Statistically, you in all probability haven’t seen the Monster Hunter film, in all probability as a result of it got here out at precisely the unsuitable time. Paul W.S. Anderson’s adaptation of Capcom’s online game sequence was launched in December 2020, throughout a interval the place many individuals have been nonetheless staying house relatively than going to the theaters. It’s one of many solely box-office disappointments of Anderson’s profession, nevertheless it’s considered one of his finest collaborations with Milla Jovovich — an epic style mashup that successfully delivers on the dimensions and hazard of the video games.
The setup is basically an isekai: Captain Artemis (Jovovich) leads a U.N. Joint Safety Operations staff despatched to analyze a mysterious disappearance within the desert, earlier than being transported to a fantastical world the place they encounter many monsters and ultimately an ally referred to as The Hunter (Tony Jaa). There’s additionally a positively feral Ron Perlman, nearer to his Magnificence and the Beast look than something he has finished since.
A very powerful factor to get proper in a Monster Hunter film is the sense of scale, and Anderson and his staff completely nail it. The large landscapes are peppered with impossibly giant skeletons, and our heroes use big weapons to face off towards the hulking monsters. Anderson makes use of top-down photographs and prolonged gradual zoom-outs to evoke a larger-than-life fantasy world earlier than going huge and letting the monsters fill all the body. He’s in a position to create moments of spectacular awe by means of spare and efficient use of slow-motion results. Plus, the entire thing appears to be like nice — it may be simple to overlook within the nonstop motion and frantic modifying, however Monster Hunter has terrific lighting, with brilliant white sands within the desert contrasting darker scenes stuffed with meticulously positioned pops of sunshine and coloration to attract your eye.
However my favourite half upon revisiting the film is how Monster Hunter mashes genres collectively. On the floor, it’s a fantasy film pitting troopers towards hulking creatures. However Anderson makes use of that premise to seamlessly cycle between inspirations from a few of the best monster films in historical past, with an Alien-style egg laying, a Jurassic Park-esque stampede, a Shelob-like big spider lair, some Jaws-inspired sequences with monsters swimming within the sand, and different kaiju and creature function staples.
That’s all on prime of the terrific buddy comedy setup between Artemis and The Hunter. Neither can perceive the opposite’s language, which ends up in an at first contentious and ultimately fairly charming and humorous dynamic, pairing his impish snigger together with her sternness. (A specific spotlight: Her delivering an epic “Let’s do that” earlier than an enormous battle and him responding with a confused “Hmmm?”).
One of many extra controversial parts about Monster Hunter, even amongst my fellow Paul W.S. Anderson die-hards, is the modifying fashion. Anderson introduced in Doobie White, who had beforehand labored with him on Resident Evil: The Remaining Chapter however is probably finest identified for his work with Neveldine and Taylor on the chaos-cinema staple Gamer. The result’s numerous fast-paced modifying. At occasions, it’s too frantic, particularly through the motion sequences, the place you lose out on a few of the fluidity of Jaa and Jovovich’s terrific motion expertise. One of many best athletes to ever grace film screens, Jaa nonetheless delivers with some killer flips, spectacular kicks, and one hell of a sword, even when the film generally struggles to maintain up with him. However the method does successfully promote the turmoil of the world, particularly as Artemis tries to grasp precisely what the hell she’s gotten herself into and what guidelines this land is ruled by.
Anderson has a protracted historical past adapting video video games, beginning together with his basic Mortal Kombat, operating by means of his Resident Evil franchise, and searching ahead together with his upcoming Home of the Useless adaptation. Some followers of the Resident Evil video games rejected his films on the time due to an absence of perceived faithfulness (these are positively “vibes over fealty” variations), and whereas Monster Hunter brings in lessons, costumes, and weapons from the sport franchise, the precise monster hunts don’t resemble those within the video games all that carefully. However that’s OK! It feels like a Monster Hunter film, and what separates Anderson from many different filmmakers adapting online game and comics tasks nowadays is the truth that he isn’t embarrassed of the supply materials. He’s a real fan who additionally occurs to have immense technical talent. And there could also be extra on the way in which, sometime: The ending units up a doable Monster Hunter sequel, and each Anderson and Jovovich have mentioned they’d prefer to make one other one and that Anderson has labored on a script. Add Tár into the combo, and you’ve got a complete universe of nice Monster Hunter films.
Monster Hunter is streaming on Hulu.
