The MonsterVerse/Godzilla franchise has gathered a hardcore fan base for decades. American cinema productions have tried to capture that success through varying adaptations, but nothing has quite hit the mark as many studios overseas. Recently, projects like 2014’s Godzilla,2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and even 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong have reinvigorated American mainstream audience interest in the MonsterVerse. Apple TV+ has decided to take a crack at this franchise with Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, and the series puts the right foot forward to a successful show but takes its time doing so.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is the latest installment in LegendaryTelevision’s MonsterVerse. Co-produced with Toho Co., showrunners Chris Black and Matt Fraction are the masterminds weaving this story set in the 1950s and 2015, which circles the creation and exploration of the organization Monarch. Trying to keep track of two fixed points in time on a show featuring an ensemble cast can be challenging. Yet, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters does a serviceable job in that department.
The 2015 plot features characters Cate (Anna Sawai), May (Kiersey Clemons), Kentaro (Ren Watabe), and Lee Shaw (Kurt Russell). For the most of this plot point, the series works. The characters come together through a series of circumstances genuinely connected with Monarch. The beginning of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters brought intrigue that kept my attention, but it sometimes felt like it was spinning its wheels in the later episodes.
Some moments in the 2015 plotline rely on the appearance of a Titan or two to inject some excitement into the series. It can sometimes be positive and negative because it feels like a cheap trick when the plot moves to a crawl. That’s not to say it doesn’t look cool. However, I strongly sensed they were doing the “shiny penny” trick to distract from the more significant issues. For example, the team SLOWLY discovered what Monarch is. It messes with the pacing and drags the plot on for several episodes.
Another massive problem with the writing is how it’s used to make the character May a “backseat driver.” May has some value at the beginning when she helps Cate and Kentaro but later becomes someone complaining constantly. It’s borderline offensive because the writing portrays her as an angry black woman with almost nothing constructive to add.
Contrary to the issue with the 2015 slot storyline, the 1950s plot becomes far more interesting.
The characters Keiko (Mari Yamamoto), Billy Randal (Anders Holm), and Lee Shaw (Wyatt Russell) are the focus during the era when Monarch was created. This plot is when the show excels in writing—deviling into why this organization was created allows a new route for stories not fully explored in the past Legendary projects. We got the military angle in 2017’s Kong: Skull Island, but Monarch: Legacy of Monsters explains why the organization is needed.
That idea also allows the show a lot of room on the human aspect of the MonsterVerse.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters strips down what we know about the MonsterVerse and adds a personal touch to the story. The past films have featured plots where humans and monsters cross paths at some point during the storyline, but the show focuses more on the human side. Sawai’s Cate spearheads most emotionally driven scenes, and it’s not over or under-performed. I gravitated more to this character as she becomes more focused in the latter part of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.
The show grants the character to explore the effects of PTSD and how that is brought on by being a victim of an attack from a Titan. It’s a fascinating route for the show to take. Yamamoto carries on the superb acting for the 1950s plot and continues the trend of being one of the emotional focal points of the show. Some ensemble cast members perform decently, but one falls far behind. Watabe’s Kentaro is perhaps the weakest part of the ensemble.
Watabe starts strong in the first episode but later plays the character as someone who’s always two steps behind or constantly losing focus. The only thing I found him contributing to the story was the family dynamic, and that was barely adding anything new. One episode even focuses on him more than the rest, but I didn’t care when that plotline came around.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is a decent series with room to improve, but it is heading in the right direction. The focus on the human aspect of this franchise goes hand in hand with one another, and the show elevates that in new ways. The lack of Titans in the series is not a negative and offers a great story; it just needs to speed it up to get there. Some of the acting is the show’s saving grace. Consequently, though, some of it is straight-up its downfall.