monster hunter (2020) review
Who would’ve guessed that Milla Jovovich and Tony Jaa would have such great chemistry? Monster Hunter, written and directed for the screen by Jovovich’s husband Paul W.S. Anderson, is perfectly fine for the audience it courts. The movie exists to showcase Jovovich, Jaa and to my surprise, Ron Perlman, fighting fantastically rendered CGI monstrosities and looking very cool doing it. There is most definitely an audience for this type of movie and Anderson knows it. Anderson and Jovovich are responsible for the Resident Evil films that along with Monster Hunter are also superficially based on a video game property. The original 2002 Resident Evil is largely considered one of the better or best video game movie adaptations. It’s not exactly high praise – video game movies are notoriously awful. Monster Hunter won’t be making any best-of lists but save for the first 20 minutes or so which is comprised almost entirely of the groan-inducing military schtick we’ve come to expect from Michael Bay Transformers movies, I was very entertained. The second act of the film focuses down onto the two principal actors with Jaa trying his best to acclimate Jovovich to her new surroundings. The mutual admiration and genuine desire to protect one another comes across even if the amount of time it takes for the two to realize they are on the same side is comical. Their first encounter is legit 10-minutes straight of the two delivering blows to one another that would absolutely incapacitate any non-superhuman. Once they start working together it’s a fun ride. Jaa and Jovovich are just as likable here as they are in their other films, the CGI is excellent and Anderson’s action direction is confident and easy to follow unlike a lot of other movies in this genre. If you go into this film anticipating a rousing story with thoughtfully nuanced character arcs you will be disappointed. Also, quit taking yourself so seriously. The movie is called Monster Hunter.
Monster Hunter receives a score of 6/10 for general audiences and 7/10 if you know by now what to expect from Anderson+Jovovich and enjoyed their other films.