Showa era tops ranking of Godzilla movie eras

Movieweb ranked every Godzilla movie era, placing the Millennium era (1999–2004) at the bottom and the Showa era (1954–1975) at the top.

The write-up describes the Millennium era as often considered the low point of the canon, marked by inconsistent tones, anthology-style releases and a lack of continuity that preceded a long Toho hiatus until 2016. Legendary's Monsterverse (2014–present) ranks above Millennium largely because of its limited number of releases; it began with Gareth Edwards' subdued 2014 Godzilla, expanded to include Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Kong: Skull Island, and led to two crossover films with another crossover on the way.

Toho's ongoing Reiwa era (2016–present) is praised as one of the best eras for films such as Shin Godzilla and the Academy Award-winning Godzilla Minus One, and for its Netflix animated trilogy and Godzilla Fest shorts; Minus One has a sequel on the way. The Heisei era (1984–1995) is singled out as a close second for its continuity from The Return of Godzilla (1984) to Godzilla vs Destroyah (1995), while the Showa period is credited for establishing the franchise across 15 films and introducing cornerstone kaiju classics such as the original Godzilla (1954) and Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964).