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I was meant to write this brief post on ‘Game to Live Action Movie Marathon’ last year but never got around to it. In my defence, I would like to think I am being reasonable by not wanting to spend my hard-earned cash on another Paul Anderson film. But as luck would have it, the film appeared on Netflix and the phrase “Well, now I have no excuse” never felt more real. I really do wish I had an excuse. The anger that stems from one of my favourite game franchises continually being ruined isn’t as strong as it once was, leaving me with just an awful movie, which is better in some respect I guess. That said, I’m well aware of his work and, as I might have expected, I know he did it again. Alright, I am done with my blabbering, let’s get into it!
In the Monster Hunter franchise, you create your own hunter and embark on a journey to slay beasts with hunters and NPCs while getting new gear, witnessing the world evolve the lore deepen, and all of that good stuff.
It is adored in Japan, and it is successful in the West but not to that level so I understand why CAPCOM would think this would make sense as the next live-action project. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy the Resident Evil films as I anticipate you will learn by clicking on the Films tab, but they were very profitable so I get why they wanted to hire Paul W.S. Anderson to do it. Unfortunately, I guess making a fantasy film is something that Anderson just can’t do, and likewise making a film where his wife Milla Jovovich is not the main star who also does not play a badass heroine is something he cannot get away from. It is funny how in the first scene of the movie I have a team of Monster Hunters in a sand ship getting attacked, and in my humble opinion the costuming and vibe is spot on for the game, but after that we immediately cut to modern Earth where Milla is now playing Natalie Artemis, a US Ranger who is commanding her regiment on some exercise in the middle of the desert.
I don’t think Milla is a bad actress or anything, but, being typecast by your own husband is just absurd, not to mention aggravating which I shall come to in a while.
Without fail, all the embarrassing cliché are present: soldiers cheeky with one another, boasting about how brave they are for enduring tough times, and singing together to lift morale. It’s so mundane and average, and definitely not very Monster Hunter like The crew ends up stuck in a sand storm which pulls them into the world of Monster Hunter, and thankfully, I don’t have to wait too long for the rest of Milla’s America Ranger crew to be slaughtered by Nerscylla, which are spider-like creatures. Instead, we focus on Natalie Artemis trying to get by in this alien world alongside a surviving Monster Hunter, referred to only as “Hunter”, played by Tony Jaa. Guess that goes with the generic player character from the games.
At first, they are at each other’s necks and try to escape from the Nerscyllas (like Natalie for example who was poisoned and impaled, but somehow toughing it out through it all?) but they end up having to cooperate and deal with Diablos, a flagship Monster that requires Hunting in the game. (At least I have head of it and that speaks to its legacy in the series. Although, I only know about this series due to my interest in gaming and knowing how prevalent it is).
So, they beat it. Or more correctly, Hunter does a few things, gets knocked out, and Milla gets to do some badass things like taking down the foe with a rocket launcher instead of her flaming swords Did I forget to mention that the swords are literally on fire? That’s right. Seriously the amount of screen time for, as previously mentioned, the spider stuff, her after battle wounds, and burning the wound shut with gunpowder or single-handedly dragging hunter around the desert, it’s all so bad. Even if it wasn’t the writer/director’s wife it would be bad, but now that makes her being the wife a powerful point.
We get to see more of Hunter’s crew after the desert, including “The Admiral,” who, surprising to no one, is played by Ron Perlman. We also meet a chef who is a cat-creature known as a Palico, which is something I recognized from the series. It hardly accomplishes anything, though, and I guess forces sent out a CG creature, alongside the entire monstrosity of CG slaying, proved too much of an expense. There are some other things from the game, like swords and bows, so it’s not the worst thing ever. To be frank, if Milla simply played the role of a female Monster Hunter from a remote village who haplessly gets stuck in the desert with a Hunter from another tribe, the film would remain unchanged, just fit the source material a lot better. But no, we are treated to lifeless, dull, generic solider stuff at the start, some human weapons against the first “boss,” and, well, more towards the end which I will elaborate on later in the spoiler section.
Once again Paul W.S. Anderson treats a CAPCOM game poorly. Instead of incorporating the source material to the film, he ensures his wife looks as cool as possible with little to no effort. Loosely “Milla is an American soldier” instead of a cool Monster Hunter, but you know, that would have made more sense. And, of course, there was light lore and visual nods sprinkled here and there. One could argue that shot movies that have CG monsters are better, but this is not one of those movies that I would recommend.
In the last part of the story, Natalie, Hunter and the Hunting party now set sights on a mysterious tower unknown to them that seems to be connecting the two worlds together. To put a stop to it they have to face off against the Iconic fire-breathing dragon game monster Rathalos. (Thanks to Smash Bros Ultimate, I’ve actually fought that one!) And while they do manage to fight him, the fight goes from the Hunter World to Earth. And is filled with scenes of tanks and planes being destroyed by the dragon, clearly emphasizing the message “this isn’t very Monster Hunter and how Monster Hunter as a franchise is treated with zero respect.
The last interesting thing that happens is during the credits, when another dragon, Gore Magala, arrives, which causes Natalie, Hunter, and Admiral to rush to battle it. The towers remain, and monsters keep pouring out to attack. Once again, the film ends with a mid-credits scene. During mid-credits, Palico leaps into the battle while a cloaked figure silently observes from the tower. Yes, Anderson was so convinced he had penned a multi-sequel storyline that he left everything open with a slew of difficulties. Sadly for him (but not for my sanity) here? Not even close.
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