Right away defending this movie is not so much a desire as it is a statement to be made, one that argues for the idea that every story does have some merit, and the personal opinion of those that don’t happen to care for the story is just as valid, but it’s not necessarily right in offering condemnation or praise. In short, Monster Hunter is worth watching for the story it grants on the screen, but in terms of the game adaptation it would appear to have a long way to go since each encounter in this movie could have been turned into an epic clash capable of creating its own movie, though the largely peaceful Apceros would have been the exception. Some might want to state that the opening and introductory scenes of Captain Artemis and her soldiers seeking out several of their fellow soldiers who went missing is a bit corny at times and even a little hard to buy into, but it still manages to open the movie and grant a sense of normalcy that is quickly wiped away when a sudden sandstorm that activates several strange markers transports them to a world they know nothing about and is home to monsters that are insanely tough and none too welcoming.
The first of these, the Black Diablos, is an insanely tough, burrowing creature that is, in the game, just a form of a female Diablos that’s in heat apparently. The ferocity of this thing is only rivaled by the fact that none of the weapons that Artemis and her crew possess can wound it, or even take it down since the creature’s hide is simply too tough and its attacks are so powerful that withstanding more than one charge was impressive enough. But when Artemis and a small number of her people escape to a nearby cave system buried within a desolate pile of rocks that are the only thing in sight amidst a desert that stretches on for miles, with only a mysterious mountain range that features an equally strange tower atop it. From the looks of the lightning spitting and crackling around the tower it’s the only thing of note in the desert, but as Artemis and her people soon find out the rocks and caves aren’t as safe as they thought, as the arachnid-like Nerscyclla quickly surround and attack the survivors, spearing Artemis through the back as the poison that the creature secretes knocks her out. When she wakes she finds herself within the cavernous nest of the creatures and it’s only after escaping a sickly-looking sac that she meets up with her last surviving soldier, who is revealed to be implanted with Nyrscyclla eggs that hatch as they’re trying to escape.
Artemis does escape the tunnels and encounters the hunter played by Tony Jaa, but while they don’t end up killing each other right away it’s fair to say that they have to grow on each other before they finally start getting along. The realization that they’re both headed towards the Sky Tower in the distance makes it obvious that they’ll have to deal with the Black Diablos before making their way forward. Through a great deal of skill and luck, the creature is slain, but the hunter suffers injuries that force Artemis to drag him on a litter across the desert. After surviving a sandstorm they come upon an oasis where the hunter’s people, who thought they’d lost him in a previous encounter with the Black Diablos, confine Artemis but later accept her on the hunter’s word that she’s okay. Not long after this several of them make their way to the Sky Tower, where they’re set upon by a Rathalos, a wyvern-like beast that’s almost invincible but is slain when Artemis and two of the hunters that survive the initial attack jump through another portal into Artemis’ world where a single Rathalos takes down a contingent of heavily-armed soldiers complete with tanks and aerial support before Artemis and Jaa bring the beast down as they wait just a split second before the Rathalos breathes fire, taking advantage of that moment to toss a flare into its open mouth, which then ignites the fluid that is used to produce it’s flesh-melting fire, thereby causing its insides to burn and erupt. Before the heroes can catch their breath, however, another beast, a Gore Magala, appears, and just like that, it’s time to fight again.
If one is looking for a movie that was bound to be just like the source material it’s likely that they might have been disappointed in this case. But the point here is that as an action movie this was rather enjoyable since it didn’t waste a whole lot of time on exposition and dialogue, it was a simple action movie from start to finish, and what little storytelling that was done was effective to push things forward. Plus, if there’s a sequel to come as the post-credits indicate, then it might be time for a storyline to develop.
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