“‘Monster Hunter’ marveled in action and graphics but significantly lacks many film elements.”
Hello fans, welcome to yet another film review on Cinema Perception. In this review, I will be discussing a 2020 film by Screen Gems, “Monster Hunter.” For those wondering where I happened to watch this film, I watched the physical version of the film with my uncle.
Based on the video game, “Monster Hunter” focuses on hunters and their quest in killing creatures and stopping them from invading the real world. Prior to watching the film, my impression with this film was rather mixed since it appeared that this film might be all over the place. To my dismay, my fears were realized and more.
Before I rant over the negatives, here were some positives that the film had. To begin, the film was successful in having special effects all throughout the film. In addition, there were some actors that I recognized in the film. For example, I was blown away seeing Ron Pearlman back on the big screen. Other than the cast, the run time was an hour and 45 minutes, which made this film very easy to relax to. Overall, these were the only positives that I had for the film.
Regarding the negatives, there were frequent issues that I noticed throughout the film. The first issue that I had with the film was the actual plot. In the beginning of the film, there was no dialogue, which conveyed to the viewer that this film was going to lack plot direction and lean more towards action. As the film delved onward, I often pondered if this film would provide any definite plot without dialogue. For those that watch Academy Award-winning films, there is always a plot and a central conflict that is heavily discussed at the very beginning of the film, but for “Monster Hunter,” the plot is not even discussed until the very end of the film. The other issue I had with the film is that there was not a lot of creativity involved for any of the characters. As an effect, it left the viewer to question if there was even a point in watching this film at all. The third issue I had with the film is the pacing. Since there was no creativity for character background, certain scenes seemed to drag on for minutes until there was an action scene involved. The last issue I had with the film is the overuse of action scenes. As an action movie fan, I’ve always loved action, but having too much action with no specific details about the plot minimizes the entertainment value. Though this is my opinion, I personally believe that “Monster Hunter” did not meet my standards.
Due to the frequent plot issues, pacing, lack of creativity and overuse of action scenes, “Monster Hunter” failed to live up to my film expectations. In doing so, I give this film a one out of five stars. For those wanting a better video game-based film, I strongly suggest watching either “Tomb Raider” or “Sonic the Hedgehog.” ‘Till next issue, this is Nicholas Bartelmo signing off from Cinema Perception.
Nicholas Bartelmo is a fourth-year student studying for his bachelor’s in History. He expects to graduate in the Spring of 2021. nb790429@wcupa.edu