Synopsis – Ten years on from the events of Monsters, and the ‘Infected Zones’ have now spread worldwide. In the Middle East a new insurgency has begun. At the same time there has also been a proliferation of Monsters in that region. The Army decide to draft in more numbers to help deal with this insurgency.

My Take – The man behind last year’s monster flick Godzilla director Gareth Edwards’ earlier film Monsters (2010) was a surprisingly a refreshing take on the genre, with a premise of slow building romance at the center with the titular extraterrestrial creatures hanging in the background, the film can easily be referred to as a certain gem of a movie! While Edwards left to helm Godzilla & now Star Wars : Rouge One, the torch was passed down to first-time film director Tom Green!  As I’m a big fan of the first film, especially the focus on the character development rather than the monsters. But I thought the monsters were great and I really loved the world that Gareth Edwards created. So hearing a sequel was being made both made me feel excited, and a little bit cautious. While it can easily be argued five years is quite a long time to come out with a sequel, its way worse when the intended follow up has no connection whatsoever with its much loved predecessor. But honestly after checking out the movie last night, I do think the reviews are being too harsh. Agreed! It will not blow your mind nor can it be considered as good as the 1st, its somewhere in the middle. No matter what people say, the film clicked for me in someways, mainly because it kept things quite edgy! Unlike the previous film, this is more of a war movie with elements of science fiction. The story takes place ten years after Monsters, the Middle East had become the new “infected zone” in need of some good ‘ole American intervention.

The United States has been dropping bombs on the worst of the infected region in an attempt to eradicate the creatures unsurprisingly killing innocent civilians in the process. This logically makes the locals hate Americans even more, and the ongoing war in the Middle East now has a whole new level of tension. On a mission to rescue four soldiers stuck in a hot zone, Detroit boys turned rugged soldiers, Parkes (Sam Keeley), his hard-partying homeboy Maguire (Joe Dempsie), plus the more narrative disposable Inkelaar (Kyle Soller) and new father Williams (Parker Sawyers) find themselves fighting for their lives under the guidance of Sgt. Frater (Johnny Harris) &  Forrest (Pinnock). In the 1st act we mostly follow the soldiers on basic missions around towns as we witness the effects of war not just on with the monsters but with the terrorists. When the convoy gets hit, the mission changes to one of survival against a human enemy as well as a monster threat. Frater, Michael, Inkelaar and Frankie are the four surviving members of the unit who have to try and stay ahead of the enemy, but aren’t very successful. Before long Frater and Michael are left alone, captured by the enemy they have to escape while the enemy is dealing with a monster attack. Yup! I know the plot sounds a bit convoluted & a bit (ok highly) inspired by Saving Private Ryan (1998). The film also at times seem as an advertisement to join the army! Apart from having alien monsters in the background it doesn’t do a lot different from what you might expect from a straight war movie . Young man from the inner city projects joins the US Army and finds himself in the front line battling jihadists . It’s at this point the audience might be asking themselves why with an alien incursion going on human beings are killing human beings but I guess that’s the point the film is trying to make – man will always be man . Even though I’m not entirely sure if I agree with the scenario presented . I guess the message was that monsters are everywhere, from the people setting a dog on a little alien forcing it to defend itself and kill the dog, to the American forces mindlessly killing civilians, from the Arab insurgents who kill soldiers, to the maddened soldier who needs to kill everybody that even looks like an enemy. It’s clear that the writer/directors wanted to make a political statement here as much as they wanted to point out that we humans are the real monsters, not the extraterrestrial ones. I don’t generally mind directors making points, but the vast majority of people will not be watching this movie for its “cleverness”, but just as a straight up action movie, that is where Tom Green fails!

You never buy into the whole situation as the characters presented are never sympathetic! We never root for the soldiers to survive! Another major slump is the almost two hour run time! After the certain high in the 1st act, the film drops exponentially in the middle act & just drags! Despite all the flaws, the film deserves kudos for its special effects department & cinematography. Every penny of the budget is up there on screen, and they’ve made it look at least ten times as much, but at the same time, you do wonder what they could have done with a blockbuster budget. The effects are great, especially the larger Monsters when on display! Creature design and VFX by Christian Bull and Sebastian Barker, respectively, are aces! Christopher Ross has scored high in the cinematography department. Even though we are never specified were all the action takes place (presumably Afghanistan or Iraq, but actually shot in Jordan), the dryness of the war torn region is captured masterfully. The cast consists mainly of unknown names, while most of them may come as loud, the one actor who stands out is – Johnny Harris. Like I mentioned before, while the reviews are too harsh, I do understand the frustration, mainly due to the split personality of the film, while everyone is here to watch this film to see more about the monsters, they get to see more about the done to death US army fighting insurgents in the middle east. On the whole, ‘Monsters: Dark Continent’ is an average watch, by not focusing on its strengths & evoking all the wrong emotions, it does leave you wondering what if Gareth Edwards had helmed this one! People who enjoy war torn films without any statements may enjoy this film, while the rest can avoid.

Director – Tom Green

Starring – Johnny Harris, Sam Keeley, Joe Dempsie

Rated – R

Run Time – 119 minutes