The first official trailer for Sony Pictures’ upcoming Monster Hunter film is here and, as wholly expected, fans have responded by giving the creature feature a fierce roasting online.
For those not in the know, this is the latest flick being directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, a name that’s essentially become synonymous with live-action video game adaptations. Beginning with Mortal Kombat back in 1995, Anderson has brought several other franchises from the medium, including DOA: Dead or Alive (producer only) and, most notably, Resident Evil, to the big screen, all of which have garnered mixed receptions from fans and critics alike. The latter, in particular, has often been criticized in the past for playing too fast and loose, so to speak, with the source material, by changing or completely omitting key events or details from Capcom’s beloved survival horror series to fit a different vision.
Creative freedom is important in any artistic medium, of course, though it seems Monster Hunter is destined to garner a similar reputation to that of Anderson’s existing filmography. That’s if initial reactions over on social media are anything to go by, at least, which largely involve excitement over the film’s incredible visual effects being juxtaposed against overwhelming negativity towards dialogue and a derivative premise.
It might be bad…but damn it imma still watch it pic.twitter.com/N7ZTNJj03L
— Nova Over Heaven 💫 (@TheNovaPlayss) October 14, 2020
References to the MCU have been labelled by many as being nonsensical.
https://twitter.com/TheRivalRose/status/1316367895472017408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1316367895472017408%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcomicbook.com%2Fgaming%2Fnews%2Fmonster-hunter-movie-trailer-reactions%2F
The simple truth, according to one Twitter user.
https://twitter.com/CiaranRH/status/1316371081171787776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1316371081171787776%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcomicbook.com%2Fgaming%2Fnews%2Fmonster-hunter-movie-trailer-reactions%2F
Some people think fans should go into theaters with an open mind and hold off on being critical.
Just treat this as a Kaiju movie people, have fun instead of trying to be a movie critic
— Sibren (@s1bren) October 14, 2020
Meanwhile, cutting edge visual effects are all that’s needed to convince some moviegoers.
https://twitter.com/TheRivalRose/status/1316371392334647297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1316371392334647297%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fcomicbook.com%2Fgaming%2Fnews%2Fmonster-hunter-movie-trailer-reactions%2F
Many are pointing out Paul W.S. Anderson’s predictable formula.
Paul W.S. Anderson's movie formula:
An elite militarized team on a routine mission find themselves in a dangerous environment with unexpected threats and monsters. Most of the team dies. Final girl escapes with newfound skills.
Resident Evil
Alien vs. Predator
Monster Hunter https://t.co/5H8K7weWxX— CJ Melendez (@CJMelendez_) October 14, 2020
Still, it’s all about the monsters for a lot of people.
ok, the movie looks like terrible af BUT I'll watch to see the gala magala pic.twitter.com/KcliCUYuZG
— wubba lubba dub dub (@TdeTarik) October 14, 2020
And here are a few more reactions, just for good measure:
so that Monster Hunter movie looks fucking awful, right?
— sweeney tom🩸 (@tomsnotdead) October 14, 2020
https://twitter.com/WarringSkye/status/1316420008390656000
the Monster Hunter movie looks god awful. the monster look bad, and Milla Jovovich's character uses fire dual-blades against a Rathalos!?
Rathalos is resistance to fire damage… oh god please make this stop!
— Bird Religion (@BirdReligion) October 14, 2020
Based on the new trailer, just about the only thing the Monster Hunter movie appears to be getting right is how the monsters look. Everything else? Terrible.
— Nathanael Fuller (@Polygon_Wizard) October 14, 2020
https://twitter.com/TheHauntSeason/status/1316418367729745920
https://twitter.com/PixelMetal/status/1316419325356642307
Guys I don't even play Monster Hunter but I KNOW this is wrong. US military? Isekai? Guys Detective Pikachu was a damn fluke please stop trying with video game movies, this looks MAD awful
— Insert Autumn joke (@SlumberingWeird) October 14, 2020
The Monster Hunter trailer looks boring awful which is the worst kind of awful
— Kevin Brown (@Railith) October 14, 2020
This is gonna be awful
— Dominous Sethin (@Archamedian) October 14, 2020
Holy hell it looks awful
— Hex (@HexManiacDio) October 14, 2020
This is going to be god awful but I want to see my favourite monsters, so… I guess I'll be watching!
— Hearth, Au Ra fanatic〓 〓 (@HearthAuthor) October 14, 2020
I know nothing about Monster Hunter but I see giant monster so I watch. https://t.co/6IPSciSQKy
— Filippo (@filippoq01) October 14, 2020
Much as I dislike monster hunter
Shooting dragons with a minigun or stinger missiles is exactly what I want and have always wanted since I was a kid pic.twitter.com/Q2qlVMAC3x
— Ciaran Zagami (@Oktoberblitz) October 14, 2020
Monster Hunter is scheduled to land in theaters on December 30th and stars Milla Jovovich as UN soldier Captain Natalie Artemis in the lead role. Supporting cast members, meanwhile, include Tony Jaa, Meagan Good and Ron Perlman.
Have your own thoughts to share? Sound off in the comments below!
