Lost World: Kong has a new Enemy in the second Monarch
A giant octopus, deftly moving across the land, and his nimble "children" are the main fantastic elements of the second season of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. The premiere of the show, one of the most expensive in Apple's lineup, will take place on February 27. However, contrary to the expectations of fans, the film still focuses not on spectacular scenes with monsters, but on political intrigues and human dramas. This concept attracted criticism after the first season, but the creators stayed true to their chosen path. Izvestia watched the first episodes before the release and found out what improved in the second season and what the authors still have to work on.
Why did the first season fail?
I must admit honestly: the first season of "Monarch" was a failure. The audience was promised monster battles, and everyone expected that this would be exactly what happened in the series. But instead of monsters, it was mostly waiting for them to finally appear in the frame at all. There were practically no kaijus in the series about giant Kaijus!
Instead, we were presented with a pale semblance of a political thriller about a secret government organization whose task is to bring the inhabitants of the "Sannikov land" under control. The series suffered from drawn-out scenes with uninteresting characters leading empty conversations, and Kurt Russell, in the image of the main star, shone vulgarly with a snow-white smile. According to a humorous assumption, it was his character's teeth that saved him from death: they reflected the deadly rays of the Titans back into themselves.
In the first season, there were several spectacular scenes with Godzilla, and in the finale of the last episode, Kong himself suddenly appeared. However, the audience was perplexed: why did the monsters get so little screen time? Because of this, many stopped watching the show after the middle of the season.
The creators of the show justified themselves, $ 200 million went to purchase a license from Japanese copyright holders, expensive filming in Canada and the fees of Russell, as well as his son, who plays the role of the hero in his youth. They announced an increase in the budget to $ 250 million next season — filming will be moved to Australia, where they expect to reduce costs. At the same time, the actor requested an increased fee, but the team is ready to put up with it. After all, he's a recognized star. In addition, it is rumored that a minute of Godzilla's screen time is more expensive than the entire Russell season.
From the point of view of an outsider, it would be better to admit defeat and end looking for a compromise, because even if you invest $ 25 million in each of the 10 episodes, it's still not enough to make continuous action with monsters. But too much money has been invested in the franchise. Now everyone understands: either in the second season we will finally be presented with a monstrous bestiary in all its glory, or there will be no limit to contempt and hate. The Monstrovers are already being looked at askance, there is no more room for error.
What is shown in the second season of "Monarch"
The second season begins in the same way as the first one ended — with the meeting of the heroes with Kong. But, as mentioned above, money is scarce, so it's not surprising that there are more conversations, conversations, and more conversations. The next monsters have to wait a long time. At the same time, it feels like the writing team has been updated and strengthened because the series has become more cinephile. So, the characters here find themselves on the secret cruiser Monarch, and the scenes on it are largely solved as in Star Trek. True, the characters in Star Trek are charismatic, but here they are not, but they manage to stay in this mood for a while.
Then there will be a few quotes from the very first "Jurassic Park", one so detailed that it even gives goosebumps. Do you remember the moment when children hide indoors from raptors? Here it is reproduced with amazing accuracy, only the characters here are adults, and the metaphor here is quite clear: in front of giant monsters, all of humanity is just defenseless kids.
The Monarch is dedicated to this thought. Feeling vulnerable to a big disaster. Back in the first season, there was a lot of talk about psychological trauma after "Gee Day," the day Godzilla revealed himself to the world in all his glory. And since the series was set in different countries and with characters of different nationalities, we understood that everyone could have their own "G-Day". September 11, October 7 is just a point after which it is impossible to remain the same. We must either admit to being victims of a big story, or change something. And in the first episodes of the second season, the characters think a lot about which of these behaviors they will adopt.
Also, the first season, where the characters were shown at different ages in parallel, hinted to us that the fathers ate grapes, and the children's teeth were on edge. The lyrical sketches of adventures in the middle of the twentieth century will continue here, and again we will follow the characters to decide whether our fathers and grandfathers are to blame or whether we have no right to judge them, because we ourselves are stepping on the same rake. It is clear that in the case of "Monarch" all these conflicts are given quite clumsily, but the viewer also needs to entertain himself with something while he overcomes 10 episodes per season. This means that we have to reflect, search for meanings and deepen them on our own, since the authors had no time.
Here, as in every first American film, distrust of the government and social institutions is spilled in all the scenes, which serve not the people, but to strengthen control over them. Contempt for bureaucrats and all kinds of "parasites" that prevent honest people from living. Of course, the environmental aspect remains in focus, but eventually the thought shifts to another idea — that humanity will be punished for its arrogance by forces beyond its reach.
But you can read about it in the reviews, and the series about monsters is watched to see them. Therefore, the desperate authors, as if using their last money, in the first two episodes of the second season, are generous and present us with the main advantage of the sequel — Kaiju, who appeared in the advertisement as Titan X. A huge octopus that can move on land.
Actually, this is what immediately attracts attention. The giant creature on long flexible limbs seems much more dangerous than Godzilla and Kong, the latter against its background generally looks just like a fluffy monkey. And she also has a bunch of bloodthirsty "babies", so in the second episode there will be a new attack of nostalgia: let's remember "Something" and "Alien", there will also be scenes quoted with great love. By the way, if the cinephile fantasy of the authors was enough for the whole season, then this will be an interesting feature for those who love the classics of genre cinema.
Titan X is so terrible that, looking at it, you feel, as with any threat of this magnitude, a timid hope that humanity will finally unite, realizing that this is the only way to survive. But the functionaries on the Monarch cruiser are suspiciously persistent in trying to contact the leadership "at the top" and get clear instructions, so they will laugh at our hopes more than once in the next episodes.
But the one who laughs well is the one whose viewers will continue to watch after a couple of episodes. It is already clear that even on Titan X they are trying to save money by showing it mainly underwater. And if long conversations start again about where to go next and who is to blame, the nerves of the fans will finally give up. The octopus will swim alone in its unclaimed habitat, and Kong sleeps so sweetly in one scene that you want to follow his example.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
