All 7 MonsterVerse Movies And TV Shows, Ranked Worst To Best

In the 2010s, "The Avengers" convinced every studio that cinematic universes were the future of motion pictures. Thus, a slew of half-hearted attempts to recreate the Marvel Cinematic Universe magic unfolded, including such infamous projects as the Dark Universe or "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword." Most of these endeavors flamed out (even the DC Extended Universe was running on fumes before its demise in the early 2020s), but one striking exception was the MonsterVerse. This saga, which focuses on Godzilla, Kong, and the Titan-obsessed organization Monarch, started in 2014 with "Godzilla" and has continued to produce successful movies and TV shows ever since.

While many other mid-2010s cinematic universes have long faded from public memory, the MonsterVerse is preparing to unleash the 2027 tentpole "Godzilla x Kong: Supernova" as well as a spin-off of the Apple TV program "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters." There's been enough material in the MonsterVerse for there to be varying levels of quality throughout this saga's history. Ranking all seven MonsterVerse movies and TV shows from worst to best illustrates that, though the franchise has outlived many MCU competitors, it's been far from perfect. 

Major shortcomings have often plagued these titles, especially when it comes to making remotely interesting human characters. On the other hand, this ranking highlights the virtues of this saga that have kept it going strong while so many cinematic universes fell to the wayside.

For some viewers, 2014's "Godzilla" was too focused on the human characters. For some reason, its sequel, 2019's "Godzilla: King of the Monsters," opted to "solve" this problem by significantly boosting the number of human characters on-screen and making all of them irritating comic relief. Even silver screen legend Ken Watanabe has nothing to do but deliver forced quips about "really big fortune cookies." Worst of all, just as big showdowns between creatures like King Ghidorah and Rodan are about to begin, we cut back to these grating people scrambling in generic gray Monarch locales.

At least divisive "Godzilla" elements like saving all the on-screen monster mayhem for the finale were done with intentionality. "King of the Monsters," meanwhile, delivers plenty of kaiju duking it out, sure. However, these skirmishes are rendered incomprehensible thanks to dim lighting and staging them in heavy snowstorms or downpours. There's no specificity to this execution, just messy bloated visuals only fleetingly interrupted by a handful of striking images. 

Director Michael Dougherty and company throw so much at audiences across the movie's runtime, especially when it comes to the human characters. Yet quantity doesn't equal quality. All the noise, groan-inducing quips, and dismally executed fight scenes just inspire headaches, not awe. One of the worst Godzilla movies ever, "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" will leave even the biggest hater of 2014's "Godzilla" kissing that movie's feet.

The inherent budgetary restrictions of television meant that "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters" couldn't center exclusively on the CG beasties that drive the MonsterVerse. Instead, the focus would have to be on the human characters, who have always been the most divisive part of any MonsterVerse title. To boot, the show's creative team (which included developers Matt Fraction and Chris Black, the latter of whom also serves as showrunner) filtered the program's story through constantly hopping between two different points in the timeline. Not only would "Monarch" have to finally make compelling human characters, but also juggled non-linear storytelling impulses that have capsized so many other TV shows.

The general reception to "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters" has been fine, but not especially exceptional. While many have lauded the show for its ambitions, there have been recurring complaints that it suffers from many flaws that often plague peak TV streaming programming (namely bad pacing and difficulty making episodes work as standalone enterprises). Some audiences have found it outright tedious, the worst complaint one can lodge at a show about massive monsters impacting human lives. 

At the same time, others have praised the performances of Kurt and Wyatt Russell, who play older and younger versions of the same character respectively. At least their stellar work somewhat justified the often frustrating scope of "Monarch." 

With "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire," the MonsterVerse fully embraces Saturday morning cartoon aesthetics. Nary a thought is given to how the two titular beasts decimating the Great Pyramid of Giza or countless Rio de Janeiro buildings are affecting everyday people. These towering titans just hop, roar, and smash whatever's in sight. There's fun to be had with such unabashedly outlandish mayhem, especially since director Adam Wingard wisely keeps the runtime at 115 minutes. A moment where Kong uses adolescent ape Suko as nunchucks in a fight is so ridiculous it can't help but inspire joy.

Unfortunately, too much of "The New Empire" still focuses on human characters trading rote expository dialogue and tin-eared melodrama. More pressingly, it's hard to get super invested in a bunch of digital chaos that often resonates as too weightless for its own good. There's only so outlandish a super costly PG-13 American film can get. "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" is silly, but never comes close to reaching the inspired lunacy of, say, the final scene of Takashi Miike's "Dead or Alive."

Never quite reaching its fullest potential in either conventional drama or madcap mayhem, "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" leaves one intermittently satisfied in the moment before immediately vanishing from one's mind. Monsters this big shouldn't feel so disposable.

Here's the one entry on this list that may surprise some readers. There is in fact a canonical MonsterVerse anime entitled "Skull Island," which further explored the titular home of Kong in a 1990s adventure. To boot, "Skull Island" was entirely developed, showran, and written by prolific name Brian Duffield, who worked as a journeyman screenwriter in the 2010s before taking off as an acclaimed genre movie director with titles like "Spontaneous," "No One Will Save You," and the upcoming "Whalefall."

Everything about this project, from its creative talent (which included Benjamin Bratt and Betty Gilpin in its voice cast) to the very existence of a MonsterVerse anime is baffling. To exacerbate this production's peculiarity, it received good reviews after dropping on Netflix in June 2023. Nobody considered it anywhere close to being one of the best anime shows of 2023, but "Skull Island" scored some decent marks. 

Duffield's persistent deftness at merging intimate humanity and heightened genre material informed some of the more positive breakdowns, though others took umbrage with his style of dialogue for "Skull Island." For those who can't get enough of monster-themed anime projects, "Skull Island" delivers some decent thrills. 

In one of the best "Godzilla vs. Kong" moments, Godzilla, sensing Kong and his human pals at the center of the Earth, tilts his head down, uses his atomic breath to carve a hole straight down to the middle of the planet, and bellows at Kong to return to Earth's surface. It's a delightful moment of personality from an unabashedly ridiculous movie that's totally willing to just focus on these gigantic creatures as characters. Godzilla may be a massive lizard, but even he has motivation to fight Kong sooner rather than later. Kong, meanwhile, wilds an even more definitive story rooted in his friendship with a little girl (the late Kaylee Hottle).

Unfortunately, the bloated human cast problem of "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" rears its head again for "Godzilla vs. Kong." Two radically separate storylines transpire and constantly hopping between them inspires some of the most confusing "Godzilla vs. Kong" moments. Luckily, unlike "King of the Monsters," the fight scenes are rendered quite well, with director Adam Wingard keeping the camera steady and not shying away from daytime scenes and vibrant colors when it's time for Kong and Godzilla to fight.

Other aspects of the proceedings, like Tom Holkenborg's phoned-in score or the tragic under-utilization of performers like Eiza González, unfortunately underwhelm. However, the main monsters possess enough entertainment and vibrant personalities to make "Godzilla vs. Kong" a pleasing experience.

For some wonderful reason, director Jordan Vogt-Roberts, cinematographer Larry Fong, and the rest of the "Kong: Skull Island" team made the second MonsterVerse movie look gorgeous. This film is rife with strikingly composed imagery and deeply theatrical visuals, many leaning heavily on distinctive bright colors. Vibrant greens dominate a scene where Tom Hiddleston's protagonist fights beasties with a gas mask on. Potent streaks of yellow are littered across the bodies of the indigenous Skull Island inhabitants, while fiery oranges permeate several sequences.

Showmanship and vibrancy are the name of the game with "Kong: Skull Island" and those qualities alone help this title leapfrog past nearly all other entries. A commitment to gnarly horror and dark comedy whenever monsters and humans collide is another unexpected but welcome virtue. Plus, all the Kong mayhem is generally a lot of fun, especially when he fights a massive squid.

Unfortunately, most of the human drama and dialogue here is rudimentary, while some bizarre editing choices underpin the more meticulously realized images. Creativity abounds in "Kong: Skull Island,"  but certainly not when it comes to the narrative or character beats. The film's better elements make it clear why this was a lucrative highlight in the MonsterVerse's box office history. Unfortunately, they also make its generic shortcomings all the more frustrating.

When looking at the best Godzilla movies, 2014's "Godzilla" doesn't come close to the best Japanese installments. Even divorced from masterpieces like 1954's "Godzilla" or "Godzilla Minus One," this Gareth Edwards directorial effort still has some major problems. Chief among them is Aaron Taylor-Johnson's staggeringly boring lead performance, the wasting of supporting actors like Sally Hawkins, and the villainous MUTO's forgettable color scheme (why are they just grey?). Still, out of all the MonsterVerse entries, it possesses the most interesting atmosphere. While "King of the Monsters" and "The New Empire" emphasized quips and weightless action, "Godzilla" carries a nearly apocalyptic weight as humanity and kaiju collide. 

Edwards has always had a gift for communicating scale. Here, that talent makes the humans potently overwhelmed by the various beasties. Cinematographer Seamus McGarvey crafts striking imagery emphasizing both size disparity and the kaiju's wreckage. An often haunting Alexandre Desplat score accentuates the mythic and haunting ambiance that makes "Godzilla" compelling despite its flaws. Meanwhile, Godzilla himself looks great here, especially compared to his design in the 1998 "Godzilla" movie that bombed at the box office.

Delivering some great Godzilla action (particularly his final applause-worthy move against his MUTO foe) alongside such an evocative ambiance helps "Godzilla" overcome its most discouraging shortcomings. It's no "Shin Godzilla," but this title is handily the creative peak of the MonsterVerse.