Has Fun Moments But Lacks Bite
Summary
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters really picks up for the final two episodes, but too much of the show is spent with characters I didn’t care about and the pacing really drags at times. The obvious highlight was Kurt and Wyatt Russell playing the young and old versions of Lee Shaw and there are some fun Kaiju moments, but not quite enough to make this especially exciting.
Plot: Set after the battle between Godzilla and the Titans, revealing that monsters are real, follows one family’s journey to uncover its buried secrets and a legacy linking them to Monarch.
Review: If you go into Monarch: Legacy of Monsters expecting lots of Kaiju action you’re going to be disappointed; we do get some moments featuring Godzilla and the other Titans, but that’s literally about 10-15 minutes of the entire series. The rest of the show is mostly human drama about family and inheritance; it’s overly talky and at times boring and not really what we’re looking for in the world of Godzilla.
It does have some Easter Eggs and other links to the Monsterverse movies which is entertaining for fans, but there really isn’t enough action in this show to be something I would want to return to. I’m not saying everything needs to be action-packed, but in a world set in the Monsterverse the last thing you’d expect is for it to be tedious.
The highlight of the show is Wyatt and Kurt Russell playing the same character (Lee Shaw) at different stages of his life and every moment they are on screen the series shines. Kurt gives one of his best ever acting performances of his career in the final episode and I won’t spoil it, but it was genuinely moving and hard not to tear up.
I really found Monarch dragged anytime the focus was on our three main leads Cate Randa (Anna Sawai), her brother Kentaro (Ren Watabe) and May (Kiersey Clemens) who weren’t especially interesting. I did like Kentaro and his dynamic with Cate at first because they find out that their supposedly dead father had two families which gave us some interesting character moments. I found Cate quite annoying and unsympathetic at times though as all she did was complain about everything. One scene in particular had them trying to avoid detection while sneaking into Ground Zero, however then they start singing various Japanese commercial jingles which was incredibly stupid. Why would you do that when you know there are soldiers around?
In terms of action there are some shoot-outs and monster attacks, but I think the budget was mostly kept for the last two episodes which really elevated the entire series. We get to see Godzilla battle another Titan and it really felt like part of the movies.
The fact that a live action television series exists with Godzilla in it in any form is amazing in itself especially with such incredible visual effects and it is unlike any TV series I’ve ever seen, so that is another point in its favour.
Overall, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters has some serious pacing issues at times and some of the main characters just aren’t that interesting, but Kurt and Wyatt Russell are standouts with any Kaiju scene immediately making the show more entertaining. It really picks up for the last two episodes and is at times incredibly imaginative, and for Godzilla/Monsterverse fans there are some cool Easter Eggs connecting it to the movies.