Monsters: Dark Continent

"This was our home. It was our last day, so for those last few hours we needed to forget about what was coming." Ten years after the monsters landed on Earth things have gotten worse. They have begun to fully take over the entire planet and now with the US military using all of its resources to fight them off they now have to contend with a new type of insurgency. I will start by saying that I remember seeing the first one, thinking it was a little slow, but it's been so long all I remember about it is the cheesy ending. I had the same expectations for this one. I was wrong. While I though this one was a little better it was still pretty slow moving and was really missing something the first one had...monsters. In terms of war movies this one is pretty decent, the problem with it is that every so often a monster would pop up out of nowhere, presumably to remind you the movie is called monsters. Some movies are deceiving because of the trailers released, they seem funny and are really dramas, etc...this is the first movie I have seen where the title is misleading. This is really just another US vs Taliban movie, with an occasional (out of place) monster thrown in. Overall, a movie much like Battle LA, if there were no aliens in that movie. I give this a C.

The movie is called Monsters, but similar to the first, the monsters have so little to do with the story, even more so in the second than the first.

It's all about male bonding during military time as a platoon of boys from the same hood in Detroit go to war together in the Middle East.

The picture moves quickly, never a dull moment, very kinetic movement. Good action and lots of good war scenes.

The acting could used improvement. All the screaming and crotch grabbing did not convince me of their military standpoint.

But director Tom Green is definitely a good visual artist here. The imagery was very instance. Very good cinematography.

Visual effects were decent as well.

Total exploitation of war that ads a sci-fi fantasy elements with the monsters, used only as a backdrop no different than the dessert the movie takes place in.

Overall, I like the movie, despite how little the monsters have to do with the story at all. It seems misleading going into it, however.

Wow! Not a good wow, but just wow. I was really psyched to hear about a sequel to "Monsters" because that was such a great sci-fi movie but man, was I disappointed in this one. This was really just an anti-war movie and I think there was a message in there about the middle-east conflict but I couldn't be sure because there were so many confusing themes happening at the same time. The one thing this wasn't was a sci- fi movie about.....monsters. They could have edited out every monster scene and it would not have changed the movie one bit, I'm not kidding. If I had seen a pre-release copy that didn't have the special effects added in, I wouldn't have been confused about what was going on, at least no more than I am now. I'm sorry Tom Green but a swing and a miss.

I was excited when I first heard about a sequel to MONSTERS. Then, as I often do when trying to keep up with all the films I eagerly await, I lost track of it and all-of-a-sudden it became available. Being a big fan of the original, I couldn't wait to see it. Now that I've watched it, I can't stress how much of a disappointment it was.

MONSTERS: DARK CONTINENT is NOT a Sci-Fi / Horror movie. It is a war movie disguised as a Sci-Fi. And it's not even a very good war movie at that. It's somewhere in the middle. Very average. The biggest, of very few, somewhat redeeming qualities was the special effects. The monsters looked great! To bad they were overwhelmingly used as backdrop props, looking like a herd of buffalo at times.

I'll never understand why this wasn't just strictly a war movie. It could have been an above average war movie if the money spent on the monster effects had been used for a bigger war setting or better actors. There was just no need for monsters to be roaming in the background of a war movie, never really posing any threat to the characters. I don't know what else to say. Very disappointing.

The beauty of the original 2010 Monsters was its profound statement, Dark Continent satisfies the original naysayer's with action, and not much else.

The initial 2010 film Monsters was a profound parable about humanity and its interactions with one another that used an 'alien invasion' as a mirror for this introspection. It is an independent film I adore and can not recommend enough. Four years later, with seemingly no connection to the original's genius creator Gareth Edwards, Monsters: Dark Continent is released, with absolutely no relation to the 2010 film in both scope or talent.

Though the term 'derivative' does not imply subservience in its definition, quite often it is used as a descriptor for inferiority, and Monsters: Dark Continent warrants the adjective. When I first learned of a sequel to Monsters, I was aghast, for the narrative had been told in its entirety. When I saw the trailer, I was mortified of the bastardization of the beautiful film into Hollywood action drivel.

With the scope of potential from its predecessor being a peak of perfection to the lows of my expectations of pure garbage, Monsters: Dark Continent falls somewhere in the middle but certainly closer to trash. In truth, Dark Continent tries to be like its original in using the alien invasion to be an allegory for the war efforts in the middle east. Unfortunately it feels terribly superficial and contrived.

There is no beauty in the story telling of Dark Continent. The dialogue is poor and voice overs are used constantly to convey the narrative rather than creative artistry. Monsters: Dark Continent is neither philosophical nor intelligent in the manner of its originator. Writer and director Tom Green tries to speak of the war but it is in a very ignorant and uninformed perspective that is neither deep or even unique.

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