Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Finally Nails the Monsterverse Balance

It doesn’t have to be the case that a monster movie has great action and truly turgid human drama between the setpieces, but that’s largely been the case for Legendary’s Godzilla reboot, the “Monsterverse.” Sometimes the action being so fun can tip the odds against some truly stupid human beings—see King of the Monsters; and sometimes it can’t—see Godzilla vs. Kong. But Apple TV+’s unlikely spinoff series Monarch might be the first Monsterverse entry that finds a symbiotic balance of both.

Focused on the origins of the titular mysterious organization—which has been chasing giant-sized monsters across the world for decades, even before Godzilla first showed up in the events of Gareth Edwards’ 2014 movie—Legacy of Monsters shines largely on the basis that it has time, unlike its cinematic counterparts. Across the eight episodes made available ahead of release for review, there are both enough hits of some remarkable monster action (director Matt Shakman shows a keen eye for big CG spectacle that was largely constrained in WandaVision, and bodes well for his future return to Marvel with Fantastic Four) and time to flesh out a compelling cast of human characters—to the point that rarely are you left having your mind wander waiting for the next hit of monstrous chases and destruction.

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These aren’t just characters that you come to care about—and thus are actually keenly aware of the monstrous threats they face—but ones that all, in different ways, feel like they have connections to the creatures they come across and to the lingering specter of Monarch itself. If anything, it’s actually when the show gets too bogged down in the esoteric lore around its titular organization that it is at its weakest—the throwaway attempts to latch on to what comes down the line in Legacy’s movie series—and most has you wishing for the next little cliffhanger twist or monster setpiece to come around. Legacy of Monsters is the rare entry in this cinematic saga that has you wanting to spend the time needed with its human cast, and it’s their relationships that drive the bulk of the series far more interestingly than the ins-and-outs of Monarch’s establishment ever do.

That’s somehow more of an amazing achievement in a saga that has drawn plenty of high-profile names to its casts over the years—from Bryan Cranston and Charles Dance, to Millie Bobby Brown and Tom Hiddleston, and a plethora of major names in between—and wasted them, than the fact that Legacy of Monsters also manages to throw its splashy budget around to effectively bring its blockbuster monsters to the small screen along the way.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters begins streaming on Apple TV+ this Friday, November 17.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

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