Monster Hunter - Movie Review

Monster Hunter - Movie Review

Critics Score - 5 of 10

General Audience Score - 7 of 10

Monster Hunter Player Score - 8 of 10

Those who played Monster Hunter games will surely get a kick from seeing the theatrical counterpart. But will anyone not familiar with the game series be at all entertained?


PROS - Monster Hunter is a sci-if action film from the collaborative duo of Milla Jovovich and Paul W.S. Anderson, the team that’s made countless Resident Evil films. Milla plays Artemis, an army officer who finds herself and crew transported to a land of monsters. The action is heavy and almost constant as she navigates her way through a world where everything’s sole focus is to murder her. The visual effects are quite fantastic, the CG monsters, fight sequences and landscapes are impeccably well crafted and look great.


As Artemis explores this alternate world, references to the video game pop up frequently and add amusement to those familiar with the franchise. Fans of the series will enjoy seeing a few of the monsters and characters they know, but overall the film is a little more loosely based on the video game than other game to movie transfers. But will everybody enjoy the hunting adventure? Or just those that play the game?


CONS - The writing and plot of Monster Hunter are paper thin with no depth or meaning given to anything. The character work is also terribly weak with the two leads fighting continually for a good portion of the film just to showcase some fight sequences. There are no real motivations given for anything other than the Artemis’ characters desire to return to her world. The acting is also mediocre at best. The closest attempt to get us to care about Artemis is when she finds a ring with the word “forever” inscribed on the inside and stares at it a minute for no apparent reason. To be fair, if you go into Monster Hunter expecting top tier storytelling and character work, from the same guy that brought you Death Race 1, 2, 3 and 4, that’s really on you.


The films attempts at humor also continually fall flat, there really isn’t much of anything to work with. Like most of Paul W.S. Anderson’s work, pretty much everything rises and falls with the action and fight sequences. And while most anybody can enjoy a good action film now and then, this one falls into a lower caliber than others. The Mission Impossible’s and John Wick’s offer just a little more of a well rounded action movie than Monster Hunter does.


SUMMARY - Anybody looking for an interesting, meaningful or emotionally moving film needs to look elsewhere. If you’re in the market for a switch your brain off and watch some people and monsters smash the crap out of each other movie, look no further. For players of the game that get the raw meat cooking, monster carving, weapon type and palico references, I dare say you might just have a good time joining this Hunt for Monsters.

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