Cast: Kiersey Clemons, Anders Holm, Anna Sawai, Ren Watabe, Anna Heyerdahl, Qyoko Kudo, Mari Yamamoto, Kurt Russell, and others
Creators: Matt Fraction and Chris Black
Director: Shakman, Matt
Watching using Apple TV
Language: (subtitled) English
Runtime: Two hours and ten minutes, per episode.
Rating: 4/5
Review of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters: What It’s About
Following in their father’s footsteps, two siblings set out to investigate their family’s connections to the mysterious organization Monarch following the historic battle between Godzilla and the MUTOs, which revealed the existence of monsters and left San Francisco in ruins. They go on an exciting voyage through time as they follow clues that take them deeper and deeper into the world of monsters. The story begins with Army officer Lee Shaw in the 1950s and continues fifty years later with Monarch facing an impending threat connected to Shaw’s expertise. This epic tale that spans three generations reveals long-kept mysteries and investigates how significant, life-altering occurrences can have a lasting impact on us.
Script analysis of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters: A review
There are two separate timeframes in which the series is set. One thread of the story takes place in 2015, after Godzilla’s destructive devastation of San Francisco. Meanwhile, in the other storyline, viewers are taken back to the 1950s when they meet Officer Lee Shaw (Wyatt Russell), an army officer, and Bill Randa (Anders Holm), a cryptozoologist who is under Lieutenant Shaw’s protection. Tracing radiation tracks through the Manila forest, they work together to find a terrifying ground zero.
These are the soon-to-be Monarch founders. Monarch: What is it? It’s similar to the CIA, except for Godzilla, as a character goes on to explain. On the other hand, from a distance, it’s like SHIELD except inside the Monsterverse. The chronology from the 1950s is full of Indiana Jones-style experiences, such as finding a nursery full of glowing, squishy eggs that would hatch into terrifying creatures with pincers and oilskin bags thrown into the ocean. Shaw’s unrequited love for Keiko, who is only interested in Bill, is kept afloat by her antics, as long as she can distract them from her monster-sampling kit and Geiger monitor.
In contrast, the modern chronology established in 2015 is less entertaining. Despite trying to avoid the common flaw in monster movies by focusing on the human characters, the series has succeeded in giving them more screen time without giving them the personality or depth that would make up for the absence of kaiju action.
Review of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters: Star Cast:
Anna Sawai, who plays Cate, is the show’s emotional focal point and expertly embodies the main themes of legacy and collateral harm. Mari Yamamoto does a good job of capturing Keiko’s everyday balance of calm, restrained rage, and unwavering brilliance.
Even though John Goodman makes a cameo in the first episode, the majority of the program centers on Anders Holm’s portrayal of the character when he was younger. Goodman makes a powerful impression even in his brief appearance. The cast members Ren Watabe, Kiersey Clemons, Anders Holm, and others give outstanding performances.
Review of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters: Scope & Composition:
The massive program that reveals Godzilla’s (2014) aftermath is connected to the action-packed MonsterVerse film series, but it unexpectedly has more in common with the streamer’s epic drama Pachinko. Throughout the first two episodes of the series, the filmmaker has deftly kept the details around Monarch hidden. The story opens with Cate and her recently found half-brother Ken setting out on a major quest to discover their father’s secret connection to Monarch, the secret government organization tasked with researching these legendary animals.
When it comes to the soundtrack, the few times Godzilla appears in a major way—together with the spooky sound effect that goes along with its roars—evoke awe similar to the sound of a Koto in any scene set in Japan in a Western film.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Evaluation: Effectiveness:
Even though Cate and Ken have only recently met, they are already part of something greater than themselves. The secretive government material is far less interesting than the family drama in each timeframe. What’s more thrilling, though, are the few occasions when Godzilla makes an appearance in all of his magnificence.
