We’re still not sure why they’re using a fire weapon on Rathalos.

Live-action video game movies just can’t go away don’t they and just when we thought that Sonic the Hedgehog was the only film that pushed through given the sudden global quarantine, one more film pushed on and that is Monster Hunter. Based on CAPCOM’s now global franchise, no one would’ve thought that a movie about a game whacking huge monsters to death would get a film adaptation, simply because aside from the grinding and the monster hunting, no one really pays attention to the overall lore of the game but here we are.

Directed by Paul W.S. Andreson, the Monster Hunter film stars video game movie staple Milla Jovovich together with Tony Jaa as they, well, battle huge monsters in a prehistoric landscape. Now we said that no one really pays attention to the Monster Hunter lore which means that the production crew was somehow given a free pass to turn the film into an Isekai with Milla Jovovich’s character, Captain Artemis, being transported from the present time into the world of Monster Hunter by a bunch of ritual rocks.

No, that is not a bowgun.

On the other side of the parallel universe is Tony Jaa, who plays as a Hunter or “The Hunter” and serves as the mentor, and probably the main exposition character who is tasked to teach and tell Captain Artemis (and the audience) just what is going on in their world. Players can easily compare Tony Jaa’s character design to the Field Team Leader NPC from Monster Hunter World, with similarities in hairstyle, weapon of choice, and to some extent, role in the story.

At least the weapons feel more believable.

While not much has been shown yet on the international teaser, trailer, or whatever they call it nowadays, the Chinese trailer version was able to show us a bit more, more than just Diablos and Rathalos with 2 new monsters being introduced, Nerscylla and what seems to be Gore Magala.  Nerscylla is described as a large arachnid type monster while Gore Magala is a monster of unknown type albeit similar in design to Elder Dragons. Both monsters were first introduced in the game Monster Hunter 4 which was released back in 2014.

Nerscylla from the trailer

Gore Magala? also from the trailer

But perhaps the one thing that pleased the most is the appearance of the Meowscular Chef, the beloved Palico that cooks you gargantuan meals before any hunt, and so far is the only Palico shown in the trailers. We just hope that he’s not the only Palico in the movie.

Where is his lovely gang of cooks?

World-wise the trailers mostly show the desert biomes although there is a short clip in the China trailer that shows what seems to be the Tower location from Monster Hunter 4. This could mean that the film itself will draw most of its setting inspiration from that installment in the franchise although the appearance of Meowscular chef might also bring in hints of the more recent Monster Hunter World. Still, most, if not, all of the Monster Hunter games feature certain locations and biomes more than once so it’s just a matter of making the overall design make sense in movie form that is.

Even though the film itself is yet to be shown, skepticism amongst fans is already on a high with the majority of Video Game movies falling flat in terms of staying true to the source material or even just as movies themselves. While the most recent one, Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog was able to entertain viewers and please critics, some of them, Milla Jovovich’s Resident Evil series of films, a live-action film adaptation of another CAPCOM franchise did not enjoy as much accolade with varied reception, especially on the later installments. Still, it is very early to say if the game flops in the box office or if it’s gonna be a hit for both fans and critics so we’re just gonna have to wait and see in December and decide for ourselves.

The Monster Hunter movie is set for release on December 24, 2020.

 P.S.  Also, again, we’re still not sure why they keep on using Fire Weapons against Rathalos and Diablos.