Monster Hunter

Starring: Milla Jovovich, Tony Jaa, Ron Perlman, T.I., Diego Boneta, Meagan Good, Josh Helman, Nanda Costa
Directed by: Paul W.S. Anderson
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
2020

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: An elite soldier (Milla Jovovich) and her squadron are transported to another world, populated by enormous, deadly monsters.

Review:

Tim: I played one Monster Hunter video game and I loved it. I sunk countless hours into the game, playing with family, taking down these frightening monsters. The video games are cinematic and I was excited to see some of these monsters depicted on the big screen. Unfortunately, this is brought to us by Paul W.S. Anderson, a man who mostly directs forgettable garbage. Sadly, much of that is true here. It's possible that this game could have been adapted to a solid movie, but that does not happen here. This is exactly the kind of movie you expected- lots of impressive visuals and not much else.

Anderson wrote the screenplay for the movie, too, so it's a bit of a double whammy. One of the challenges for this film was adapting the game, which is mostly just focused on killing monsters. How can one tell a compelling narrative when the game involves mostly killing? Of all the ways to do it, the way he chose was problematic. Instead of just immersing us into this world, the film introduces us to these American soldiers who are magically transported from our world to this monster-filled one. Yes, this allows the protagonist to be our proxy and she learns about the monsters and how to kill them. It felt like it was a lot to take in, though. It brings up more questions than answers. It also felt like a very convenient plot- let's make it a magic portal so we can cut through so many layers of story. This would be a theme throughout the movie. Anderson doesn't have much imagination, so he tends to follow the most basic, simple explanation for things. It dumbs his movies down considerably. I'm also not sure why he started the film with the ship "sailing" through the desert, but it's one of the worst movie openings I've ever seen.

The movie works best when you don't think about anything you're seeing (which is unfortunate). There's some entertainment to be had from the sheer spectacle of watching tiny humans battle insanely large monsters. That's the whole thrust of the video games and it's the most enjoyable part of this film. The story always feels secondary, just an excuse, like something Anderson had to do but didn't really want to. He never seems to come alive as a director until he's directing mindless action. To be fair, some of the action sequences are quite thrilling. I had a fun time watching these people battle these huge monsters. It's really what makes the games fun and that does translate to the screen. This really occurs in two big segments. The beginning of the movie is all about our heroes trying to take down a Diablos. From the games, I know these are horribly challenging monsters. Those scenes are quite good- the depiction of Diablos is excellent and the hunt of this monster is engaging and exciting. I was able to forget all the problems with the movie and just watch this battle. The second and climactic battle (MINOR SPOILER, I suppose) is against a Rathalos. I've fought dozens and dozens of Rathalos in my day, so I know how frightening and overpowering this monster can be. The depiction of the Rathalos was excellent- visually, it's stunning. However, Anderson also does a great job of building the mystique of this creature. It really comes across as very impressive and the battle sequences are engaging and fun. They are ridiculous, but that's why you watch this movie. I give Anderson a lot of credit for this- the film has problems, but seeing the protagonist battle a Diablos and then a Rathalos was very cool.

The cast did better than I expected. I knew Milla Jovovich would do a solid job. She's worked with her husband numerous times already in movies like this. Jovovich does have talent and brings it to this video game adaptation. She's likable, a believable hero, and builds a connection with the audience. I do sometimes wish Jovovich wouldn't work with her husband as much (try something new!), but that does translate into a very male-focused video game featuring a woman protagonist in the film adaptation, and that's really exciting. Jovovich does good work here. I loved the performance of Tony Jaa. I've only seen Jaa a few times, in mostly pointless supporting roles. I was amazed by what he did here. He's physically so talented, but it was the heart and emotion he poured into this character that really made it special. He has true on-screen charisma and I had a blast watching him bring this character to life. Jaa was excellent in this role and makes the movie better. On the other hand, I'm not sure why Ron Perlman was cast. He seems to not know, either. He never felt believable in this world and his character was mostly painful.

So, Monster Hunter is about what you would expect from a substandard director adapting a video game. The visuals and the action sequences are quite good. Everything else is quite bad. For a movie, story matters. The big action scenes are cool and the visuals are memorable, but ultimately, the film left me feeling cold. I didn't care about the characters, their plight, or whether they lived or died. I didn't care about the weak worldbuilding Anderson tries to do. I wanted all of that to just stop so I could watch people fight monsters. That doesn't translate into a movie that's any good.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Resident Evil, Mortal Kombat, AVP- Alien vs. Predator