Jeri Jacquin
Currently on 4K HD, Bluray and Digital from writer/director Paul W.S. Anderson, based on a video game and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is the challenge of dimensions being a MONSTER HUNTER.
Army Captain Natalie Artemis (Milla Jovovich) and the security team she is in charge of are looking for a team that has gone missing in the desert. Out of no where comes a lightening storm that pulls the team into it and on the other side is a world unlike our own. They discover what is left of the team they were searching for and it does not take long before a creature destroys everything.
Trying to hide in a cave, a new pack of monster’s attacks as Artemis is stabbed by one of the creatures. Believing their Captain to be dead, the others run for their lives. When Artemis wakes up, she discovers that she is the only one left alive. She runs into Hunter (Tony Jaa), and another fight for survival takes place but ends with the realization that they need each other to live – even if they do not understand one another.
Traveling across the desert after a major attack, Artemis meets The Admiral (Ron Perlman) who actually speaks English! He tells Artemis a little of what he knows about the history of where she is but also explains that the door between their worlds must be closed at the Sky Tower if both sides are to avoid being wiped out. However, they must get past the monster known as Gore Magala and it is not going to be easy.
Now, Artemis must work with people who she does not quite understand if she is to get to the place she calls home.
Jovovich as Artemis gives us the performance that she has become known for. An action heroine filled with the ability to use weaponry, pick up on new moves and become stronger instead of afraid (which I would have been trust THAT!). From Leeloo in THE FIFTH ELEMENT, to Joan of Arc in THE MESSENGER, to Alice in RESIDENT EVIL, Jovovich makes it clear that she knows her way around evil of the two legged and many legged kind.
Jaa as Hunter is fantastic on every level. He can hold his own against and Army Captain and once he realizes they can learn from each other, he allows his humanity and sense of humor to come out. Jaa has a great way of showing his abilities through fighting skills and handling weapons that are not, well, from this world. I truly enjoyed watching him on the screen!
Perlman as The Admiral floats a ship along the sand and has a goal, taking his crew to the Sky Tower and find a way to close it before its too late. He knows the history of where Artemis is and knows there is only one way to stop the tower but getting there means taking on a very large creature. Of course Perlman gets to wield an extraordinary weapon on his own and is not afraid of swinging it full force.
Other cast include: T.I. as Lincoln, Diego Boneta as Marshall, Meagan Good as Dash, Josh Helman as Steeler, Jin Au-Yeung as Axe, Jannik Shumann as Aiden, Nanda Costa as Lea, and Nic Rasenti as Captain Roark.
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Bonus Material of MONSTER HUNTER includes Deleted Scenes, THE MONSTER HUNTERS: Cast and Characters, Monstrous Arsenal: Weaponry in the Film and For the Players: From Game to Scream.
Jovovich and Jaa carry this film for a major part of the action and I have to say I was pretty swept away with what they did. From the fight scenes with each other and fight scenes with absolutely creepy creatures, the action is continuous. I did not know that this film was based on a 2004 PlayStation 2 video game and Capcom Production Studio so well done on their part.
MONSTER HUNTER is a turn out the lights, huge tub of popcorn, Saturday night on the couch with the family film. Its got tons of action, tons of adventure and its centered around basically only a few characters which lets you invest in Artemis, Hunter and The Admiral and the goal they oddly are working together towards.
The door seems to be open for more of the story to be told and it will be interesting to see if that comes to pass. In the meantime, prepare for a trip into another world!
In the end – they come together for the ultimate showdown!