Monarch: That Legacy thing...

Since I have been doing the Godzilla thing recently, I thought I'd take advantage of that free subscription my wife has for Apple TV. There are only a couple of reasons to watch Apple TV in my opinion, but ever since I watched "Godzilla Minus One" (read that review here), I have been craving some more giant lizards stepping on people, stepping on buildings, stepping on other monsters, etc. So I bit the bullet and decided to watch "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters". And it was "meh", but the good kind of meh. The kind of meh that you might settle in with on a Saturday night and Netflix and chill with- but NEVER tell any one that you did it, and also, that you kind of, sort of, might have gotten a little enjoyment from it. But only just a little bit, not the full fireworks.

Before I get started, let me preface this- This isn't even in the same wheel house as Minus One. Expect some speed bumps in the quality, and maybe a gag reflex. Make sure to wrap that thing up when you Netflix and Chill with "Monarch". 

That being said, this show has it's moments, and it can be said that it's clearly a "Monsterverse" Show. In my humble opinion, there aren't nearly enough monsters stepping on things. There are monsters, but they are mostly those people doing the acting.

For those cretins who are of the "uninitiated", Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is Apples attempt to corner some of that sweet, sweet, Kaiju cash. I am talking giant lizards fighting giant apes fighting giant robots kind of money. Which means that any one going into it with any other expectation is going to have some disappointments. Hell, come to think of it, there wasn't a whole lot of Kaiju respect in this damn show... the muscles were missing. But it has Kurt Russel and a cameo from John Goodman, does that count? Are they considered Kaiju? Incidentally, they are also the highlight of the acting in this film. 

So lets wade into this swamp of corporate clownery, and see if we can find a gem. 

The quick plot break-down: Monsters, mumble mumble, secret government organization, mystery and stuff! 

The longer version is more like this: There is this super secret organization that hunts down and studies Kaiju. They were started back in the day by three compadres and a general in the good old U.S. Army. Two of them are scientists and two of them are soldiers. They start this club for monster-watchers, it's called "Monarch". I was kind of hoping that there was a giant Monarch butterfly in that name, but there isn't, at least not yet. Not even a "Mothra". Anyway, they grow the institution into a huge department of the world's governments, not just the United States, but all around the world. The monsters, in the show they are called "Titans", are monitored, watched, and studied. 

The show spans several decades and jumps around a lot, thankfully it's not hard to follow. The descendants of the founders of Monarch, through odd circumstances, find each other. They were never told about their parents and what they did so in the beginning of the show they don't know anything about the organization or that it even exists. So, as the Gen Z'ers work to discover the truth about Monarch, they are harassed by "the man" because there is "more to the story" than they know. They sleuth their way to answers and pick up a couple extras along the way while they are looking for a missing father. As their story unfolds, there is another story happening in tandem, taking place in the 50's, 60's, and 70's. So the audience gets to see what actually happened in the "before times". 

As the show trudges onward, more characters are reveled, monsters are discovered, plot holes are unearthed. And it's all fun and games until the writers decide to spend more time catering to the humans than the monsters. There is lots of drama, but it's the wrong kind. I wanted to see someone pointing up and screaming "Godzilla!" before they are stepped on. That's not what I got. I got this instead: "I am sorry I am the way I am, it's my fathers fault" (spoken in a deep, dark, brooding voice).

This isn't like Minus One where you actually root for the humans and struggle with them. This is over privileged, backwards, suburban drama. The struggles the main characters should be relatable even without the giant monsters... but they aren't. It's just so angsty and meh. Of course I am talking about the current modern half of the story- the other half, in the past, is okay. The protagonists in the past have some descent dialogue, acting and plot points, but their grand kids are just such a disappointment. I struggled with them every time we bounced forward. I just wanted to tell them to turn the music down and get off my lawn. The only saving grace of the future was that maybe I would be able to escape to the "Hollow Earth" or "Axis Mundi" as they call it in the show.

The writing is half good. It's like the writers split up tasks while they were in the writers room and the job of writing the scenes in the past were given to the seasoned "old timers" who kind of know how to write, and all the modern scenes were done by a bunch of Emos who were given the job because they knew someone in the biz who owed them a favor. It's jarring and very annoying. 

I will however, give them some bonus points for connecting a lot of the dots that were in the previous movies- "Godzilla 2014", "Kong: Skull Island", "Godzilla: King of Monsters", and "Godzilla vs. Kong". One of the fun parts of the show is the easter-eggs. There are a lot of them. I did like the connections between the show and the movies, because they don't try to explain them. I had to look for them and figure them out, which was great. I can't speak for the cartoon series "Skull Island" on Netflix, I haven't watched it. But the rest connects up surprisingly well. All except for the "time dilation" problem the bonehead writers created because they are idiots. You'll get that last one when you watch the show. 

The monsters themselves are great, when they are on screen. I personally wished they would have showed up more. A person comes to the Monsterverse because they want Kaiju mayhem. When the monsters are on screen, they do a good job with it. However, waiting for the next Kaiju Cameo gets kind of annoying. It does build a little mystery and suspense, but it's misplaced. The timing is all off.  The upside to the show is that there are some new monsters. But none are as cool as Godzilla, and that's okay, I would never expect them to be. However, like I have stated, the show is missing Kaiju for the most part- It should be called "Monarch...(ellipses)", because I really struggled with the distinct lack of buildings getting stepped on, people getting squashed, and clashing monolithic giants destroying everything in their path. There are places where this show lulls to the point of bordem because of they are missing. I found myself rolling my eyes. 

Special effects are good for the most part, and maybe that's why there are so few monsters in the show- it cost a lot to make something look good... but, and here's where I counter with just two words- Minus One. That movie cost 15 million to make and it is fantastic. So, I call that excuse and raise you a Kaiju. Not only was Godzilla used sparingly, but his timing was perfect, and his dramatic effect was bang-on. No excuses Monarch, no excuses. 

Despite all my complaints, and the fact that the show is kind of meh, I still think it deserves a C+ to a B- for a rating, thats right 7-8 out of ten buildings destroyed. Here's why: I watched Godzilla vs Kong, I will most likely watch Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. While I think Monarch is light years behind what Minus One is, I also think Monarch is lightyears ahead of what Godzilla vs Kong is, and god help us for whatever Godzilla X Kong will be. My god, watch the trailers, holy crap it looks awful. We'll see, I don't have any hopes at all for it. 

Until next time...

Cheers!