Although almost every Kaiju movie fan would prefer the tedious human drama to be as lessened as possible so as to not meddle with the monster spectacles, it is an undeniable fact that a well-crafted human institution makes Kaiju stories more interesting. Aside from the fact that Godzilla movies are inherently symbolic of nature’s retribution against humanity for their folly, human actions give viewers a third-person perspective into the world of monsters. Legendary’s Monsterverse adhered to this perspective by introducing Monarch as a secretive Titan research organization, positing it as a mediator between humans and Titans, aiming to pave the way for co-existence.
On the exact opposite side of the spectrum exists Apex Cybernetics, a seemingly rival conglomerate that was introduced in Godzilla vs. Kong and whose origins can be traced back to the recently concluded Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. Motivated by a different goal to that of Monarch,...
On the exact opposite side of the spectrum exists Apex Cybernetics, a seemingly rival conglomerate that was introduced in Godzilla vs. Kong and whose origins can be traced back to the recently concluded Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. Motivated by a different goal to that of Monarch,...
- 1/12/2024
- by Siddhartha Das
- Film Fugitives
Is Monarch: Legacy of Monsters About to Go There? A Brief History of the Monsterverse’s Hollow Earth
The following contains spoilers from Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Episode 8, now streaming on Apple TV+.
With its antepenultimate Season 1 episode, Apple TV+’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters brushed up against a major piece of Monsterverse movie mythology, as in the Hollow Earth theory — and may have even sent a few heroes down to that topsy-turvy realm!
More from TVLineMonarch: Legacy of Monsters Episode 7: That Dramatic Logo Reveal, ExplainedThe Buccaneers Renewed for Season 2How Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Is Able to Unleash 'Thicc Boi' Godzilla on a TV-Sized Budget
Episode 8 (of 10), titled “Birthright,” revealed to Cate that Colonel Lee Shaw,...
With its antepenultimate Season 1 episode, Apple TV+’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters brushed up against a major piece of Monsterverse movie mythology, as in the Hollow Earth theory — and may have even sent a few heroes down to that topsy-turvy realm!
More from TVLineMonarch: Legacy of Monsters Episode 7: That Dramatic Logo Reveal, ExplainedThe Buccaneers Renewed for Season 2How Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Is Able to Unleash 'Thicc Boi' Godzilla on a TV-Sized Budget
Episode 8 (of 10), titled “Birthright,” revealed to Cate that Colonel Lee Shaw,...
- 1/1/2024
- by Matt Webb Mitovich
- TVLine.com
The following contains spoilers from the Dec. 22 episode of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, now streaming on Apple TV+.
Two name changes figured into the seventh episode of Apple TV+’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters — though it was the latter that may have left some viewers scratching their heads, wondering about its very apparent significance.
More from TVLineThe Buccaneers Renewed for Season 2How Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Is Able to Unleash 'Thicc Boi' Godzilla on a TV-Sized BudgetJon Hamm to Lead Apple Crime Drama, in First Starring Role Since Mad Men
The episode “Will the Real May Please Stand Up?,” as the title suggests,...
Two name changes figured into the seventh episode of Apple TV+’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters — though it was the latter that may have left some viewers scratching their heads, wondering about its very apparent significance.
More from TVLineThe Buccaneers Renewed for Season 2How Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Is Able to Unleash 'Thicc Boi' Godzilla on a TV-Sized BudgetJon Hamm to Lead Apple Crime Drama, in First Starring Role Since Mad Men
The episode “Will the Real May Please Stand Up?,” as the title suggests,...
- 12/23/2023
- by Matt Webb Mitovich
- TVLine.com
This article contains spoilers for the latest episode of "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters."
Ever since it was announced that the Monster-Verse would expand to television with (the somewhat clunkily-titled) "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters," it felt clear that the series would have to balance kaiju action with human drama in a way none of the big-screen efforts have quite managed to accomplish so far. The early returns have been promising enough, with last week's episode "Terrifying Miracles" perhaps finding the best of both worlds. That storyline, involving our present-day characters searching for Cate and Kentaro's long-lost father Hiroshi (Takehiro Hira), intersected dramatically with the (re)discovery of Godzilla.
By comparison, this week's "Will the Real May Please Stand Up?" dives right back to its human-sized concerns ... but, in the process, includes some major Easter eggs that further connect the two most recent "Godzilla" movies while also hinting at the long-term stakes of the series.
Ever since it was announced that the Monster-Verse would expand to television with (the somewhat clunkily-titled) "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters," it felt clear that the series would have to balance kaiju action with human drama in a way none of the big-screen efforts have quite managed to accomplish so far. The early returns have been promising enough, with last week's episode "Terrifying Miracles" perhaps finding the best of both worlds. That storyline, involving our present-day characters searching for Cate and Kentaro's long-lost father Hiroshi (Takehiro Hira), intersected dramatically with the (re)discovery of Godzilla.
By comparison, this week's "Will the Real May Please Stand Up?" dives right back to its human-sized concerns ... but, in the process, includes some major Easter eggs that further connect the two most recent "Godzilla" movies while also hinting at the long-term stakes of the series.
- 12/22/2023
- by Jeremy Mathai
- Slash Film
This article contains spoilers for Legendary’s “MonsterVerse” films.
Apple+‘s newest blockbuster series, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, has now arrived to flesh out the larger than life “MonsterVerse.” Legacy Pictures has been building this shared universe filled with infamous kaiju ever since the reboot of Godzilla in 2014, and since, has given us all the classic monsters including Ghidora, Mothra, Rodan and of course, Kong.
Legacy of Monsters helps fill the little gaps in the periphery of the story, fleshing out the humans who choose to find, study, and often protect these massive creatures. At the center of it all has always been the imposing consortium known as “Monarch.” With all the giant-sized kaiju-chaos that can often be the most memorable moments of these monster movies, it’s understandable if Monarch shrinks in the presence of the true stars of the show. Not to worry, though, because we’re about...
Apple+‘s newest blockbuster series, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, has now arrived to flesh out the larger than life “MonsterVerse.” Legacy Pictures has been building this shared universe filled with infamous kaiju ever since the reboot of Godzilla in 2014, and since, has given us all the classic monsters including Ghidora, Mothra, Rodan and of course, Kong.
Legacy of Monsters helps fill the little gaps in the periphery of the story, fleshing out the humans who choose to find, study, and often protect these massive creatures. At the center of it all has always been the imposing consortium known as “Monarch.” With all the giant-sized kaiju-chaos that can often be the most memorable moments of these monster movies, it’s understandable if Monarch shrinks in the presence of the true stars of the show. Not to worry, though, because we’re about...
- 11/17/2023
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Stars: Alexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Shun Oguri, Eiza González, Julian Dennison, Kyle Chandler, Demián Bichir | Written by Eric Pearson, Max Borenstein | Directed by Adam Wingard
Godzilla vs. Kong is the fourth film in the new Monsterverse franchise that started with Godzilla in 2014 and has gained steam with each film since. Godzilla vs. Kong pits the two Titans against each other and while the film is the weakest of the franchise, the payoff of the confrontation between Godzilla and Kong makes the film a worthy monster film.
The Plot:
The film begins five years after Godzilla: King of the Monsters as the rise of the Titans has caused the government agency, Monarch, to be given more power to keep these monsters in check. Kong, one of only two Alpha Titans alive, is still living on Skull Island, but is now surrounded by a Monarch...
Godzilla vs. Kong is the fourth film in the new Monsterverse franchise that started with Godzilla in 2014 and has gained steam with each film since. Godzilla vs. Kong pits the two Titans against each other and while the film is the weakest of the franchise, the payoff of the confrontation between Godzilla and Kong makes the film a worthy monster film.
The Plot:
The film begins five years after Godzilla: King of the Monsters as the rise of the Titans has caused the government agency, Monarch, to be given more power to keep these monsters in check. Kong, one of only two Alpha Titans alive, is still living on Skull Island, but is now surrounded by a Monarch...
- 4/6/2021
- by Jason Brigger
- Nerdly
(This article contains detailed story spoilers for “Godzilla vs Kong”)
What with “Godzilla vs Kong” being the culmination of the Monsterverse franchise, you might have been surprised to learn that it’s under two hours long — a rarity in this age of lengthy megablockbusters. But there is a price to that sort of efficiency.
I’ve watched “Godzilla vs Kong” a few times now, and it’s pretty clear that we ended up with a pretty slimmed down version of this story. It’s a point made with emphasis when Lance Reddick shows up late in the film to deliver a single unimportant line before being completely forgotten. It’s tough to imagine Reddick wasn’t supposed to have a significantly larger role.
Likewise for Kyle Chandler’s character, who returns from “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” and does absolutely nothing at any point. My guess is that they only...
What with “Godzilla vs Kong” being the culmination of the Monsterverse franchise, you might have been surprised to learn that it’s under two hours long — a rarity in this age of lengthy megablockbusters. But there is a price to that sort of efficiency.
I’ve watched “Godzilla vs Kong” a few times now, and it’s pretty clear that we ended up with a pretty slimmed down version of this story. It’s a point made with emphasis when Lance Reddick shows up late in the film to deliver a single unimportant line before being completely forgotten. It’s tough to imagine Reddick wasn’t supposed to have a significantly larger role.
Likewise for Kyle Chandler’s character, who returns from “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” and does absolutely nothing at any point. My guess is that they only...
- 4/4/2021
- by Phil Owen
- The Wrap
he following article contains Godzilla vs. Kong spoilers.
After three movies of build-up, the battle lines are drawn. The mighty Godzilla goes toe-to-toe with the titan gorilla King Kong over who is the alpha of the MonsterVerse. While the movie doesn’t have the epic, apocalyptic feel which came with its predecessor Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Godzilla vs. Kong does deliver on the crazy fight scenes and makes good on a rivalry that has long had its foot in pop culture—if only because of an incredibly silly film from 1962.
The original King Kong vs. Godzilla is not a movie that’s aged well, but there’s something so fitting about seeing a giant ape trade punches with a giant lizard, then and now. It’s surprising it took this long to get a real rematch, but at least now we don’t have to deal with the heresy...
After three movies of build-up, the battle lines are drawn. The mighty Godzilla goes toe-to-toe with the titan gorilla King Kong over who is the alpha of the MonsterVerse. While the movie doesn’t have the epic, apocalyptic feel which came with its predecessor Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Godzilla vs. Kong does deliver on the crazy fight scenes and makes good on a rivalry that has long had its foot in pop culture—if only because of an incredibly silly film from 1962.
The original King Kong vs. Godzilla is not a movie that’s aged well, but there’s something so fitting about seeing a giant ape trade punches with a giant lizard, then and now. It’s surprising it took this long to get a real rematch, but at least now we don’t have to deal with the heresy...
- 4/3/2021
- by Gavin Jasper
- Den of Geek
Stars: Alexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Shun Oguri, Eiza González, Julian Dennison, Kyle Chandler, Demián Bichir | Written by Eric Pearson, Max Borenstein | Directed by Adam Wingard
Legendary Pictures’ MonsterVerse franchise reaches its apex with this titanic battle between two classic movie monsters. Directed by Adam Wingard, Godzilla vs. Kong delivers mightily on the epic title bout whose groundwork was laid in the three previous MonsterVerse movies: Godzilla (2014), Kong: Skull Island (2017) and Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019).
The plot is essentially just the title of the film, but there are a number of human characters milling about too. Chief amongst these are “Kong Whisperer” Dr Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall) and discredited geologist Dr. Nathan Lind (Alexander Skarsgård), who mount an expedition deep underground to Hollow Earth, hoping to provide Kong with a safe haven after he’s targeted by a newly-resurfaced Godzilla (who doesn’t like...
Legendary Pictures’ MonsterVerse franchise reaches its apex with this titanic battle between two classic movie monsters. Directed by Adam Wingard, Godzilla vs. Kong delivers mightily on the epic title bout whose groundwork was laid in the three previous MonsterVerse movies: Godzilla (2014), Kong: Skull Island (2017) and Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019).
The plot is essentially just the title of the film, but there are a number of human characters milling about too. Chief amongst these are “Kong Whisperer” Dr Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall) and discredited geologist Dr. Nathan Lind (Alexander Skarsgård), who mount an expedition deep underground to Hollow Earth, hoping to provide Kong with a safe haven after he’s targeted by a newly-resurfaced Godzilla (who doesn’t like...
- 4/2/2021
- by Matthew Turner
- Nerdly
This article contains spoilers for Godzilla Vs. Kong. Read our spoiler-free review here.
As Godzilla vs. Kong enters its third act, multiple plotlines are coming to a head: an exploration team led by Dr. Nathan Lind (Alexander Skarsgard) and Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall) has followed Kong through a tunnel from Antarctica to the center of a Hollow Earth, the kingdom deep under the Earth’s surface from which Kong’s race and other Titans first originated.
A team of Apex Cybernetics personnel are also with them, and their goal is to discover a new power source in the Hollow Earth that’s strong enough to charge up Apex’s giant robot, dubbed Mechagodzilla. Once it has enough juice, it’ll be able to fight Godzilla and finish him off. This is of course the big twist of the finale, one that both explains why Godzilla went on a seemingly unprovoked rampage in Pensacola,...
As Godzilla vs. Kong enters its third act, multiple plotlines are coming to a head: an exploration team led by Dr. Nathan Lind (Alexander Skarsgard) and Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall) has followed Kong through a tunnel from Antarctica to the center of a Hollow Earth, the kingdom deep under the Earth’s surface from which Kong’s race and other Titans first originated.
A team of Apex Cybernetics personnel are also with them, and their goal is to discover a new power source in the Hollow Earth that’s strong enough to charge up Apex’s giant robot, dubbed Mechagodzilla. Once it has enough juice, it’ll be able to fight Godzilla and finish him off. This is of course the big twist of the finale, one that both explains why Godzilla went on a seemingly unprovoked rampage in Pensacola,...
- 3/31/2021
- by Don Kaye
- Den of Geek
We can’t have nice things, apparently: 2019’s “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” felt like Hollywood’s best attempt at capturing the action, excitement and thematic sensibilities of Japanese kaiju movies, but it underperformed at the box office and was under-loved by critics. That one-two punch led to some kind of course correction because now comes “Godzilla vs. Kong,” a movie with scant interest in human beings, previous storylines or anything else that isn’t a big ape hitting a big dinosaur.
Granted, if a monster movie wants to devote its resources to the monsters fighting, that’s an acceptable and even admirable approach. As presented by director Adam Wingard, however, the skirmishes here are fairly prosaic. Yes, we can see every blow and each body-slam — and that’s something that can’t be said about many modern-day monster movies — but the battles lack the grace and dynamism that have...
Granted, if a monster movie wants to devote its resources to the monsters fighting, that’s an acceptable and even admirable approach. As presented by director Adam Wingard, however, the skirmishes here are fairly prosaic. Yes, we can see every blow and each body-slam — and that’s something that can’t be said about many modern-day monster movies — but the battles lack the grace and dynamism that have...
- 3/29/2021
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
It’s all been leading up to this: the ultimate monster mash — or clash of the titans — “Godzilla vs. Kong.”
Enticing as an epic slugfest between two of cinema’s most famous demolition experts may sound, there’s really no way to pretend that King of the Monsters and once-and-future-king Kong are evenly matched. A radiation-powered freak of nature, Godzilla has missile-proof skin and atomic breath, whereas his relatively sensitive adversary is essentially a big gorilla. Unlike the all-but-indestructible Godzilla, Kong can feel, bleed and be easily sedated. These two aren’t even supposed to be the same size, although the movie presents them as such — but then, scale has rarely been a sticking point in a series that once saw a man in a rubber suit stomping through shoulder-high power lines.
The way director Adam Wingard (“You’re Next”) figures it, if you have time to think about such things during “Godzilla vs.
Enticing as an epic slugfest between two of cinema’s most famous demolition experts may sound, there’s really no way to pretend that King of the Monsters and once-and-future-king Kong are evenly matched. A radiation-powered freak of nature, Godzilla has missile-proof skin and atomic breath, whereas his relatively sensitive adversary is essentially a big gorilla. Unlike the all-but-indestructible Godzilla, Kong can feel, bleed and be easily sedated. These two aren’t even supposed to be the same size, although the movie presents them as such — but then, scale has rarely been a sticking point in a series that once saw a man in a rubber suit stomping through shoulder-high power lines.
The way director Adam Wingard (“You’re Next”) figures it, if you have time to think about such things during “Godzilla vs.
- 3/29/2021
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
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