--The Admiral, Monster Hunter
What if the multiple scenes of monstrous creatures attacking humans in Peter Jackson's King Kong were edited poorly, given no thematic or narrative context to provide depth, not accompanied by strong characters, and stretched out to fill more of a standard film runtime? The abysmal 2020 movie adaptation Monster Hunter is what could be made if this was the creation process. Inferior in almost every way to the 2018 Tomb Raider film reboot and the earlier Silent Hill film that exemplified how video game film adaptations do not have to be terrible, though anyone can understand that it does not logically follow from being a game adaptation that a movie is by necessity terrible, Monster Hunter in no way translates the artistic depth of the video games into the cinematic format, but it does manage to avoid quality worldbuilding and forgo any more substantial themes. Hell, it does not even have good editing. The camera rapidly cuts to and fro during the fight sequences that should be the highlight of a movie like this even if all else is squandered.
Production Values
Yes, there are flickers of great cinematography and use of color in scenes like one where Milla Jovovich's Artemis wanders through an underground nest of spider-like creatures with a red flare that contrasts with the dark colors and shadows around her, or a shot where Artemis and her companion Hunter stumble upon a group of creatures that look like dinosaurs at an area with water and vegetation. Some of the monsters themselves also are well-designed as movie versions of gaming icons. A handful of good shots and the design of a few monsters just does not make a movie good as a whole when there is far more to that movie and the rest is not handled well. Milla Jovovich, wife of director Paul W.S. Anderson, has the lead role as Artemis, and not even her marriage to the writer and director secured her better lines than the pitiful or very limited ones she is given. However, she does embrace the physicality of her role with talent, not that the quick camera cuts really showcase this like they could have. For other reasons, Tony Jaa is the top cast member here because he has to act without speaking in English most of the time while still conveying caution and then friendliness, and he actually does a great job. He is the best performer here by far given his skill and the task he has. Almost every other character is just a plot device. Meagan Good from Shazam! is here--but not for long despite doing alright with her minimal role. Ron Perlman of all people also makes an appearance. His costume does not look the most authentic as part of a production with millions of dollars behind it in yet another problem, but Ron Perlman's acting is not an atrocity like so much of the rest of the movie.
Story
Some spoilers are below.
A group of American soldiers are teleported from Earth to another dimension when a storm overtakes them and strange runes activate. Very quickly, the soldiers and their leader Artemis find themselves attacked by an enormous creature and other monsters resembling spiders. Artemis outlives the entire team, or at least they are not shown to survive, only to find a local man whom she at first attacks, but soon befriends after they come to see each other as allies against the monsters. The duo devises a plan to defeat the giant animal that first attacked Artemis and her soldiers: use a trap to ensnare one of the spider-esque beings, take its poison, and use it to weaken the Diablos, as the local calls it. She then tries to reach a distant tower that might have the power to transport her back to her homeworld.
Intellectual Content
The genuine truth behind a quote at the beginning saying that it is logically possible that there are entire dimensions, worlds, or even universes that human senses do not even begin to perceive (though most sensory perceptions do not even prove that the objects and environments we do perceive actually exist) is only briefly alluded to at this beginning screen to make Monster Hunter seem deeper than it is, which is not at all. At least the games can have deep gameplay, rewards for killing monsters, and lore that is not butchered for just another attempt for Paul W.S. Anderson to star his wife in terrible video game adaptation he directs. A better movie could have done far more even with the thematic premise of the story here. I will, though, give Monster Hunter credit for establishing a platonic relationship between Milla Jovovich's character and Tony Jaa's even if the characters are not explored enough to celebrate this thoroughly.
Conclusion
Paul W.S. Anderson has made better films than this already with Event Horizon and Alien vs. Predator--the first one, not its horrendous sequel, just to clarify. For some reason, he insists on directing movies based on video games without the talent or care needed to actually make them good. Monster Hunter is not near the uppermost quality of his better films, but it does highlight some major flaws video game movies need to avoid with its lack of smooth, long takes of well-choreographed action and its absence of deep characterization and developed philosophical themes. I aim to play more Monster Hunter games soon, and hopefully they tend to be better than this project that amounts largely to an abomination of an attempt to make more money from an established intellectual property, just in a new market.
Content:
1. Violence: A fairly bloodless movie despite the violence of the concept in the premise, Monster Hunter does show a few people getting thrown around or eaten by monsters in non-graphic ways. Small spider-like creatures break out of cysts on a man's side in one scene. In another, a creature burns from the inside out.
2. Profanity: "Shit," "damn," and "bastard" are used sparingly.
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