Monster Hunter (2020)

Here there be monsters!

Monster Hunter was not a great movie, but it was a fun popcorn movie. For the ‘based on a video game’ genre it gave no more than the bare minimum---thin plot, adequate acting, lots of action and dangerous monsters. If a movie is going to scrimp on the script, it had better bring good CGI action and that is the one thing this movie got right.

The Hunter (Tony Jaa!) fell off his desert ship when it was attacked by a Diablos. Meanwhile in another world Capt. Artemis and her security team for the U. N. are in the desert searching for a missing team. An enormous sandstorm complete with powerful lightning transports them to the Hunter’s world where they are almost immediately attacked by a Diablos and later giant spiders. Now we know where Shelob came from! Artemis and The Hunter come to blows and then to a détente as they seek to make their way past all of the dangerous creatures, each wanting to return to their own home. When they finally make it to an oasis, The Admiral catches up with them, and after a misunderstanding, he takes Artemis into his confidence. The ship was headed toward the Sky Tower where an advanced ancient civilization once lived. The portal to her home is there with only one, well mostly one, problem. It’s guarded by a Rathalos, a giant fire-breathing dragon with a nasty temper.

Mila Jovovich of the Resident Evil series is no stranger to action and she made for a believable kick-ass heroine. Tony Jaa wasn’t able to show off his martial arts as much as I would have liked, but he had plenty of opportunities to fight and be heroic. I’ve been a fan of Ron Perlman’s since Beauty and the Beast. He’s made a career off of tough talking, rough fighting roles (Hellboy anyone?) and showed he could still face down a dragon at his age. After adding in Palico, a pirate cat, there was no denying the main characters were an odd lot.

This movie had little plot. Soldiers from one world land in a world where there be monsters. The sole surviving soldier befriends a warrior from the different world where they must work together to survive and destroy the gruesome monsters lurking about. What made the film work, in its own very limited way, more than the actors, were the exceptional CGI creatures. The Diablos, multitude of spiders, and Rathalos were terrifying and convincing.

If you are looking for a cohesive, multi-layered story and character development, better look elsewhere. If you have time to kill and enjoy a badass female lead taking on ginormous creepy critters, you could do worse than Monster Hunter.

10/6/23

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