REVIEW: Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is an impeccable, surprising, exciting and almost perfect series

A concept that is very fashionable in the entertainment industry is parallel universes and multiverses, other places with almost identical characters, we already saw this concept more specifically with The Flash or Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse on a large scale.

This is very interesting when it is carried out well and the context is perfectly understood, each one has even had a name that evokes the franchise they represent in film and television, MCU, DCU, Monster Verse, this referred to what that Universal Studios wanted to do with its classic monsters that began with The Mummy (2017) starring Tom Cruise and although it was a freer version it promised that the following projects would give shape and meaning to this universe and it did not work.

Although the term Monster Verse is in the public domain, it was Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures who knew how to take advantage of it since 2014 with the release of Godzilla, the North American version of the popular Japanese Kaiju.

As part of this extended monster verse, Apple TV premieres a new series, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters in which we will see in more detail what has happened how this mysterious organization was founded, and what role it has played throughout. years in his supposed protection of humanity from those titans who are believed to want to dominate the planet.

What is the series about?

After surviving Godzilla’s attack on San Francisco, a creepy secret once again surprises Cate (Anna Sawai). Amid monstrous threats, she embarks on a worldwide adventure to discover the truth about her father, her family, and the mysterious organization known as Monarch.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters as a television series is an excellent work that complements and contributes to that Monster Verse from the perspective of those affected by this destructive invasion of a colossal titan called Godzilla.

The history of this monstrous character over the decades has caused expectations in different generations. The attempts to make it’s North American version have had failures and major failures. Ronald Emmerich, under pressure from the studios, tried to do the same with his version of Godzilla in 1998 continued in an animated series that only had 2 seasons and intended to continue with its already terrible history.

The reinterpretation of and the invention of new characters has given us the advantage of having something that we like as viewers and with which we can identify, some out of nostalgia and others because they know the modern versions of the classics have supported these projects that are ushering in a new era.

Godzilla (2014) and Kong: Skull Island (2017) directed by Gareth Edwards and Jordan Vogt-Roberts respectively are the basis for this series to reveal the secrets of this organization called Monarch, which is a sub-organization created by the US government to stop threats. kaiju around the world, as expected, their intentions have a double meaning that we have already seen throughout these films.

The series is currently broadcast on the Apple TV platform. It already has 3 episodes which are:

1. Aftermath.

Cate (Anna Sawai) travels to Japan to get answers about her father. She discovers a shocking secret while in the past scientist Keiko (Mari Yamamoto), a young military adventurer Lee Shaw (Wyatt Russell), and cryptozoologist Bill Randa (Anders Holm) follow a theory that will lead them to discover that the myth of the titans that inhabit our planet is true.

The episode opens with the sequence that we had already seen in Kong: Skull Island and the surprising appearance of this titan and its attack on the helicopters, the escape of Bill Randa (John Goodman) from a giant spider, when he finds himself trapped he carries a briefcase with recorded tapes and notes that he throws into the river while a giant crustacean fights with the arachnid, then we have the part that perhaps we all wanted to see, Godzilla attacking San Francisco on the Golden Gate Bridge, from this moment the series is telling us which part of the story We will see it from the point of view of an ordinary person who has witnessed these attacks, the sequence defines and conveys perfectly well how impressive and traumatic this event is for Cate, the school bus in which she was traveling is on the edge and about to fall, in a desperate attempt he tries to save all the children but fails, the plot is divided into subplots and these are told as flashbacks, the change between the past and the present and the presentation of characters can be confusing and even more so if you do not have the previous background of these 2 films, each event is explained little by little, for example when we discover that Keiko is the grandmother of Cate and Kentaro and we see her supposed death when she is attacked by giant insects, everything is worth it. It’s another great scene that magnificently shows the desperation of the character, the central axis of this is discovering the origins of Monarch as an organization.

2. Departure.

Monarch wants Cate’s recently discovered files, Kentaro (Ren Watabe) and May (Kiersey Clemons) put them in the sights of this organization who follow them closely, while Keiko, Lee, and Billy make an important discovery that will change the course. of things and possibly the existence of humanity on the planet.

In this episode we can already see more emotional scenes that can fall into drama, Emiko and Kentaro accept that the father of this family was not what they believed and much less knew his activities, although the plot that they are developing in the present is good, almost nothing important happens and this is because they are still presenting things and better defining the characters in the past and how they are placing the events within this universe, the plot of Keiko and her relationship with Lee when she meets a young man Bill’s mission is to find an impossible creature known as the dragon, but even so, all this only serves to help us understand how this friendship and search team is being forged and not so much about the creatures and Monarch, the narrative structure of this episode is very similar to what we have seen in the movies and balances very well what is happening before and what is happening in the future, we know that in each episode we will see a new and different creature like Godzilla and the insects in the first episode.

3. Secrets and Lies.

An elderly Shaw (Kurt Russell) leads the team he has formed with Cate, Kentaro, and May on a dangerous mission to Alaska in search of Hiroshi (Takehiro Hira) who mysteriously disappeared while Keiko, Lee, and Billy present their findings to General Puckett who Skeptic of the discovery he will soon discover that everything they have said is true as he tries to destroy the alpha titan, Godzilla.

This episode is more dynamic than the previous ones, we see a very interesting flashback about the army’s first attack on Godzilla, we can complain and say that the sequence is not as presented in the 2014 film but what does it matter if what they are doing It is to restructure everything so that we better understand the order of things and how they are happening, it is exciting to see that the plot is already becoming more solid in terms of the characters, the presentations are over and now comes the development and motivations of each one, almost At the end of the episode we see the emotional moment between Cate and Du-Ho about what they have seen and what they are about to face, this team already has a clear idea of where they are going and what they want to know about Monarch, the best thing about this episode is still the presentation of the creatures, in Alaska they are attacked by a mole-like monster that can freeze things, this is a big step in the series because not only will we see the past but they will also have to deal with these titans in the present.

The 3 episodes of 10 that make up this first season have been spectacular, we can say that Apple TV Plus is risking too much with this proposal, this may be because Godzilla: Minus One is already premiering in Japan, on the one hand, and the other, they want to connect and make more concrete in this universe with the 2024 premiere of Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire, it is inevitable not to make comparisons between what Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. are presenting with what Toho Co. Ltd. studios have been doing for decades. In Japan, let’s clarify that each thing is different and has no relationship between them, each one belongs to a different universe if we put it in that context.

Something that has characterized these productions about kaiju is the fact that the stories of the human characters are more relevant than the creatures themselves and it is the rule to follow in this series, writers Chris Black and Matt Fraction have drawn all this partially out of nothing, although we know from the beginning that there is an evil organization with very sinister purposes for humanity that is behind everything that happens, giving it meaning and an origin that explains to us what we already know and what What we are about to see is one of the great successes.

Every detail has been meticulously taken care of so that as viewers we sympathize with humans to the point that they have normalized in Japan the use of weapons and announcements of shelters in case of an unexpected attack, humanity as such in this universe is already prepared and has aware that these threats arise and we must confront them if we want to continue defending our place as a society and humanity on the planet.

The directors Matt Shakman and Julian Holmes are the ones who in these 3 episodes manage to synchronize the script and the events very well without letting it look and feel fluid, the narrative is so agile that we can notice the change in direction, each one understands perfectly well the things and the vision they have about this project, although there are action sequences, they are not so exaggerated, the same happens with the comedy and drama parts.

The special effects are impressive, Apple TV Plus has not spared a single cent in spectacularly presenting things, the setting, the photography, the locations, and the measured use of CGI find a balance in what we are seeing, so much so that the duration of each episode is over 40 min seem to be insufficient for everything we have to discover as viewers and what they want to present to us.

Perhaps the biggest flaw it has is obvious, the series is supported by the previous material that without that is incomprehensible, even more so by the changes between times and sequences, we must be aware as an audience that if we see this series of 10 long episodes it is because the studio assumes and assumes that we already know at least the basics, they are not trying to play with us but rather to make things clear from the beginning so as not to waste screen time on things that they have to tell us again.

The cast so far is made up of Anna Sawai, Kiersey Clemons, Ren Watabe, Mari Yamamoto, Anders Holm, Joe Tippett, Elisa Lasowski, Wyatt Russell, and Kurt Russell with the special participation of John Goodman, each of them is doing the best they can. They have and more so that these characters seem more empathetic and unforgettable than boring, each one understands perfectly well the characteristics that each one has, the dramatic moments are genuine, a good job at the height of a great production.

The music composed by Leopold Ross (Black Mirror) is undoubtedly one more character in this entire project, pieces with samples of works that we have already heard before in Godzilla with Alexandre Desplat and in Kong by Henry Jackman are present in a subtle way without leaving to give it your style and personality.

In conclusion, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is an almost perfect exercise in what a good spin-off can be, an impeccable production that is shaping up to be one of the best series of 2023.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is now available on the Apple TV platform.