Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
Cast & Crew
Matt Roush says...
Godzilla takes a back seat to Monarch, the shadowy X-Files-like organization that tracks the radiation-feeding MUTOs (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms), in a sporadically thrilling addition to the MonsterVerse. In a sweet casting stunt, Kurt Russell and son Wyatt play older and younger versions of the same character: Army officer Lee Shaw, initially assigned to shadow Monarch’s expeditions in the 1950s. The contemporary story unfolds in the wake of Godzilla’s 2014 attack on San Francisco, when survivor Cate (Anna Sawai) travels to Tokyo to explore her secret family connection to Monarch, where she connects with a half-sibling (Ren Watabe) and begins a global quest for answers with the inevitable hacker (Kiersey Clemons) on board. Kurt Russell brings so much vigor and wit to his portrayal of the elder Shaw, it’s a shame he’s saddled having to shepherd these mopey Scooby Gang wannabes. Most episodes become a waiting game for the next amazing monster, five minutes of awe after 40-odd minutes of yawn. (See the full review.)