Video game movies continue to evolve with the times and develop into something greater than what they once were. “Monster Hunter” (released in December of 2020) is the next step in what these movies can look like. While not as enthralling as “Sonic the Hedgehog” (and with a bit less controversy), it offers a thrilling experience for those taking the time to watch it. It is the first video game movie in 4 years to have Paul W.S. Anderson return to the director's chair with Milla Jovovich as a lead. They had not paired up for a video game movie like this since the “Resident Evil” series concluded in 2016.

The movie opens with an unattributed quote from Albert Einstein, “It is entirely possible that behind the perception of our senses, new worlds are hidden of which we are totally unaware.” In the “New World”, we meet the Hunter (Tony Jaa) and the Admiral (Ron Perlman). The Hunter works with the crew of the Admiral's ship to ward off a creature they call a Diablos. (Presumably no relation to the Diablo who's been futilely killed in another popular game series.) Little is revealed of this creature initially beyond its love for hunting, ramming ships, and taking out most of the hunters on the crew very quickly. Toward the end of the fight, Hunter is knocked off the sand ship when it gets up-ended and lands on the sands unconscious. Keep him in mind for later.

Cut to: “Our World.” Lt. Artemis (Milla Jovovich) is traveling out with her squad: Marshall (Diego Boneta), Dash (Meagan Good), Steeler (Josh Helman), Axe (Jin Au-Yeung), and Lincoln (Tip “T.I.” Harris). They are Alpha team off to find the missing Bravo team. In their search, they get swept away in a sudden sandstorm. The team is thrown around in their vehicles which fortunately manage to survive the trip through the portal to the “New World.” They find Bravo team – or what's left of them – surrounded by a mysterious blackened glass covering the ground. It is clear that the other team had fought, but there are no signs of what attacked them beyond the glass. The monster Diablos attacks, and Artemis and her team are forced into the rocks. Here, they are ambushed by the spider-like Nerscylla who separate and capture the team.

At its core, the movie comes down to the relationship that develops between Artemis and Hunter. Hunter finds and captures Artremis after she escapes the Nerscylla nest. The two are very quick to attack each other – but as is often the case in 'buddy flicks,' they are forced to put their antagonism aside and work together. The first hour of the movie comes down to just these two after they are removed from their familiar groups. There is a preparation and training montage once the pair started getting along. Here, the weapons become more of a focus. It works to show the general preparation that veterans of the “Monster Hunter” series know so well. It sets up the abilities that weapons have that go beyond just what they seem to do.

The fact the Admiral could speak English is a bit off-putting. The big problem here is for the lack of an accent. It did not make too much sense for the development for the story. The fact the Admiral happens to make a study of it left very contrived. That and how much he uses it when the others did not seem to understand the language. Among others who speak the language, it makes sense. If the other hunters are learning it from him, it could also make sense but they'd want to use it as well. However, if he is the only one there is almost no point in using the ancient language. A few more lines of it being an ancient language that has been kept alive in universities or temples would have made more sense. Seriously, there are real-world examples of ancient languages surviving and becoming a language in the modern day. This is the most shoe-horned thing for us in the movie.

An element that was plainly thrown in for the fans are the Palico. These helpers, and near constant companions to the Hunters, only shows up once the group had reunited in the Monster World. They still got a wonderful moment to shine in a quick scene with them cooking in their stunning way. After that, it was a mid-credit stinger that the Palico shows up against with anything more meaningful than a laugh.

Ultimately, there are a number of monsters featured. The first large one being the burrowing Diablos. It would be the main focus once Hunter and Artemis starting getting along. This massive bull-like dragon would be seen swimming through the sands of the surrounding desert, hunting with vibrations.
The Nerscylla nesting grounds is a tense place, with the strange arachnid creatures working to overwhelm everything they could with their paralyzing poison. The peaceful Apceros got a little screen time. They got to show the side of the monsters that would just be there. Finally, the deadly Rathalos in the climax of the film. Each of the monsters is shown to be working within its environment well and seemed to fit in. All of this looked realistic and works decently in the story.

Releasing at the end of 2020, the year of the COVID-19 pandemic, “Monster Hunter” made the bold choice of releasing only in theaters with no streaming releases. As of the writing of this article, “Monster Hunter” has been in theaters for 12 weeks and has grossed $14.4 million. It opened at number one in the box office (with little competition) but has fallen down out of the top 5 within March 2021, where it had been since its release.

This movie fits into the category of a “Popcorn flick.” It has little in terms of its substance, but has a lot of flavor to it It can easily be enjoyed by someone with little to no knowledge of the series itself. It is definitely recommended for someone who knows the series and would like to see a story set in a version of that familiar reality. For those less familiar, it is nice as an introduction to the series. It's unlikely to sway someone to the series unless they are curious already.

“Monster Hunter” is available to rent or buy on Amazon, Vudu and an expanding base of Video on Demand services. The Blu-Ray is also available for purchase.