I honestly can’t remember a time when Milla Jovovich wasn’t fighting some kind of evil (Resident or otherwise). She’s back at it again in ‘Monster Hunter’, her husbands latest foray into instantly forgettable sci-fi.
When Lieutenant Artemis (Jovovich) and her crew of Rangers run into a freak storm, they’re transported to a parallel desert world overrun with deadly creatures. She soon finds herself a sole survivor at the mercy of a mysterious Monster Hunter (Tony Jaa).
Paul W.S. Anderson isn’t exactly known for creating brainiac cinema. At his best he’ll deliver solid thrills the likes of ‘Event Horizon’, at his worst he ruins an entire beloved game-series by churning out sequel after rotten sequel of the same unwatchable swill (‘Resident Evil’). So anyone who decides to watch ‘Monster Hunter’ knows exactly what they’re in for; Jovovich kicking some CGI ass, period.
For the biggest part of this mindless action flick we only have Jovovich and Jaa to watch. Luckily she knows how to hold her own in this sort of production by now and her pairing with Jaa seems to work. Apart from Ron Perlman every other actor only serves as fodder for the beasties. It seems pointless to even have them in the credits.
‘Monster Hunter’ makes no excuses for what it is; a loud, brash and uneven mix of fantasy and sci-fi that serves up a lot of unmemorable big bangs. Expect at least seven sequels.
Review – ‘Monster Hunter’
Reviewed online, February 17, 2021. Rating: Cert 18. Running time: 92 min.
PRODUCTION: A Sony Pictures Releasing release of a Constantin Film, Impact Pictures, Capcom Company, Tencent Pictures, Toho Company production. Producers: Paul W.S. Anderson, Dennis Berardi, Jeremy Bolt, Genevieve Hofmeyr, Robert Kulzer, Martin Moszkowicz. Executive producers: Howard Chen, Edward Cheng, Hiro Matsuoka.
CREW: Director/screenplay: Paul W.S. Anderson (based on the video game series by Kaname Fujioka). Cinematography: Glen MacPherson. Editing: Doobie White. Music: Paul Haslinger.
CAST: Milla Jovovich, Tony Jaa, Ron Perlman, Tip “T.I.” Harris, Diego Boneta, Meagan Good, Josh Helman, Jin Au-Yeung, Jannik Schümann, Nanda Costa.