Siblings follow in their father’s footsteps to uncover their family’s connection to secret organisation Monarch.

Legendary’s MonsterVerse expands beyond the big screen with a 10-part series for Apple, spanning multiple timelines and generations. Writer Chris Black (Star Trek: Enterprise) and director Matt Shakman deliver the opening two episodes, both released on the same day, which neatly set up the series’ premise.

On Skull Island in 1973, John Goodman reprises his role as Bill Randa from movie Kong: Skull Island, making his escape from a giant spider and throwing a bag of secrets into the water. This valise is recovered by fishermen 40 years later in the Sea of Japan, shortly before Godzilla made his presence known.

There’s a lot of world-building in these opening episodes, which flit between 2015 Tokyo and 1950s Philippines and Kazakhstan. The earlier period centres around soldier Lee Shaw (here played by Wyatt Russell), scientist Keiko and a younger version of John Goodman’s Bill Randa.

In Tokyo, Cate (Anna Sawai) discovers that her dead father has been living a double life and has secret tapes in his safe. Cue the involvement of a hacker and the triggering of an alarm that sets shadowy organisation Monarch on their tail. When they meet Lee Shaw, he’s now played by Wyatt’s real-life father Kurt Russell. This might have been hokey, but the family resemblance is so good that it’s perfect casting.

At this stage, there’s not a lot of monsters, and most of the attention is on the subterfuge, but there’s enough of a hook to bring you back, and the production values are impressive.

Verdict: A confident season-opener that promises an intriguing series ahead of us. 7/10

Nick Joy