*** MONARCH: LEGACY OF MONSTERS *** (Apple TV+ Godzilla Series)

9,966 Views | 90 Replies | Last: 6 mo ago by Captain Winky
TCTTS
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AG
2014's Godzilla certainly had its flaws (killing off Bryan Cranston's character halfway through, Aaron Taylor-Johnson character being incredibly bland, etc), but I loved the overall vibe, along with the epic/haunting monster action (the one insect-like monster "feeding" the nuke to the other, in the middle of a destroyed San Fransisco, has always stuck with me).

So it sucked that the franchise then got campier and campier, as Kong: Skull Island was fun, but man, Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Godzilla vs. Kong were both terrible for the most part, IMO.

Thankfully, however, this latest installment, which is somehow a monster-budget television series on Apple TV+, seems to be an effort to somewhat ignore the latter two and return to the more serious tone of the original, with the primary timeline of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters taking place in the direct aftermath of the 2014 movie. Throw in Wyatt Russell's character playing a younger version of Kurt Russell's character in an earlier timeline, which is a stroke of genius, and I'm all in...

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
Season 1 (10 Episodes)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt17220216/
November 17, 2023
Apple TV+



agracer
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TCTTS said:

So it sucked that the franchise then got campier and campier, as Kong: Skull Island was fun, but man, Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Godzilla vs. Kong were both terrible for the most part, IMO.

Thankfully, however, this latest installment, which is somehow a monster-budget television series on Apple TV+, seems to be an effort to somewhat ignore the latter two and return to the more serious tone of the original, with the primary timeline of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters taking place in the direct aftermath of the 2014 movie.


I mean, it's a MONSTER movie, how serious can it be?

I loved King of the Monsters, Yeah, 100 plot holes, but it was still a great popcorn flick, which is what all of these movies are to me.
c-jags
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agracer said:

TCTTS said:

So it sucked that the franchise then got campier and campier, as Kong: Skull Island was fun, but man, Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Godzilla vs. Kong were both terrible for the most part, IMO.

Thankfully, however, this latest installment, which is somehow a monster-budget television series on Apple TV+, seems to be an effort to somewhat ignore the latter two and return to the more serious tone of the original, with the primary timeline of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters taking place in the direct aftermath of the 2014 movie.


I mean, it's a MONSTER movie, how serious can it be?

I loved King of the Monsters, Yeah, 100 plot holes, but it was still a great popcorn flick, which is what all of these movies are to me.
G:KoM was hella bad but i perfectly enjoyed GvK.


my problem with this being a series is that i'm worried it's going to get the Halo treatment. <10% of what we actually want to see (Master Chief being Master Chief and actual monsters on screen) and 90% of humans talking about what we want to see.
Sex Panther
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King of the Monsters was awful. The first Godzilla had some good things... but ultimately I can't believe how bored I was in a movie about giant fighting monsters


Anyone seen the new Japanese Godzilla trailer? Weird name, but looks pretty cool
Sapper Redux
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The Japanese have been treating Godzilla very seriously over the last decade. Shin Godzilla was brilliant and Minus One looks great, too.
Sex Panther
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I remember I watched Shin Godzilla but I don't remember anything about it. Minus One isn't related to it is it?

Does anyone know what Minus One is referring to?
The Porkchop Express
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Hard to beat the trio of Eli Gemstone, Jack Burton and not Steve Rogers!
fig96
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I am legit excited about this, saw the trailer last night and came to see if we had a thread yet.

Skull Island is one of my guilty pleasure movies but the films have been pretty meh since then, really looking forward to this.
Ornithopter
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The parts of Godzilla vs Kong that involved the monsters were awesome, especially the fighting parts. The humans were dumb but who cares?

Hopefully this is fun as well
Sapper Redux
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Sex Panther said:

I remember I watched Shin Godzilla but I don't remember anything about it. Minus One isn't related to it is it?

Does anyone know what Minus One is referring to?


Minus One looks like a throwback to the original Godzilla. It's set in the immediate aftermath of WWII and the atomic bombs, and Godzilla himself looks smaller and closer to the original than in recent movies. As for the name, I'm not sure. The trailer makes it seem like Godzilla was taking 1945-46 Japan from nothing to less than nothing.

Shin Godzilla was mocking the sclerotic bureaucracy of the Japanese government, especially in its response to the ***ushima disaster, so it has a ton of meetings and equivocation leading to mass disaster. The monster itself evolves over time until it reaches the Godzilla form we know and love.
Noblemen06
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I have been a fan of Godzilla movies since I was a kid and enjoy almost all of them, including the recent ones quite a bit. Can't wait for this!

(X2 for Shin Godzilla…excellent!)
Cinco Ranch Aggie
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The very first time I remember going to a movie theater was in 1971, aged 4, to see Godzilla Vs the Smog Monster. Godzilla was my original childhood fascination before that galaxy far, far away became a thing. I love Godzilla movies despite how awful they can be.

These recent movies were a hell of a lot of fun for me. I especially loved King of the Monsters. Godzilla Vs Kong was great for the monster parts, but give me the 1963 original all day and twice on Sunday.

I had no idea this series was being made. Cannot wait to watch this.
TCTTS
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Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
Season 1 (10 Episodes)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt17220216/
November 17, 2023
Apple TV+



TCTTS
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Reminder that this starts tonight. First two episodes.
Captain Winky
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I love me some Godzilla but the acting in this is distractingly bad.
TCTTS
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Ooof.

How do you make a pilot for a Godzilla & friends series as boring and as pointless as that?

I was really looking forward to this, but after an entire episode I still couldn't tell you why this show exists. Monster/Monarch-wise, we already know so much of what happens before and after this series, and that lack of mystery just renders the entire thing inert. So all we're left with is the struggle to make us care about a few incredibly bland, one-note characters, a struggle they've yet to overcome.

What a downer.

I'll give it one more episode, but it's basically going to have to be a completely different show to keep me sticking around past that.
TCTTS
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Kurt Russell certainly helped, and finally livened things up a bit, but after two episodes I still don't understand why this show exists. It's just a bunch of not-that-interesting family drama, with very little monsters in all of the legacy-ing; monsters we already know exist, based on the previous four movies. We even know where they all come from. So why are they treating everything like some big mystery/tease?

Also, Matt Shakman directed both of these episodes, which doesn't instill much confidence for his next project... Fantastic Four.
TCTTS
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Captain Winky said:

I love me some Godzilla but the acting in this is distractingly bad.

He seems like a nice enough guy, but I will never understand how Anders Holm continues to be a professional working actor.
Captain Winky
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I thought Ders was the best of the worst. The main lady is awful but her brother might be one of the worst actors I've ever seen. Kurt Russel's son is also comically bad.

Luckily, Kurt Russell shows up at the end of episode 2 so hopefully he can save this. Either that or they better go monster heavy pretty quick.

It looks like this is just going to be another super disappointing Apple TV show. Just about everything they have put out has been a flop.
Sex Panther
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TCTTS said:

Captain Winky said:

I love me some Godzilla but the acting in this is distractingly bad.

He seems like a nice enough guy, but I will never understand how Anders Holm continues to be a professional working actor.


Sex Panther
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Captain Winky said:

It looks like this is just going to be another super disappointing Apple TV show. Just about everything they have put out has been a flop.


Huh? They have pound for pound some of the best and most successful shows of any service
TCTTS
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Agreed. Their track record is why I expected so much more from this show. They've had some stinkers for sure, but by and large I think of Apple as one of the best streamers, easily.
Captain Winky
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I just haven't liked anything I've watched on there. Made it two episodes before giving up on that dumb hijacking show, Silo was boring AF, and didn't finish Shrinking. I enjoyed Severance but never started Ted Lasso
TexAg2001
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Captain Winky said:

I just haven't liked anything I've watched on there. Made it two episodes before giving up on that dumb hijacking show, Silo was boring AF, and didn't finish Shrinking. I enjoyed Severance but never started Ted Lasso
Most of what I've seen on Apple TV has been better quality than other streaming platforms, but you're right about Hijack. Silo was boring, but I felt it mostly paid off in the end. I never watched Shrinking. Severance was great. You should really start Ted Lasso. It is great and had a really good ending.

Some other Apple TV shows I really like:
Black Bird (only 6 episodes, but one of the best shows I've seen)
For All Mankind
Foundation (this one can be really hard to follow)
The Morning Show (first couple seasons)
Slow Horses
Tehran
The Porkchop Express
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My favorite part of this universe is the fight on the battleships in Kong v. Godzilla.

Kong is a mega ape with the sharpest teeth and most powerful jaws on the planet, and strength that could rip most animals limb from limb, but decides to instead curl up his fist and throw a punch at Godzilla.

And Godzilla, who given their relative sizes, is at least 300 feet away from that punch's origin, just stands there and takes it with zero reaction to getting out of the way.

Sex Panther
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Hijack was bad. Loved Silo. I also like Foundation, but if you thought Silo was boring I wouldn't recommend it. Really enjoyed Servant and it's hands down the best thing M Night Shyamalan has done in years. And The Afterparty is one of the most underrated comedies of the last couple of years. The first season was absolutely hilarious (haven't seen the second)

Severance is one of the best shows on tv. Ted Lasso and The Morning Show are two of the biggest shows across all platforms. Shrinking, Black Bird, Slow Horses, and For All Mankind, are all huge critical hits that I haven't seen.
TCTTS
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Shrinking is soooo good.

Platonic was pretty good this year as well.
Aggie_Journalist
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Shrinking and Ted Lasso are 2 of my favorite shows of the past few years

If Apple owns that niche of feel-good comedy about folks putting their lives together, that can carry it pretty far.
Thanks and gig'em
TCTTS
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The Porkchop Express said:

My favorite part of this universe is the fight on the battleships in Kong v. Godzilla.

Kong is a mega ape with the sharpest teeth and most powerful jaws on the planet, and strength that could rip most animals limb from limb, but decides to instead curl up his fist and throw a punch at Godzilla.

And Godzilla, who given their relative sizes, is at least 300 feet away from that punch's origin, just stands there and takes it with zero reaction to getting out of the way.



I never thought I would say this, but at this point I would welcome the action/camp of either of the last two movies. Anything is better than how bland this show has been so far.
Ornithopter
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Godzilla vs Kong was cheesy/campus sure, but it was so satisfying.
Cinco Ranch Aggie
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Either I watched something different tonight, or I just saw it far differently than the so-far consensus.

I enjoyed these first two episodes tonight. I didn't find these characters to be dull. Yes, that was totally family drama, but there was enough there with the cheater dad to make me want to know more. Monarch being a shadowy organization has been good for all these movies.

I do have to wonder how much monster action we will get in this series, though. I think the series may be much more focused on Monarch than the actual monsters, so I expect to see only occasional monster action.
caleblyn
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Question…is it. Lean for kids?

Sexual content and language?
Cinco Ranch Aggie
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caleblyn said:

Question…is it. Lean for kids?

Sexual content and language?
None of the former. I don't recall any of the latter.
MaroonStain
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I thought 1st two episodes were good. Especially liked the Asian actress...ZING... There was enough monster action and, yes, kid friendly unless they get scared by monster situations.
YouBet
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Man, I have zero recollection of Kurt Russell being in the 2014 Godzilla. Did I read that wrong?
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