Monster Hunter movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Monster Hunter

Releases only in theaters December 18, 2020

RATING: PG-13

LENGTH: 1 hour 39 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: B-

IN A NUTSHELL:

This action-adventure movie is based on the video game by Capcom. One of the cast members, T.I., said that it was his youngest son that convinced him to be in the movie because he is such a fan of the Capcom video games. I was curious to hear from real gamers what they thought about the movie and they all agreed the monsters looked awesome. They said the movie is pretty faithful to the original game with some fun fan-service, so that’s a good endorsement!

As far as the actual movie goes, the fantasy flick was written for the screen and directed by Paul W. S. Anderson. That’s where the reviews start to head south. The plot is extremely thin, so if you want to just watch an action movie with lots of monsters and screaming, this one’s for you. Movies based on video games have been notoriously terrible for some reason. This one will have big fans and haters.

There’s a joke early in the movie that has gotten this production into serious trouble with its release in China, resulting in its being banned. One of the characters says, “What are my knees? What kind of knees are these? Chi-knees”. Chinese audiences started posting terrible reviews on multiple platforms to damage the box office sales, accusing the movie of hurtful racism. Pushing their outrage further, the game Monster Hunter: World (2018) received thousands of negative reviews as well within 48 hours. Constantin Film later apologized for that scene, although it is still in the movie.

Tip: Eat chocolate while you watch this movie. Just do it.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Lots of profanity
People and monsters in perilous situations
High body count with bloody, brutal deaths
Tons of violence

THEMES:

All of us have our own unique weaknesses.
Persistence
Hope
Teamwork
Resourcefulness
Self-reliance

THINGS I LIKED:

The movie starts out with a bang…and a crash…and screams. In other words, there is no waiting around for something to happen.
Lots of humor.
I’ve always loved Milla Jovovich for her unique look and fierce action sequences. I was a little bit disappointed though because she mostly just yells in this movie. Don’t get me wrong…she’s full-on action. There just isn’t very much dialogue.
Really good CGI. The monsters look super scary.
Some cool weapons. I hear that there are some accurate game mechanics that will please the video game fans. I heard that the director actually went to the game designers to see what they thought of the film and they gave him the thumbs up.
If you’re going to watch this movie, see it on the largest screen possible.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

The big plot? To survive. Seriously, that’s it.
Superfast, over-the-top action scenes that make it hard to see what’s going on. Within a 10 second period, there are quite a few cuts which is super annoying.
The movie mostly consists of fighting sound effects and screaming. Oh….and monsters.
The singing…not that great.
I would love to have seen more of Ron Pearlman.
A bunch of characters emerge out of nowhere but we aren’t told much about them, nor get to know any of them.
The ending definitely hints at a sequel. Do we want that?

INTERESTING LINES:

“To kill a monster, you need a monster.” – Artemis (Milla Jovovich)
“What are you so afraid of?” – Artemis (Milla Jovovich) “Your world and what it can do to me.” – Admiral (Ron Pearlman)

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