Monster Hunter appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The movie came with a high-quality presentation.
Sharpness worked well at all times. No obvious signs of softness marred the image, so the movie felt well-defined and precise.
I noticed no signs of jagged edges or moiré effects, and edge haloes remained absent. The image also lacked any signs of source defects, so it stayed clean.
In terms of palette, Hunter opted for a standard mix of teal and orange. Though these hues didn’t light up the screen, they made sense for the material and came through as well-rendered.
Blacks seemed dense and dark, whereas shadows looked smooth and clear. I thought the image satisfied.
In addition, the film’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack offered a strong affair as well. As expected, the movie’s action-oriented scenes fared best, as they used gunfire, creatures, vehicles and explosions to fill the room in a compelling manner.
The film’s score used the spectrum well, too, and quieter effects suited the story. These created a nice sense of place and acted to involve the viewer.
Audio quality satisfied, with speech that appeared natural and concise. Music seemed full and rich, with crisp highs and deep bass.
Effects followed suit and created dynamic material, as the various components showed fine range and impact. Bass response became deep and aggressive. The movie used the audio well so this became a solid track.
Three featurettes appear, and The Monster Hunters runs seven minutes, 51 seconds. It brings comments from director Paul WS Anderson, producer Jeremy Bolt, and actors Milla Jovovich, Josh Helman, Meagan Good, Diego Boneta, Tip “TI” Harris, Ron Perlman and Tony Jaa.
“Hunters” looks at story/characters as well as cast and performances. A few modest insight result, but much of this offers general happy talk.
For the Players spans six minutes, 40 seconds and includes notes from Anderson, Jovovich, Bolt, producer Robert Kulzer, production designer Edward Thomas, costume designer Danielle Knox and Perlman.
“Players” looks at the source video game and its adaptation for the screen as well as locations and creature design. Though more informative than “Hunters”, “Players” still leans too much toward praise and fluff.
Finally, Monstrous Arsenal fills five minutes, two seconds with comments from Jovovich, Anderson, prop master Kerry von Lillienfeld and actor Jannik Schümann.
Here we get notes about the weapons featured in the film. It delivers another passable but lackluster piece.
Two Deleted Scenes show up: “Steeler Joke #1” (1:31) and “Steeler Joke #2” (1:53). These offer alternate versions of sequences already in the movie, so both seem superfluous.
The disc opens with ads for Ghostbusters: Afterlife, The Craft: Legacy, and Kingslaive: Final Fantasy XV. No trailer for Hunter appears here.
After a long career of mediocrity, director Paul WS Anderson shows no signs of a filmmaking renaissance, and Monster Hunter delivers more of the usual from him. While watchable enough, the movie never becomes anything better than meh. The Blu-ray offers terrific picture and audio with a modest roster of bonus materials. Though not a bad movie, Hunter also never delivers anything memorable.