Based on the video game series of the same name, Monster Hunter is a 2020 action adventure film, directed by Paul W.S. Anderson (many of the Resident Evil movie adaptions). When a US Army Ranger (Milla Jovovich) and her squad are sucked through a mysterious portal, they find themselves in a hostile world, where giant monsters roam the deserts, underground, and skies. Ranger soon meets Hunter (Tony Jaa), who has survived in the New World for many years, and they search for a way to get Ranger home.
+ good costumes/armour sets, good CGI for the various monsters, good if somewhat standard environments, fun weapon designs taken straight from the games; overall the film looks good, but that is literally about it
– the plot makes no sense, and is full of wasted opportunities. Two characters have multiple separate fights to the death over approximately 20 minutes, before suddenly deciding to be friends over some of the most egregious product placement you’ll see
– inconsistent monster strengths/human power levels leads to Jovovich’s Ranger essentially being a god, where it is clear no harm will come to her no matter what. Don’t get me wrong, the monsters are a threat, but you’ll never see more obvious plot armour on a character for no reason other than her name on the poster
– horrible action scenes, both in terms of content and especially editing. The Jason Bourne-style rapid editing is taken to the extreme, to the point where someone will throw a kick, but you won’t know who, or why, or where they were aiming, or what the outcome was
– overall, the movie is just boring. Once again, there is almost no relation between the movie and its source material (see: Resident Evil franchise, especially the first two) and the film seems to want to distance itself from a video game franchise as much as it can
> for the record, Milla Jovovich as “Ranger” does have a name, but it’s said once in the film, about ten minutes from the end
Should you see this film: Absolutely not. It has been a long time since I was contemplating stopping a movie, but this hit that trigger very early on. Why does Paul W.S. Anderson continue to butcher Capcom games in movie form?
MoshFish Reviews 