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‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ Brings Unexpected Fun

December 9, 2023 by ArtGainz Leave a Comment

Godzilla roars from Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. Source: YouTube Thumbnail

A unexpected yet thoroughly enjoyable experience has come to Apple TV with Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. Not least of its attractions are the gravitas and acting chops of father-son acting duo Kurt Russel and Wyatt Russel, playing older and younger versions of reluctant monster-wrangler Col. Lee Shaw.

The show has proven to be remarkably appealing to a broad range of audience members, including fans of giant monsters, sci-fi, spy-thrillers, and drama. Beginning with a pulse-pounding scene involving John-Goodman’s character from 2017’s Kong: Skull Island, the story shifts to a set of characters with mysterious connections to the secretive Monarch organization.

John Goodman (Bill Randa) stares in awe at a giant predatory creature.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Episode 1 “Aftermath’. Source: Screenshot, YouTube Sneak Peak.

Monarch is set within the Warner Bros. Monsterverse, which includes five films and two TV shows, but the story arc of Monarch stands on its own. In addition to the titular characters of Godzilla and Kong, a variety of other “kaiju” or “MUTO’s” have already appeared in the show.

Visually, Monarch is spectacular, with superb practical and special effects. The acting ranges from competent to masterful, with stand-out performances by Anna Sawai, playing a young woman struggling with PTSD, and Bruce Baek as an indefatigably jolly pilot. Industry veteran Christopher Heyerdahl (Hell on Wheels and Twilight) also plays a recurring role as General Pucket, who concocts a foolhardy plan to detonate an atom bomb in Godzilla’s face.

Godzilla faces down a nuke in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Episode 3 “Godzilla”. Source: Screenshot, YouTube Highlights

The distinctly anti-human propaganda of 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters (written by Max Borenstein, Michael Dougherty and Zach Shields) is nowhere present here.

The show appears to be leading up to the events of the 2019 film, while also alluding to the earth-shattering revelations of 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong. Far from rehashing old material, however, Monarch is revealing heretofore unknown aspects of the giant creatures that secretly populate the Warner Bros. Monsterverse.

As yet, Monarch has garnered little attention from pop culture community The Fandom Menace or conventional reviewers affiliated with fake news venues. Some fans are disappointed that the show does not focus more exclusively on giant monster mayhem, opting instead to include a spy-thriller narrative tied into a multi-generational family drama.

Keiko dances with Lee Shaw in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Episode 5 “The Way Out”. Source: Screenshot, YouTube Trailer

RELATED: Godzilla Minus One Shocks Hollywood, Becoming IMDB Top Rated Film Of 2023

Monarch exhibits many modern Hollywood “tropes”, such as diverse casting choices that don’t always make the most sense, “strong” women with bad attitudes, and inoffensive non-threatening men, but none of this comes off as mean-spirited. The women are allowed moments of weakness and compassion, and the men act as emotional bulwarks for the female characters while exhibiting competence and justifiable amounts of self-assurance.

The diverse cast of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters do some computer hacking.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Episode 1 “Afterman”. Source: Screenshot, YouTube Sneak Peak

One storyline involves an absent, presumably dead, father whose children discover he may have had more redeeming qualities then they previously thought.

Alternating between various different time periods between the 1950’s and the 2010’s, Monarch’s non-linear storytelling may prove to be a bit challenging for some viewers, but the flashback events contained within each individual episode are relatively self-contained and easily digestible. The story revolves around one family’s “legacy” involving the monsters and the organization that studies them.

The first season of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters consists of ten episodes, released on a weekly basis. So far, the first four episodes are extremely enjoyable.

NEXT: Godzilla Minus One Rampages With Academy Awards Nomination For Best Visual Effects

Filed Under: TV Reviews Tagged With: godzilla, Kong, Kurt Russel, Monarch

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