Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters Review: A Mystery Box Series With A Little Bit Of Godzilla For Good Measure
I think we can all agree that the humans are the least interesting part of the so-called MonsterVerse franchise, the series of recent films connecting Godzilla and King Kong. The humans may be our guides through these stories, but they're all kind of blah, and it's Godzilla and Kong (and the other monsters they butt up against) we want to see. Which makes "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters," the new Apple TV+ series set in the MonsterVerse, kind of strange. While monsters do appear here, the show is very much human-focused and is thus tasked with trying to make those humans compelling in between brief glimpses of dangerous creatures (or Titans, as they're called in the world of the MonsterVerse). In other words, if you were hoping for a live-action Godzilla TV series, you might want to temper those expectations — the big guy barely shows up in the five episodes screened for critics. Perhaps they're saving him for the grand finale. As for Kong, he doesn't show up at all. Maybe he was busy with other projects or wanted too much money.
After "Lost" became a huge hit, networks rushed out their own "Lost" knock-offs; shows that were very much playing with a mystery box, where twists and turns were the name of the game. "Monarch" very much feels like one of those "Lost" knock-offs; every episode introduces us to some new mystery to keep the story chugging along. All of the mysteries surround Monarch, the organization that knows all about the monsters/titans that occasionally cropped up to wreck some stuff. One character describes them as "like the CIA, but for Godzilla."
"Monarch" begins in the wake of the events of the 2014 "Godzilla." The world has changed, and as Cate Randa (Anna Sawai) lands in Tokyo, we see signs for a "Godzilla Evacuation Route." Missile defense systems are set up on bridges — monster defense has become big business. The uber-wealthy have taken to living in posh bunkers. As for Cate, she's come to Tokyo to check into a mystery surrounding her recently deceased father. She's in for a shock: during her trip, she learns her father had an entirely different life, including a second wife and a secret son, Kentaro (Ren Watabe). The two siblings reluctantly team up to dig into what their dead father was up to, and what he was up to seemed to involve Monarch. Along the way, they team up with May (Kiersey Clemons), a computer expert with plenty of secrets of her own.
Thank god for Kurt Russell
From there, "Monarch" launches into a time-jumping, globe-trotting adventure. I'll say this about the show: it never sits still. The timeline is constantly shifting, from the 2010s, to the 1950s, and beyond. In the '50s storyline, we meet Keiko (Mari Yamamoto) and Bill (Anders Holm), scientists studying monsters and founding Monarch in the process. Bill is the younger version of John Goodman's character from "Kong: Skull Island," just to keep things connected.
Also along for the ride in the '50s: Lee Shaw, a military man acting as an escort for the scientists. In a brilliant bit of casting, the younger Shaw in the '50s is played by Wyatt Russell, while the older Shaw in the 2010s is played by Wyatt's father Kurt Russell. Of course, "Monarch" is so obsessed with its mystery box stuff that there's more to Russell's character than meets the eye. When someone points out that the older Shaw should be pushing 90 by now, the character grins and replies, "What can I say? Good genes."
Kurt Russell is perhaps the best thing about the entire show. The actor is so breezy, so charming, that he lights up the screen whenever he appears. His son does well too, but it's the older Russell who holds our attention. There's a moment where he bursts out laughing after nearly dying in a plane crash that has more life and energy than almost any other big action set piece the show throws at us. You just can't fake that kind of charisma. This may be a streaming TV series, but Russell is an old-school movie star, and that lends "Monarch" some much-needed juice.
Not enough monsters
But again: this is all human-based stuff. What about the monsters? While new creatures pop up from time to time, "Legacy of Monsters" is light on the monsters and heavier on the legacy stuff. I get it — it would be hard to sustain an entire series that was nothing but monster mayhem. But Watching "Monarch" gives one the feeling that the writers think we're way more interested in the trappings of Monarch than we really are. The humans here are more interesting than the humans in the MonsterVerse movies, but not by much. As I watched the show, I kept thinking of a moment in "The Simpsons" where Milhouse, watching an episode of "Itchy and Scratchy," whines, "When are they gonna get to the fireworks factory?!" Only in this case, it's "When are they gonna get to Godzilla?!"
"Monarch: Legacy of the Monsters" keeps your attention with its brisk pacing and time-jumping story, but I couldn't shake the feeling that that story wasn't adding up to much. Besides, every time it looks as if one mystery will be solved it simply leads to another, and another, and then another. And the entire time, you'll be left wondering when the next monster is going to appear to liven things up. Oh well. Even if there's not much Godzilla to go around, at least we have Kurt Russell.
/Film Rating: 6 out of 10
"Monarch: Legacy of Monsters" premieres on Apple TV+ on November 17, 2023.