Monarch: Legacy of Monsters

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters tells the human-driven story the MonsterVerse has always needed.

Even if you’re not necessarily a fan of Godzilla and his smash-fueled mania, the adventure-seeking and numerous twists and turns will likely satisfy the most novice MonsterVerse explorer.

Enjoyably cheesy romp.

Where the big-screen American films can be a noisy, dark slog, the dramatic equivalent of a giant lumbering dinosaur, “Monarch” stays fleet, and fun.

Surprisingly engrossing and impressively mounted, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters makes a stronger case for character-driven storytelling in Legendary’s MonsterVerse than any of its big-screen outings—especially thanks to the series’ ambitious, mystery-laden structure and the ingenious double casting of Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell, charismatically embodying the same enigmatic character across decades.

There’s something to be said for a series that nails the sweet spot between fleet and flimsy — that takes itself seriously enough to project earnestness, but not so seriously it forgets we’re here for fun.

That’s a lot of names and narratives to keep track of, but the story lines intertwine nicely, even if you might need a list of the characters to reference. No matter. If you’re a kaijū fan and prefer jigsaw-puzzle-like storytelling, not to mention great action sequences, this one — or at least the eight episodes released for review — crushes it.

Monarch’s story does get a little dense at times with lots of scientific lingo being thrown around, leaving us lost in the weeds. Plus, I have to admit my eyes glazed over with all the talk about the shadowy corporation called Monarch that secretly monitors the beasts. But Russell’s natural charm and sly sense of humor go a long way towards cutting through all that and making the whole thing work.

There are some clunky narrative hiccups here and there, though Monarch: Legacy of Monsters never lets that hold it back for too long. What its own legacy will turn out to be is still a mystery, but it's one worth exploring along with the characters.

Monarch offers plenty of encouraging signs at this halfway point. When Kurt Russell shows up as the older Lee Shaw (now in his nineties but mysteriously well preserved), it gives the show a jolt of energy and suggests the momentum will continue to mount in the season's back half. In the meantime, Monarch works quite well as a slick, TV-shaped blockbuster movie anchored by a charismatic cast.

If you don’t care about the MonsterVerse movies, this show probably won’t change your mind. However, if you’re into Godzilla, Kong, or the various Titans who square off against them, Monarch is a lot of fun.

Through most of “Monarch,” those contradictions are not balanced in a way that makes consistently satisfying narrative and emotional sense, perhaps because of the demands of maintaining suspense across 10 episodes. You can put the gnawing questions aside, however, when Yamamoto, Holm and Wyatt Russell are making classic movie-matinee moves in the flashbacks, and whenever the truly impressive monsters rear their scaly heads in any time frame.

When the series clicks, as it frequently does in the eight of ten episodes provided for review, it feels like a mid-century choose-your-own-adventure novel, the kind of pulp that immersed us in a world that felt like our own, right up until it didn’t.

Early episodes are one fetch quest after another with copious flashbacks to develop character backstories. Episode four, set largely in Alaska, is most like the action-adventure movies “Monarch” spins off from. But the back half of the season devolves into convoluted, continent-hopping efforts to rescue a presumably kidnapped May before coming full circle in episode eight

For all the movie-star charisma that Kurt Russell brings to the role of the older Lee, though, Monarch’s ’50s timeline—with its monster-hunting, science-focused segments—easily could have sustained a series all by itself. .... By contrast, the 2015 timeline plays out as something of a globetrotting mystery, although one lacking in mystery and urgency since we get so little context for who Hiroshi is and what he wanted.

Even with Apple’s sizable investment, it too often feels like a gigantic donut with a Godzilla-shaped hole in the middle.

Not quite the MonsterVerse’s high point, but far from its low point either, with some satisfying longform worldbuilding — and a hugely enjoyable dual performance from Kurt and Wyatt Russell.

In a 10-episode series such as this, it is important that the human characters are given as much attention as the kaiju. Spending hours upon hours with them is a big ask, so it’s essential that they’re properly fleshed-out, and that their presence is engaging. And, on the topic of balance, the show’s script certainly achieves this - in that one half of its storytelling is fun and adventurous, and the other half is very much not.

"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.

Across 10 hours of a story this convoluted, filled with characters who never fully connect, it’s easy to feel our own insignificance — but it would still be nice to see a great big Godzilla-sized spectacle to distract us.

Let’s hope the remaining episodes of the season cut to the chase but quick — as is, it feels like a leg of the MonsterVerse that chooses to place its focus too heavily on the human half of the equation. There’s still little sense of what Monarch is or does even five episodes in, and whether they’re meant to be a threat or boon to humanity.

The thrills are genuine when the monsters show up in Monarch. .... But these moments tend to come at the end of an episode, five minutes of awe after 40 minutes of yawn. [27 Nov - 17 Dec 2023, p.7]

Every human aspect of “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” is underdeveloped, as if the writers never came up with enough plot to get from episode to episode, leading to drawn-out dialogue scenes that are virtually impossible to care about. Yes, Kurt Russell’s charm is a monster of its own, and I think his son is one of the more intriguing actors of his generation, a guy I always want to see in better parts. Ultimately, that’s what’s so shocking about my shrugging response to this show.

The 10-episode series, developed by Chris Black and Matt Fraction, has a polished big screen look and is often engrossing. But it’s also occasionally exhausting as it takes a more human-focused lens than the U.S. film franchise that recaptured audiences’ attention in 2014.