brianuk-419-8517 Review of Monsters: Dark Continent

Monsters: Dark Continent (2014)

The pointless nature of conflict with a twist

[7/10 · 15 March 2015]

OK, if you wanted GI's fighting aliens in non stop combat this could leave you wondering why, on the whole, the aliens are always somewhat remote. For me, I saw the aliens as a metaphor for the waste of time war is (no disrespect to anyone who has served). The monsters weren't the threat that the soldiers had been led to believe and they were unbeatable (reproducing in huge numbers by the end)...it was a nice way of putting across 'this is all messed up and pointless.' Also clever to use the 'but we're here to help you' feel with the reality of civilian deaths and insurgency. The locations in Jordan and cinematography are really nice. Acting was good too. Oh, and I'm no prude, but if you are going to show sex scenes they really need to serve a purpose and not just be there for titillation. They didn't help the story. On the whole I really enjoyed this, and enjoyed watching the main characters - particularly Johnny Harris - unravel with the pressure of combat, death and loss of hope. Just forget the aliens, and don't think of it as a sci-fi film and you will enjoy it as a piece that chooses not to glorify combat by making it gung ho.