Talk about aging gracefully. Or lying about your age in a way that has everyone confused by what the hell is going on. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters has us asking one simple question: How old is Lee Shaw supposed to be in the modern storyline?
Now, I am someone who has loved Kurt Russell for a long time, and if my math is correct, Russell’s Lee Shaw is supposed to be 90 years old in the “modern” storyline of the show, which unfolds during the 2014 storyline of the MonsterVerse. After the Godzilla attacks in San Francisco, the show is roughly between 2014 and 2019. Lee Shaw was born in 1924. So, what you’re telling me is that Kurt Russell is playing a 90-year-old man.
Have you seen a 90-year-old man recently? Because, in comparison, Russell himself is only 72 years old. That’s a baby in comparison to playing a 90-year-old. The show does hop back and forth in time quite a bit, flashing to the creation of the scientific organization Monarch and showing us a younger Lee Shaw (played by Wyatt Russell), but the show in the “modern” sense doesn’t really address Lee’s age outside of him brushing off questions about it.
Is it just “good genes”? Is it a question of Monarch messing with him? As someone who comes from a family with “good genes,” I don’t think I’m going to look that good at 90. To be fair though, I am someone who looks at Kurt Russell at 72 years old and thinks to myself that’s what happens when you’re just a cool dude who tries to be a nice guy all around. You age gracefully and people still love you in Hollywood.
May we all look this good in our 90s
Lee doesn’t seem to be concerned with his age. Maybe Monarch said, “Hey buddy, want to live forever?” and he said, “Sure,” or something along those lines, and that’s why he wasn’t concerned sitting in his little room at the retirement home when Cate, Kentaro, and May came to get him. Whatever his blasé attitude leads to, it is genuinely funny to me that Kurt Russell is selling us a character that is pushing 90 years old.
Again, Russell is a babe and always has been, so it isn’t surprising that Lee Shaw would still be hot at almost 100 years old, but hey, it helps that he’s just rocking Hawaiian shirts and running around in the middle of Alaska. For being almost a century old, he is still pretty spry. We don’t know whether or not Lee has had help but even so, it’s nice to see Russell’s ability to be that action star we know and love running around with the rest of the crew trying to figure out what Monarch is up to. Insinuating that 72-year-old Kurt Russell could look 100 years old though is kind of funny though because he barely looks 72 as is.
(featured image: Apple TV+)
Published: Dec 1, 2023 05:02 pm