An adaptation of the Japanese video-game series, Monster Hunter is heavily inspired by video-game structure – hordes of enemies, distinct environments impossibly conjoined to make different levels, a final boss. The outlandish plot is grounded by the inspired pairing of Milla Jovovich and Tony Jaa, as director Paul WS Anderson focuses on their greatest strength: their physicality. It’s thrilling to see the film so fully embrace this; their chemistry thrives because of the narrative restriction of a language barrier, leaving the two to mostly communicate through body language. Jovovich moves with action-hero grace, Jaa is nimble and extremely charming, even with minimal dialogue.
Anderson’s storytelling is spartan, limiting exposition about the world Artemis and her squad find themselves in. This is satisfying for its first two acts — the soldiers’ arrival and their quick dismemberment; Jovovich and Jaa’s characters bonding — but the finale is muddled, suddenly introducing more cannon-fodder for the battle. Still, Monster Hunter’s leanness is mostly its greatest asset, flying through a surprising variety of set-pieces as Artemis flees from and later slays a range of giant beasties.
As for the monsters themselves, the creature design is fun and faithful to the series, though after a time their scaly textures feel indistinct, which is a shame considering the delightfully outlandish costume and prop design elsewhere. The framing of the story through the eyes of the military initially feels uninspired but it’s less of a frustration once the purpose of these poor soldiers is clear: to make regular weaponry look feeble next to the hunter’s supersized weapons, carved from monster bones. Spectacle is the aim of the game, so to speak — but it’s not thoughtless, the soldiers themselves immediately joking about how their roles as political tools will consign them to the meat grinder. Too bad for them, so much fun for us.