'Monarch: Legacy of Monsters' review: A Godzilla show that (mostly) fixes the boring human problem
"Monarch: Legacy of Monsters" explores the secret organization at the heart of Legendary's MonsterVerse. Yes, Godzilla appears.
The most common complaint with Legendary's MonsterVerse movies — which include Godzilla, Kong: Skull Island, and Godzilla vs. Kong — is that their human characters never measure up to their central monsters. Who wants to watch a crew of underdeveloped scientists when we could be watching a giant ape fight an atomic reptile?
With these gripes in mind, it's somewhat perplexing that Apple TV+'s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, the MonsterVerse's first foray into live-action television, centers almost exclusively on the humans. However, the gamble (mostly) pays off, fleshing out the world of the MonsterVerse through the lens of a family drama-turned-globetrotting adventure.
How does Monarch: Legacy of Monsters fit into the MonsterVerse?
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters spans generations and timelines as it documents the formation of Monarch, a secret organization that studies monsters, or Titans, like Godzilla and King Kong.
In the show's 1950s timeline, we meet Lieutenant Lee Shaw (Wyatt Russell), who's been charged with supervising Dr. Keiko Mira (Mari Yamamoto) and Dr. Bill Randa (Anders Holm) as they conduct their monster research. Decades later, in the aftermath of Godzilla's 2014 arrival in San Francisco, siblings Cate (Anna Sawai) and Kentaro (Ren Watabe) and their computer whiz friend May (Kiersey Clemons) begin to uncover their estranged father Hiroshi's (Takehiro Hira) mysterious involvement in Monarch. Their quest will lead them to an aged Lee (Kurt Russell), whose knowledge of Monarch puts a target on his back — and the back of anyone who crosses paths with him.
If you're a fan of the MonsterVerse, Monarch has its fair share of Easter eggs for you. Billy is the younger version of John Goodman's character from Kong: Skull Island, and there are more than a few mentions of Ken Watanabe's Dr. Serizawa from the films. However, if you're unfamiliar with these movies, or more of a casual watcher like me, Monarch is accessible enough that you won't be at a loss. It helps that we're watching Monarch's birth from the ground up, which puts us on even footing in the present as we see what the organization has become. Reconciling these two different versions of Monarch, from the three-person team of the '50s to the sprawling agency of the 21st century, becomes one of the show's driving mysteries. How did Monarch get from Point A to Point B?
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters puts in the work with its human characters.
Our main link between these points is Lee Shaw, brought to life in delightful fashion by the father-son team of Kurt and Wyatt Russell. Both exude a roguish charm throughout, yet balance that with the more somber parts of Lee's evolution. For Wyatt Russell as the young Lee, that means seeing him reckon with the U.S. government's selfish, destructive desires for the Monarch program. As the older Lee, Kurt Russell embodies his sense of loss over the decades, along with a more loose cannon energy that makes for some very fun adventuring.
While Lee acts as Monarch's connective tissue, the show's heart lies with women like Cate and Keiko. Early in the show's first episode, Cate learns that the now-dead Hiroshi had a secret second family in Tokyo, including her half-brother, Kentaro. As the two work to process this revelation on top of their grief at Hiroshi's passing, Cate also reckons with PTSD from getting up close and personal with Godzilla back in San Francisco.
Monarch renders these San Francisco flashbacks with monster movie horror, creating a terrifying sense of smallness in the face of a massive being you can't begin to understand. It's no wonder Cate panics at the sound of Godzilla drill alarms, or at the feeling of being confined. Yet as she and Kentaro wade deeper into their father's past, we see her begin to grow into her own and develop a new understanding of Titans, a character evolution Monarch teases out nicely throughout its run. (Out of 10 episodes, eight were given to critics for screening purposes.)
Keiko is a similarly compelling character, with her wonder and compassion for the Titans she seeks contrasting with the callous brutality of the U.S. government. Her struggles extend far beyond monster hunts in the wilderness to the boardrooms where Monarch looks for funding. As a woman, she's an outsider in a male-dominated field. And as a Japanese person working for the U.S. post-World War II, she encounters racism daily. Watching her navigate these prejudices is more harrowing than any monster attacks. But on a more positive note, it's a joy to watch her put her detractors in their place and bond with Lee and Billy. Yamamoto, Holm, and Wyatt Russell's chemistry as a group really makes the '50s scenes pop, which is why it's a shame when Monarch sometimes spends whole episodes foregoing that timeline altogether.
Monarch tries to give all of its characters more depth, but there are some areas where it doesn't quite succeed. Relationship drama between May and Kentaro feels shoehorned in, along with a backstory for May that deserved more fleshing out than forced secrecy. Monarch's current staff, including operatives Tim (Joe Tippett) and Duvall (Elisa Lasowski) are similarly underdeveloped, making scenes where they pursue our heroes in the present a bit of a drag.
Yes, the Titans in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters are still spectacular.
Thankfully, every time Monarch threatens losing its way, it brings out its heavy hitters: the monsters. The show's worldwide adventures give us an opportunity to meet all sorts of new Titans in a variety of locales, from a winged dragon-like creature in the rainforests of the Philippines all the way to a burrowing beast in the frozen wastes of Alaska. Even on the small screen, the visual effects bringing these monsters to life are extremely impressive.
And of course, you can't have a MonsterVerse show without Godzilla himself. The hulking kaiju and his iconic roar are wonders to behold here, especially in a scene that reinforces his connection to the Atomic Age. Monarch also takes advantage of Godzilla's presence for some neat world-building details, like mentions of Godzilla attack drills and the booming anti-monster weapon industry.
The richness of Monarch's world — and its glorious, glorious monsters — keeps the show intriguing even when it gets bogged down in the MonsterVerse's oft-maligned human affairs. But even then, Monarch often succeeds where the films have floundered, in no small part thanks to characters like Cate, Keiko, and Lee. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is not just a strong show — it's also a great start for balancing human drama with monster mayhem.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters premieres Nov. 17 on Apple TV+, with a new episode every Friday.
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