Lieutenant Artemis (Milla Jovovich) and her squad of army rangers are mysteriously transported from our world to one filled with gigantic deadly monsters. Can they survive and find a way back? 

Based on the hugely popular video game series by Capcom, written and directed by Paul W. S. Anderson and starring his wife Milla Jovovich I found myself evaluating the film on three major facets. 

Firstly, was it a faithful game adaptation? Mostly, yes. The game series itself is fairly light on story, or at least the versions I have dabbled in have been. The plot of the game is simply pick a hunter, build their skills and equipment and kill monsters. On that basis Anderson can be given some leeway in the manner he has invented an army unit to transplant into the monster world giving us something familiar to relate to. Elsewhere in the weapons, monsters, costumes, haircuts and the cat like race of Palicoes he has pretty much hit the nail on the head. The look and feel of the world seems perfect as an adaptation and the monster CGI is great. 

Secondly, is this a good action movie. Mostly, yes. On the basis of it being a fantasy action romp I think it hits the mark. The opening 30 minutes are pretty much non stop running from certain death whilst the montage training sequences and final battle are suitably fun. It would not stand up next to the likes of John Wick or The Raid but it is not trying to be that type of action movie. Jovovich and Tony Jaa who plays a monster hunter are both very capable action stars and give capable performances. In fact they are only really let down by some close camera angles and quick cutting in an extended fight sequence between themselves when their characters first meet. This sequence is the nadir of the film and it absolutely should stick to big monsters! 

Thirdly, how does it stand up in Paul W. S. Anderson’s less than stellar back catalogue? I have to say pretty well. Generally speaking I have found Anderson’s other films to be pretty difficult to watch. This film has some incredibly leaden and generic lines, I noted the following lines within the first 10 minutes; “I’m a ranger, not an archaeologist” and “This is above my pay grade”. But he also seems aware that the best way to deliver exposition is to hire the larger than life Ron Perlman and put him in a crazy blonde wig! He is essentially trying to deliver big monsters and fantasy action with the bare minimum of plot and it mostly works. 

One major word of warning though. I really disagree with the films certification of 12A and am very glad I watched this before seeing it with my children. This is the sort of film where the original 12 certificate would still be useful as there are some quite strong scenes early on in the film that personally I would not want my under 12’s to see. 

If you fancy a dumb throwaway fantasy action flick I think this works.