Hello there!
Today I want to talk about Monster Hunter, a science fantasy film I have watched recently. It is based on the popular videogame franchise of the same name.
I am not a fan of the games, but word on the net is that if you are, you will be sorely disappointed. Apparently, the games are set in a fantasy world of mighty, sword toting warriors. The film, however, is about a modern military squad that accidentally crosses a dimensional portal and end up lost in an alternate world full of killer monsters.
The pacing is kind of... atrocious. The intro sets the bar quite high. The way the music rolls in as the logos of the producers parade for the watcher is crowned by a scene that promises a ton of adventure in a magical¤ world.
Sadly, the film turns into a bit of a drag for quite a while after that, and it takes it some time to regain its proper pace. Sadly, the film ends in a cliffhanger designed to introduce a sequel, which is disappointing.
The visual aspect is the strongest this movie has to offer. The monsters are quite well designed. Special effects in general do the job.
The action itself, however, is very badly produced. I have heard the director being labeled as "the director of a thousand cuts", and this film is an example. You barely get an action shot that is longer than a second, since each scene is composes of lots of micro-shots. It is not stop-motion level (like Beyond Enemy Lines II) but they could have done better. Specially because one of the lead actors, Tony Jaa, is wasted in this sort of film making.
I mean, Tony Jaa has scenes which were filmed in a single shot that spaned multiple minutes of non-stop action. If you are going to bring a martial arts prodigy like him to your film, the least you can do is give him proper scenes.
Overall, I think the film is bad. Still I found it entertaining, but that is only because I can have fun with the worst of junks. If you ant mindless monster killign with the tiniest excuse of a plot it may work for you, I guess.
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