Monarch Shows That Godzilla and its Monsterverse Can Outlast Marvel. And Maybe Even Defeat It

The MonsterVerse exists in the second blockbuster league with such movies as Kong: Skull Island, Godzilla, Godzilla King of Monsters and Godzilla vs. Kong. These flicks brought a reasonable profit, although not the Marvel's scale, because even a few years ago no one could compare to The Avengers. But times have changed. The last good installment – after several mediocre ones – of the MCU were Guardians of the Galaxy 3. As for TV series, only Loki makes an unequivocally positive impression. That's not much for a giant with such reach. Moreover, people no longer feel the thrill of heroes and heroines, except maybe for Amazon's The Boys, but that's a slightly different story. Actually, a much more different story.

Legendary's Godzilla, with its steady, unhurried, majestic march through pop culture, appears as a breath of fresh air. The Monarch series may herald a change of the guard and get viewers' attention. Or at least that the honest Japanese lizard will outlive the superheroes. Apple TV has large budgets, scale, creators with a bit of passion and vision, and at least decent scripts. Monarch is the result of similar factors.

Spielberg's Spirit

Indiana Jones' creator is alive and well, but his spirit is visible in Legendary Studios' Godzilla since the first film, released back in 2014. That's why it's hard not to like the whole series, despite the imperfections of individual parts and somewhat wasted potential for outstanding entertainment cinema. However, the first movie, its sequel King of Monsters and even Skull Island had one thing in common.

These films exuded a sense of wonder. Whether in an apocalyptic, adventurous, or fairy-tale version – it was deeply embedded in the soul, in the identity of these movies. Because these were movies with soul, even though the studio tried to interfere (tell me how you could waste the potential of Walter White's fight with Godzilla, and this was the time when Breaking Bad was still fresh), and even the directors admitted to mistakes.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, showrunner: Chris Black, Apple TV 2023

Nevertheless, the genuine joy from these movies makes returning to them a pleasure. To see the titans, spectacular fight scenes with the monsters or even tension-building sequences preceding the chaos caused by the Godzilla.

You can see this approach in Monarch. The series focuses more on people and their perspective (which was somewhat lacking besides Skull Island and King of Monsters), their secrets and motivations. The presence of Godzilla and company is still there, even though they mainly appear in flashbacks, while in the present we deal with the aftermath of the titans' battles and how society is preparing for the next ones.

It is a combination of pure adventure, disaster cinema, thriller and light science fiction presented in very balanced proportions. We have here a secret of several people associated with Monarch, the titular organization researching and trying to control the monsters. That secret gives us a bit of decent human drama, dialogue, and acting. We have more quarrelsome and exploratory story threads taking place in the 50s, when the agency was just forming. We finally have Kurt Russell, whose appearance on screen can be compared to that of Godzilla itself. Russell, an old-school star, steals the show as a retired military man (played in retrospective parts by his son – Wyatt).

The first two episodes served more as a way to set up the big and small figures on the chessboard, showing the pawns the way they have to follow and the motivations. But these episodes do everything well. The scenario builds tension flawlessly, the family and organizational mystery can be intriguing – and can potentially expand the MonsterVerse with quite an interesting mythology, doing it similar to the old Spielberg movies. The emphasis on human threads with the participation of decent actors washes away the impression that the stunning, CGI giants are accompanied by an empty cast that serves no real purpose. Only King of Monsters and Skull Island have managed to overcome this curse. They didn't do it perfectly, but still. The story quite neatly recontextualizes the organization itself and already after two episodes suggests that something nefarious might be hiding behind the noble goals. Or at least that it's chaos and incompetence.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, showrunner: Chris Black, Apple TV 2023

Of course, the visuals are stunning. The shots of monsters are mainly from movies, but I have a feeling we will see new material soon. There are several sequences filmed for Monarch to further emphasize the human perspective on Godzilla's disastrous march through modern cities. Even if a hundred-meter lizard defended people and it's the territory – it inevitably wreaked destruction. Just like other monsters. And this suggestion of eternal threat, that we are only in the titans' shadows, resonates well here. Through shots, set design, colors, camera work, music or sounds in general.

The creators took care to present the world. Even though they could do something more original than emphasizing the scale through drone shots, but we can forgive this. Some of the shots are indeed breathtaking, whether those of modern Tokyo or the wilderness.

Even though it's a product of a corporation that sleeps on piles of money like Amazon, the series itself seems... sincere. Monarch feels authentic, created with joy and commitment. All classic narrative techniques that increase the pace of action and guide the characters in the right direction work here. It's clear that this was done with conviction. The viewer has a feeling that someone wanted to do their job properly. Even attempts to educate modern society make a 180-degree turn and the creators somewhat mock them (several scenes show that stereotypes can affect anyone, regardless of identity, and we are all prone to jumping to conclusions). There are also multiple jabs at conspiracy theory enthusiasts as well.

So far it's only two episodes, the plot can still hit the ground harder than Godzilla. For now, however, nothing indicates this. We got a decent and engaging introduction to the series, which is progressing slowly, but it probably has a lot to show still – even to those who are not necessarily big fans of monsters. I felt optimistic while watching these two episodes.

Go, go, go, go – GODZILLA!

2024 could really belong to Godzilla. The starters are already here – Monarch turned out to be really good, providing a lot of entertainment. The entire MonsterVerse is not yet a top pop culture franchise, but it is still big for a niche product and can count on the support of fans. Legendary is preparing another spectacle – Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire. You shouldn't really expect high cinema, but spectacular mayhem and lots of fun.

On the other hand, Godzilla Minus One will soon be released in theaters outside Japan, and the first reviewers are delighted. And this movie can be of some value. Maybe even genuinely disturbing, like 2016's Shin Godzilla. Or like the original from the 50s, which carried a lot of meaning, especially for Japan.

Godzilla Minus One, dir. Takashi Yamazaki, Toho 2023

When looking at these movies in a broader context, of course it's harder to accept this convention. The concept of a giant monster wreaking havoc in Tokyo or San Francisco seems amusing and absurd. It was probably ridiculed in every possible way, and the classic movies, in which a man in a rubber suit walks among the models of buildings, does not help keeping it serious.

However, the absurd titans can indeed be a striking metaphor for what is happening to society. They can support the story about the relationship between humans and animals, nature, and how playing God can end. They channel our fears of major natural disasters, as well as those we have brought upon ourselves, for example, by pressing the red button or failing to manage a power plant. They can serve as a warning and they, in an entertaining way, perfectly reflect how anxious we feel. After all, these are huge, unpredictable creatures, whose whims we can do little about. The fact that two or three of them (Kong, Godzilla, and Mothra) act as sheriffs gives some glimmer of hope, but only a small one. These are, after all, overgrown wild animals supercharged with atoms.

Given what we have recently gone through as a society, as a civilization – given what we have done to ourselves and what we have allowed – this much better reflects the prevailing moods around us. These stories hit closer than those about a group of saviors with superpowers.

Optimistic, if sometimes shrewish, superheroes had their biggest moment in Endgame. Then we had two swan songs – The Batman and the third Guardians of the Galaxy, but the rest has stopped captivating the masses. Firstly, the fuel driving the hype train is slowly running out. Secondly, the quality of most of these productions has indeed dropped (I was barely able to sit through Eternals, and DC movies feel rather negligible, even if are likable).

The perspective also changes due to the fact that we live in a post-pandemic world, with economic collapse, migration crises, and ongoing barbaric wars, such as Russia's attack on Ukraine (forgive me for pulling you out of the escapist zone). Too much has happened, we've become bitter. And so we will be looking for some entertainment – but different, hitting other spots than the ultimately triumphant heroes from Marvel or DC.

Don't get me wrong, I'll happily watch the third Deadpool (though I have my concerns) or The Avengers, especially if some of the original cast actually returns. Even if it's a desperate and cheap move.

Will Marvel give up without a fight? I don't think so. Sure, there were some flops, several colorless films were released (e.g. The Marvels or the third Ant-Man), and She-Hulk. But MCU does have its aces up its sleeve, capable creators and actors, and maybe someone there will come to their senses.

Representatives of MonsterVerse (and the originals from Toho) do not have to be kings of the hill, they do not have to dominate the box office and be above all other blockbusters. They don't even have such potential, because there are only a few iconic monsters, unless we have a sentiment for movies in which guys in rubber suits demolish LEGO buildings. Fans can list them in one breath, but how many of these fans are there compared to the those who know Captain America, Spider-Man, Batman, Wonder Woman or even Spawn? Right?

However, successful stories about people dealing with "monster-cataclysms" – no matter how bizarre the monsters themselves may look – can turn out to be real gems blurring the boundary between blockbusters and more ambitious cinema. In essence, all the productions that form the foundation of the current MonsterVerse were somewhat like that, but they were also "half-baked." As if every time (not counting Godzilla vs. Kong – it's just a fun movie with great fights), one decision separated the creators from telling a quite gripping story, but with a monster in the background. Godzilla from 2014 looks as if someone cut off a piece of a spectacular disaster movie and rearranged the rest so that the audience wouldn't be scared. Skull Island was going to be a variation on Heart of Darkness, but the last act was a letdown. King of Monsters... was actually quite successful, but it lacked a bit of punch and came out at the wrong place and time.

Nevertheless, the potential for cinema that strongly resonates with more conscious, less trusting and optimistic, yet spectacle-hungry viewers exists. And that's big. At worst, such films can deliver the same level of entertainment and excitement that superheroes gave us in Guardians of the Galaxy 3. Moreover, given the rich – often unleavened, but still – traditions of such cinema, monsters can survive much longer than superheroes. Since the cinema and audiences change – that's the real focus. Surviving a difficult time, when other shows and series are falling. Overcoming the viewer's aversion, their fatigue. With Kurt Russell on board, this might be easier to accomplish.

Hubert Sosnowski

Hubert Sosnowski

He joined GRYOnline.pl in 2017, as an author of texts about games and movies. He's currently the head of the film department and the Filmomaniak.pl website. Learned how to write articles while working for the Dzika Banda portal. His texts were published on kawerna.pl, film.onet.pl, zwierciadlo.pl, and in the Polish Playboy. Has published stories in the monthly Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror magazine, as well as in the first volume of the Antologii Wolsung. Lives for "middle cinema" and meaty entertainment, but he won't despise any experiment or Fast and Furious. In games, looks for a good story. Loves Baldur's Gate 2, but when he sees Unreal Tournament, Doom, or a good race game, the inner child wakes up. In love with sheds and thrash metal. Since 2012, has been playing and creating live action role-playing, both within the framework of the Bialystok Larp Club Zywia, and commercial ventures in the style of Witcher School.