'Monster Hunter' review: Hyper-visual effects-heavy movie that plays like feature-length trailer

Let's see who wins this race. Photo: Sony Pictures

Everything I know about the Monster Hunter video game series is contained in Paul W.S. Anderson’s big-screen adaptation of the franchise, Monster Hunter.

There will be critics who can tell you who these characters are, or what’s up with the “new world” where monsters live, or why those of us in the “old world” should be worried about them, but that information is not presented in this visually interesting but narratively anemic motion picture, so please accept my apologies in advance: This review will likely be about as coherent as the film itself.