Milla Jovovich Slices and Shoots at Giant Beasts in the First Trailer for ‘Monster Hunter’
I guess it’s a Monster Hunter adaptation if it has monsters and hunters.
After kickstarting a Resident Evil saga that lasted six movies (and was subject of much criticism) before facing a reboot, Paul W.S. Anderson has decided to tackle another extremely successful Capcom property: Monster Hunter.
While Anderson might not be the most talented director, most of his “expensive B movies” filmography has found an audience (and even fans). His movies make money, are relatively cheap to produce, and satisfy moviegoers who just want mindless action. He’s also a self-proclaimed gamer, which made 1995’s Mortal Kombat adaptation his break into Hollywood.
Anyhow, the trailer for his Milla Jovovich-led take on Monster Hunter dropped today:
First of all, a Monster Hunter adaptation should work without the inclusion of military characters from our world via interdimensional portals. In a post-Lord of the Rings world, fantasy movies sell. Well-made fantasy movies, that is. I have my doubts about the movie regardless of the presence or absence of “America, f*** yeah” elements, but the Monster Hunter games feature a cool fantasy world that can house almost any kind of story (since they’re not plot-heavy games). I wish they trusted the source material more here.
With that out of the way, I want to say that the monsters themselves seem really cool. They really nailed the looks, sounds, and movements of the beasts. Hell, even the weapons and Monster Hunter-world characters look straight out of the games. Anderson’s visual style also seems more restrained here, which is a good thing. But everything else feels generic and bland, with the canon fodder soldiers only making things worse with each cheap one-liner (that Guardians of the Galaxy pun is the worst line I’ve heard in months).
The movie’s Twitter account also debuted a poster following the trailer’s debut:
Monster Hunter is directed by Paul W.S. Anderson from a script written by himself. The movie stars Milla Jovovich (Anderson’s wife), Tony Jaa, Ron Perlman, and Diego Boneta, among others.
In a surprising move, Sony Pictures pushed up the release date to December 30, 2020, after it held an April 23, 2021, spot for a while following a delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Its original release date was September 4, 2020.
Jovovich apparently has a “flirtatious relationship” with a cat chef, too. This is gonna be bonkers.
Francisco J. Ruiz is that guy who has watched Jurassic Park a thousand times and loves Star Wars. His hunger for movies is only matched by his love for video games. He graduated in English Studies from the University of Malaga, in Spain. As he keeps writing about what he enjoys (and doesn’t) for websites all over, he’s continuing his studies.
