Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.5

Monsters: Dark Continent Blu-ray Movie Review

A bland follow-up to a film that made its director a star.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 28, 2015

Director Gareth Edwards' Monsters was a well-received picture that earned the filmmaker a couple of large jobs, first on the excellent latest installment in the Godzilla universe and, coming in 2016, the hotly anticipated Star Wars Anthology: Rogue One. With no time on his schedule for smaller films, Edwards handed over duties for the Monsters follow-up to first-time feature filmmaker Tom Green. Monsters: Dark Continent is, regrettably, a shell of the original, a confused, hopelessly empty picture that meanders all over map, regurgitating modern military movie cliché and relegating its title creatures to, largely, background status. The movie aims for a dark and deep exploration of the impact of warfare on modern man but hopelessly falters at every turn, resulting in a movie packed with chaotic battle scenes, throwaway characterization, and depressingly flat story arcs that keep the movie from going anywhere but down the drain.

There be monsters here!

In terms of plot, it's pretty thin. The film follows a handful of soldiers (including Mike, played by Sam Keeley; Frankie, played by Joe Dempsie; and new father Williams, played by Parker Sawyers) who, under the leadership of a hard-nosed Sergeant named Frater (Johnny Harris), are tasked with taking down an insurgency in the Middle East. This isn't just any basic insurgency. It's the result of constant bombardment on stories-tall monsters that have overrun the Middle East and other regions of the globe where the "infected zones" -- areas housing these otherworldly monsters -- are taking up residence. U.S. bombing runs have left countless civilians dead, creating a secondary, and in many ways more deadly, enemy with whom the soldiers must contend. As the men deal with the dueling enemies, they must also face their own fears as the toll of war pushes them to their limits, and beyond.

It would be nice to say that Monsters: Dark Continent was more than the sum of its external parts, that it had something profound to say through all of the noise and repetitive cliché. It would be nice to loudly proclaim that the filmmakers have pieced together a modern masterpiece overflowing with social commentary, a picture teeming with subtext, a film that begged the question "who are the true monsters?" and played as some sort of metaphor for modern global conflict and terrorism. It would be great to hail the movie as the next great satirical man versus monster movie in the tradition of Paul Verhoeven's excellent Starship Troopers. Shoot, it would be just dandy to call the movie "mindless fun." Unfortunately, none of those would be accurate statements. In fact, the opposite of every one of them is true. For all the movie's obvious maneuvering at both subtle depth and overt drama, for its honest try at blending deep characterization with pinpoint action, the film constantly falls on its face, never quite sure of what it is or how to approach whatever angle the filmmakers wish to be at the center of the movie. It's neither smart drama nor entertaining shoot-em-up. It's an overly engineered picture that seems determined to say something but ultimately says nothing, and flip the coin and find a movie that wants to spit out every last bit of gritty modern war moviemaking technique in the book. The movie is just a lot of noise with style that takes it nowhere and a hollow center that leaves the audience completely dissatisfied and, frankly, bored.

Performances suffer not because of wayward acting or indifferent actors but instead the pressures of a script that's too jumbled and absent a more precise character definition, world, and theme layout. The actors never stand apart and neither do their characters, each of them walking plot devices that the film desperately hopes to build but falters as they're dragged through a maelstrom of transparent emotion and generic arcs that don't give them any room to stretch. The performers are backed into a corner where the movie tries to do too much and accomplishes nothing at all, largely because it lacks a singular focus or, perhaps even more obvious, any kind of evident point, even at it seems to dance around several. If one is looking for positives, the action scenes are lively enough though certainly nothing that hasn't been seen before. Monster special effects satisfy but they're mostly too few in number and they're too lacking as main story drivers. If there are going to be monsters, make the movie about monsters, have the people fight the monsters, and work in subtexts elsewhere. It's a strange film all around, almost like it was meant to be one thing and became something else entirely along the way, resulting in a movie that's lost in a purgatory between two interesting angles that does nothing with either.

Monsters: Dark Continent Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Monsters: Dark Continent features a gritty 1080p transfer. The image takes the typical modern warfare look whereby it's mildly washed out and favors earth tones -- sandy terrains, desert camo uniforms -- almost exclusively, leaving other splashes of bright color far and few between, coming largely by way of small background accents and blood. Details is precise across the board. Faces are complex, heavy uniform textures are intimately accurate, earthy terrain is richly detailed, and basic image clarity excels. Black levels impress, particularly out at night where depth and shadow detail are commendable. The image suffers from no discernible hiccups by way of blockiness, banding, or other maladies. This transfer is easily the best part of the Monsters: Dark Continent Blu-ray experience.

Monsters: Dark Continent Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There's a fine line between "aggressive" and "overwhelming." Monsters: Dark Continent crosses it. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack never wants for power or spacing, but at reference levels it's too much with several scenes so punishingly loud that listeners will be left scrambling for the remote rather than enjoying a robust track. There are many general positives. There's no shortage of surround activity. Everything blends into the rears with no effort, creating one of the most efficiently full, and consistently so, soundtracks on the market. Music, gunfire other battle scene basics, and atmospherics consistently roll through the back. Clarity is frequently exacting, too. Gunfire pops with lifelike authority. Bullets impact metal surfaces to terrifyingly realistic effect, effectively placing the listener into the middle of various shootouts. Sirens blare, helicopters zip, ground vehicles rumble and rattle. Voices are often placed away from the center to create a more realistic "he's over there" sensation. General front-center dialogue plays with good, basic clarity and prioritization. But the track can be too much, and often is. Some of the most aggressive moments -- an underground fight between a dog and a small monster -- overwhelms the stage with chaotic din that becomes a garbled mass of sound. Some of the moments that pound out the deepest, longest-lasting bass likewise simply become overpowering rather than sonically effective. The track just tries too hard. It feels over engineered rather than organic. It's impressive when it's on, but listeners will likely be left looking to turn it down rather than become lost in the moment.

Monsters: Dark Continent Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Monsters: Dark Continent contains a featurette and a teaser trailer.

• On the Set of Monsters: Dark Continent (1080p, 2:51): A brief look at making a scene with Director Tom Green.
• Teaser Trailer (1080p, 1:13).

Monsters: Dark Continent Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Monsters: Dark Continent might entertain prepubescent boys in search of a movie with some modern combat and a few monsters, but it's otherwise an empty, dull film built around recycled characters, shrouded themes, and a wayward focus. The action scenes look good enough and the movie itself plays with a commendably polished and progressional sheen, but it's truly skin-deep and has nothing to offer on the inside. Anchor Bay's Blu-ray release of Monsters: Dark Continent features excellent video, audio that's too aggressive, and a couple of throwaway extras. Skip it.