Review: Monster Hunter

Milla Jovovich leads a squad of US troops (rapper-turned-actor T.I. being among them) in the Afghan desert who get swept up in a storm. The troops end up having been somehow transported to a completely different desert landscape. An alien one with an array of giant, predatory monsters who start to wipe them out until only Jovovich is left. With no idea where she is or what is going on, Jovovich has to team up with a band of motley local hunters (including Tony Jaa and Ron Perlman) to take on the monsters.

 

I don’t set out to like a film anymore than I set out to dislike one. It works out how it works out. On this occasion, I enjoyed myself. Look, it just happened OK? This 2021 video game adaptation from writer-director Paul W.S. Anderson (“Event Horizon”, “Soldier”, the “Resident Evil” film franchise) is probably his most enjoyable film to date. Mildly enjoyable at that. For most that won’t sound like the most ringing of endorsements, but I have found at least a couple of his previous films rather watchable (that would be the first “Resident Evil” and “Death Race” specifically). I’ve not outright hated anything of his I’ve seen, though “Soldier” was a crushing disappointment for me at the time, and “Event Horizon” didn’t interest me much. Even his awfully limp version of “The Three Musketeers” had a few OK performances in it (chiefly Mads Mikkelsen and a well-cast James Corden) amongst a series of dull turns. At any rate this is classic monster sci-fi/action movie stuff for the most part, and it achieves largely what it sets out to. It’s a fun, diverting B-movie that entertains in the moment and that’s all. You’d swear it was a John Carpenter film at times, the watchable “Ghosts of Mars” springing to mind.

 

It hit the spot for me at the time just fine, though I found its sense of time and place to be a touch incoherent at times. However, at the same time I think sticking us right in the middle of things cold does have its advantages too: You don’t know what will happen next. At least it’s not a total “Godzilla” or “Pacific Rim” rip-off, in fact it’s more like a blend of “Tremors” and “Predator”, which isn’t a tired combination yet. The action-filled opener is exciting, if very loud. The music score by Paul Haslinger (“The Girl Next Door”, “Crank”, “Shoot ‘em Up”, “Death Race”, “The Three Musketeers”) is exciting too, though it may not be to everyone’s taste. It sounds a tad like someone turned an Yngwie Malmsteen guitar solo into a ringtone. Look, all I can say is it works for the film, at least to me. The monsters are quite interesting (Toho Studios are involved here as producers, by the way) and varied. Some are a bit dinosaur-esque, but not any readily identifiable dinosaur species. The CGI is pretty good, too. It’s a damn good-looking film overall.

 

I’m not the world’s biggest Milla Jovovich fan, but she’s well-cast here as your typical Milla Jovovich action heroine character. I do wish more care had been put into character depth for her and her comrades, so that’s a shame. In fact, it’s a bigger problem for me than the coherence, because at least the confusion is brought up at one point by Jovovich and explained away fairly well. Tony Jaa is here with a cool crossbow, and while it’s a shame Anderson favours quick cut action scenes, Jaa’s presence is welcome here. He’s a star, just not the star of this film, and at one point you get the coolness of watching him bisect a giant alien spider with what looks like the Klingon weapon that Todd Zarnecki stole from Sheldon Cooper. That bit was cool as hell. While watching him basically play Mowgli here isn’t the greatest use of his talents, it’s not the tedium of “Ong Bak 3” either. Just when you think the film’s Milla vs. Monsters action is getting a bit samey, along comes Ron Perlman with a huge humanoid cat who is apparently the resident cook. This is one strange arse film, and it moves too quickly for you to have time to get bored with it. Perlman isn’t in the film much but he brings presence and weight, with a touch of dry humour to boot. The finale is a touch confusing and the ending is actually a non-ending setting up a sequel.

 

It aims to be a fun monster movie and that’s exactly what it provides. Flawed, but worthy of at least a soft recommendation, so long as you understand that it’s diverting at best. I had (mild) fun with it.

 

Rating: B-