an open mind about when eventually taking a shot at them? I know that every movie franchise has its up and down films (Superman and Tremors come to mind somewhat), so do Godzilla has its share? I don't want to just watch one of those films then decide that its bad, I want to give it a fair shot, but while knowing what I'm in for.

One film that comes to mind is Godzilla vs Hedorah. While it's a good film all in all, carrying strong anti-pollution messages and decent special effects, it can get weird at times. And I mean really, REALLY weird. I don't want to give anything away, but this film's weirdest scene is even titled "something you don't see everyday" in the scene selection! Despite the weirdness, however, it really is a good film once you know what to expect.

There's also Godzilla vs Megalon, which is, from a critical perspective, one of the worst in the series. However, that doesn't stop it from being a lot of fun to watch! Besides, if you can sit through Rebirth of Mothra 2, you can definitely sit though this one.

[The H-Man]

Godzilla vs Hedorah was initially disliked when released, but in the last 10 years or so it's gotten more appreciation. Destroy All Monsters is a big favorite with many, but does seem to disappoint others because the plot focuses on the human characters a bit too much. G vs Megalon and G vs Gigan are probably two of the poorest entries, they have a lot of stock footage from earlier Toho monster/sci-fi flicks because they were made with low budgets.

[Living Corpse]

Also be warned that Terror of Mechagodzilla, Godzilla 1985, and Godzilla vs Biollante are slower paced then most of the films.