Monarch: Legacy of Monsters

Apple TV hyped this series for months, thinking the blockbuster premise would attract the masses. But to pull that off, the execution needed to be on point, and it just wasn't. The solution was simple: focus more on Monarch's history and the monsters from another dimension. Instead, midway through the series, it bogs down with too much talking and topics (like LGBT themes) that feel shoehorned in. And when monsters do appear, they look disappointingly subpar by today's standards. The combination of Kurt Russell and his son Wyatt is a nice touch, but everything else falls flat. It could have been a knowingly fun action flick, but instead, it’s mostly a bore. A few good episodes can't save the series, even though the last one was decent. Unfortunately, the last episode alone can't make up for the rest, and I'm surprised I even made it to the end. (01/25/2024)

At first, it looked promising, and the mystery line involving the search for the father served as an interesting bond between flashbacks to the past and the founding of the Monarch organization. Mythology Building. The monsters were sparse, but given the budget, that's understandable. Kurt Russell was a draw, but his escape from the retirement home and trip to Alaska foreshadowed a brutal quality downgrade. The drawn-out relationship friction, the odd and unwarranted changes in character behavior, and the LGBT pandering kill the solid foundation of the first episodes. Series co-creator Matt Fraction went on to put together a decent skeleton, but the middle three episodes almost sent the entire series into a tailspin. The ending is pretty good despite the logical lapses and clichéd twists, but it's a shame Monarch isn't shorter and there could have been more monsters for the money they saved. All in all, a very awkward journey to grandma that doesn't deserve a sequel. (01/13/2024)

This takes us on a tour into the world of Godzilla and co. It has a good start and an even better finish with an open door for a second season, but the whole project is brought down by five or six middle episodes that could have easily been merged into one or two without the series suffering story-wise. The quality of the Godzilla films of recent years is not dizzying, but they do have a lot of action despite the clichéd splash. The same can not be said for some of the episodes of Legacy of Monsters, which feature too much talking and aimless flying back and forth without any significant advancement or enrichment of the plot and the world of the titans. I liked the time-jumping line and it's a shame it didn't kick in until almost at the end of the series. Personally, I didn’t like the casting of some of the characters, but that's my subjective problem – though it quite spoiled my impression. However, despite the negatives, I am curious to see what direction the creators decide to go in next – if the project gets the green light. (01/19/2024)