Film review: Monster Hunter

 Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Cert: 12A

Director: Paul W.S. Anderson, 

Screenwriter: Paul W.S. Anderson, Kaname Fujioka (video game series)

Starring: Milla Jovovich, Tony Jaa, Ron Perlman, T.I., Diego Boneta, Meagan Good, Josh Helman,  Jin Au-Yeung, Hirona Yamazaki, Jannik Schümann, Nanda Costa, Nic Rasenti, Clyde Berning, Paul Hampshire, Schelaine Bennett

Running time: 1h 43min 

Parents advised to read before viewing film as some scene may contain scenes unsuitable for younger viewers.

Sex & Nudity:  Through a portion of the film, a woman wears a tank top and the outlines of her nipples press through her shirt somewhat.

Violence & Gore: Once, gunshots are fired at a person but are quickly stopped when they realize he is friendly. No injuries.

The films opens on a monster attacking a ships full of people. The people are tossed about, on falls hard to hew deck, and some fall over board. One man flies off the boat and is gored by the monster's horn. Minor blood or gore.

A few people are tossed around as their car falls through the air and lands hard. None are seriously injured.

Some soldiers find other soldiers burned and surrounded by their burned equipment. The scene does not focus on the bodies.

A group of soldiers are attacked by a monster. Some are hit and thrown long distances, one is gored. The soldiers shoot at it and drive away. The car is tossed by the monster and eventually the soldiers escape.

Large insect type monsters attack a group of soldiers. One person is stung and falls unconscious. The people shoot at the insects, but they are overwhelmed. one person is cut in half.

A man and a woman fight several times with hard punches, kicks, and thrown, and they capture each other and tie them up at separate times. The man is wounded with a knife once, and the wound is shown but not serious. The fights are choreographed by violent.

A insect monster chases a woman as she runs away, but is it stopped and it head split in two. The monster is then cut up and parts removed.

A man and a woman fight a large monster. The man stabs it, and the woman shoots it with a rocket launcher. The man is hit hard and knocked out but the monster is eventually killed. A piece if the monsters skin is pealed away afterwards.

A man is gored by a monster, and kn owing that he will die, he detonates an explosive harming himself and the monster.

A man punches a woman in the face, knocking her out.

Several people fight a large flying monster that breathes fire. Many of the people are hit away very hard, and one person is eaten. The monster destroys many machines and it is implied that the people operating them are killed as well. Wounds made to the monster are shown, but include minor blood or gore.

Profanity: Only a few curse words.

Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking: A man and a woman share a drink from a flask, and it is implied to be some kind of strong alcohol.

Frightening/Intense Scenes: A few jump-scares throughout.

The several monsters are meant to be frightening.

The many onscreen deaths may be difficult for some viewers.

The scenes involving the insect monsters and the lair may be very difficult for some viewers.

A woman rocks back and forth, seemingly traumatized after a very horrifying ordeal.

Story: When Lt. Artemis and her loyal soldiers are transported to a new world, they engage in a desperate battle for survival against enormous enemies with incredible powers. Feature film based on the video game by Capcom

Likes: Finally i get to watch this film and see if it worth the watch! while I would say that its entertaining it's not without its flaws and nick picking at certain points that could've made this film alot better for a video game adaptation which is some what faithful to the game.

I like the way they use a storm to power up a portal they end up in a situation they unprepared for, at least the film does give a brief backstory o what is going on with the portal, the relationship/interaction between Mila and the nameless "Hunter" felt organic and humorous in apart as which is always good for a film to be believable, as well as a training montage.

While the actually monsters design was great, special when they are straight from the game with Black Diablos that kind of swims under the sandy desserts, nerscylla that dwell in the cave systems that look like scorpion spiders, Apceros that look like Ankylosaurs, brief glimpse of  monster that came out of the water but was clear of what it was, then you get the Main monster Rathalos and then toward the end we get a brief look at Gore Magala. 

While some times the CGI is great in places there we're moments when the CGI didnt feel as polished as it should have been. The action in places is good while the film keep you entertained. Would I recommend it? Kind off just for it entertainment value, but the film has whole has some majors flaws that drag the film down.


Dislikes: This is in no way against Mila performance in this film she a great actress, but in typical Paul Anderson fashion he made the film all about her, instead of focusing on the another character which could have been used through the whole film without them being throw away characters, which would have made this film whole lot better as a team up vs monsters film.

This is why i dont like Paul Anderson as a director, dont get me wrong the first resident evil film was good, but he mess up with the other films, which is kind of what happen here with the actions scenes, Paul has this habit of make way to close action scene and way to many cuts in those actions to the point the film is kind of unwatchable, thankfully not alot of scene were like this but alot we're which ruin some of the action scenes. 

The biggest flaw of them all was the end, he left the ending open for a sequel but because the film flopped a sequel isnt gonna get green lite which will leave some dispointed        

      

Overall: Its got entertainment value but it could've been better 

Rating: 5 out of 5 for Entertainment / 6.7 out of 10 for video game adaption.