Year of Release: 2020
Director: Paul W. S. Anderson
Starring: Milla Jovovich, Tony Jaa, Ron Perlman, Tip "T.I." Harris, Diego Boneta, Megan Good, Josh Helman, Jin Au-Yeung, Hirona Yamazaki, Jannik Schumann, Nanda Costa, Nic Rasenti
Genre: Action, Adventure
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 4
Watch it on Amazon
Synopsis and Review
Following the wrap up of the "Resident Evil" franchise, writer/producer/director Paul W. S. Anderson and his star, the underrated Milla Jovovich, have reunited for another video game adaptation, this time around "Monster Hunter", a game franchise that started in 2004. The narrative focuses on the story of Army Ranger Captain Natalie Artemis, whom we first encounter with her team searching for missing solders in the desert. An unexpected storm appears and they all get pulled into this other world, where they find what is left of those soldiers and their vehicles. Artemis' group is immediately attacked by a monster, where a few members get killed. The ones who manage to escape hide in a nearby cave. They're attacked by a different creature while in the cave, one that uses a paralyzing venom. Artemis finds herself in the creature's lair, and quickly realizes her team is either dead or infected with the creature's spawn. She escapes and runs into a hunter who has tried to warn her before (someone whose origin she does not know). After battling each other, and though they can't understand each other, they eventually decide to join forces. While they do manage to defeat one of the main creatures in the desert, the hunter is hurt in the process, with Artemis carrying him on a stretcher to what seems to be an Oasis. While in the Oasis, they are about to be attacked, when they're saved by another group of humans who finally explain to Artemis what is happening and the connection between both worlds.
Paul W. S. Anderson is or at least has become a de-facto king of the big budget B-movie arena. His films are always a well rendered or fairly well polished endeavor, all of which don't hide the fact that his narratives are populated with threadbare character storylines where their main focus is showcasing action driven plots with various degrees of elaborate stunt work, mixed with visual effects. And for the most part he has been quite successful in his career with these selling points. He has single-handedly carried the "Resident Evil" franchise to considerable success, and with "Monster Hunter" he is once again attempting to do the same. Sadly, and unlike "Resident Evil", "Monster Hunter" doesn't quite hit the same spots, since it also functions as an introductory narrative to a whole new world, one that Anderson doesn't quite solve the best way possible. The writer/director has always found ways of being somewhat elliptical in his prior scripts, but in this one in particular, the characters fail to both be substantial, but also fail to provide the context into this different world, and why exactly the dynamics that are in place are justifiable. The creative team just assumes the gears for whatever is happening on screen will be self evident, and the basic premise of people hunting and killing monsters should suffice to keep the engagement active. It does not. The typical mechanisms of any B-movie, namely succinctly described characters and motivations, pretty recognizable plot mechanics, and slick and violent set pieces, don't all hit the right marks with "Monster Hunter". This other world is never truly brought to life beyond the digital monsters, and for all it's visual wizardry, this gimmick eventually starts to run out of steam. Milla Jovovich who is always game for anything, and continues to always be so engaged, can't salvage enough of what's happening, while Ron Perlman's role turns out to be too small, and also on a very different level (he almost feels like he's on an adult rendition of "The Goonies"). Visually the film has its strong points, and the production team does manage to bring this world to life, with highlights going to Glen MacPherson's cinematography, Edward Thomas' production design, and Danielle Knox's costume design. It's a less successful endeavor for this director and for his muse.
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