Monster Hunter is an American action fantasy film directed by Paul W. S. Anderson. It stars Milla Jovovich, Tony Jaa, Tip "T. I." Harris, Meagan Good, Diego Boneta, Josh Helman, Jin Au-Yeung, and Ron Perlman. It was released on 18th December 2020 in theaters and is now available on Digital from 16th February 2021.
The film starts with showing a glimpse of the new world, where kaijus dominates the land, cut to the real world, the US Army Captain Artemis (Milla Jovovich) with her squad is searching for a missing person in a desert but a mysterious sand storm with blue lighting sucks them all into a portal and they all land in The New World. There they are attacked by a giant-sized one-horned monster Diablos. They all try to shoot them but the monster manage to kill several members of the team. Now Artemis wakes up in a cave hanging from a sticky bag, she tries to get out of it but is attacked by a swarm of giant spiders Nerscyllas. She managed to get out of that place and meets one of the survivors Hunter (Tony Jaa) who tells her that the portals are created by the Sky Tower and to reach there, they first have to kill the giant living under the sand, Diablos. Will they be able to kill the monster? Will Artemis be able to return to the real world?
Written by Paul W. S. Anderson and based on a video game, Monster Hunter by Capcom, this film is a treat for those who are signing up just for some crazy action sequences and monsters. But you see apart from that, well there's nothing left to see then. Sadly. This is a strict Milla Jovovich's film, she is there on the screen more than any of the other characters or monsters. The story has been kept very simple, but it is a shame that Anderson's script is just limited to some over-the-top action sequences and awful dialogues that falls flat. In one scene, Artemis says, "Let's do this". Hunter stands there blandly. That's the same reaction that will come from the audience.
Artemis when finds Hunter, we get to see some slickly choreographed action scene and moves, and I was like, " You could have talked to him, you both are stuck here, fighting with monsters". Then in the next scene, she saves him from spiders and says "I'm not your enemy". And she gives him a chocolate. What to say? Not that I was expecting some top-level well-established characters here, at least try to be sensible. The jokes and conversations and everything falls flat. Only the monsters seem to be the saving grace here.
This is Milla Jovovich's film all the way. She carried it on her shoulders and is in every frame of it. With the Resident Evil franchise, she has proved to be a perfect action heroine and the same thing she is doing here. Tony Jaa, the real Hunter here doesn't get much of screentime sadly. Ron Perlman, in a short role, didn't make that impact, maybe he'll get more space in the next part if there's going to be.
The cinematography by Glen Macpherson is terrific and doesn't disappoint with any shots, the grandeur of the film is visible in every scene. The VFX is also spot on. The production design by Edward Thomas is good and the music by Paul Haslinger doesn't fail to impress. It's loud and high on the beat and the sound design is terrific too. The editing by Doobie White is just about okay.
Monster Hunter fails to impress in the parts where monsters are not there. Paul W. S. Anderson, who earlier directed the Resident Evil franchise with Milla Jovovich in the lead, follows the same path here. She is in almost every frame, she is the one killing the monsters, hence the writing and other characters have to suffer. This could have been a perfect popcorn entertainer, a crisp 90-minute film, but it fails to keep you hooked in its hollow world and uninteresting writing where you will open your eyes just to see the delicious action scenes where monsters are appearing and are the only good thing about this film.
Rating:- 2/5
Now available on Digital platforms to stream.
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