Monsters: Dark Continent (2014)

Gareth Edwards' Monsters is a prime example of why I don't judge a movie based on my initial viewing, as things can easily change upon repeated watches. When I first watched it, I didn't exactly love it, as I found it to be rather dull, slow, and not what I signed up for, and the review I did after watching it a couple of more times reflected that feeling. However, after writing that review, I've found myself continually drawn back to the movie again and again, and each time I've watched it, I've gotten more even out of it, mostly on a purely visual and atmospheric level rather than an emotional one (although there is that too). Of course, Edwards went on to kick off the MonsterVerse with Godzilla in 2014 (another movie I was initially very mixed on but has since grown on me, although it's probably my least favorite entry in the MonsterVerse), while in the meantime, another filmmaker made this companion piece to his 2010 feature debut. Obviously, it wasn't until I grew to actually like Monsters that I developed any interest in seeing this and, even then, that didn't happen until the summer of 2018, when I was at G-Fest in Chicago and I bought the Blu-Ray. Before I saw it, though, I got the impression that it wasn't nearly as well-received as Edwards' movie and I'd heard the monsters themselves had less of a presence and role in the story than before, which shocked me, given how little of them there already was in the first movie. I could also tell from the artwork and the blurb on the cover that described it as a mixture of The Hurt Locker and Cloverfield that it was much different than its predecessor and would be more akin to a war movie, one that would give us a closer look at the distant battles glimpsed in Edwards' film. Well, much like the first movie, I did not like Monsters: Dark Continent at all when I first watched it, mostly because of how much of a change it was from the first one, going from a low-key, quiet drama to a loud, gritty, and profane war story filled with a lot of violence and grisly images, constant F-bombs, and just an ugliness all around. Like Edwards' movie, it's really a human story told against the backdrop of monsters roaming the Earth, one that asks the question of who the real "monsters" are, but I did not care for this particular one at all that first time. Upon re-watching it, I can appreciate what it's trying to get at more and can also say that it does have its good points, but I don't find it to be one I enjoy watching and, unlike the first one, I don't see it growing on me to the point where I'll go back to it constantly.

Years after the appearance of massive alien life-forms in Mexico, similar "infected zones" have sprouted up in the Middle East and the U.S. military has been conducting airstrikes to destroy the creatures. Unfortunately, the collateral damage resulting from the bombings have led to a rise of insurgents who have become as much, if not more, of a threat to the soldiers as the monsters themselves. In its ongoing war, the military enlists four friends from the mean streets of Detroit, Michigan: Mike Parkes, Frankie Maguire, Karl "Inks" Inkelaar, and Shaun Williams, whose son is born the day before they begin their first tour. Arriving at their base, they officially become members of "Team Tigershark" and meet their commanding officers: Sergeant Frater, a stern, hard-nosed veteran of eight tours, and Sergeant Forrest, who's a bit more easygoing. Not too long afterward, they introduce themselves to the inhabitants of a nearby city and embark on their first mission of investigating a farm believed to be a site of insurgent activity. During said mission, the boys prove to be overly reckless in dealing with the indignant man who owns the property, with Mike smashing him in the face with the butt of his rifle, before they have to take down an enormous monster that passes by, something that Frater angrily admonishes them for when they return to base. Twelve weeks into their tour, the boys are tasked with entering a particularly dangerous region in order to find and rescue four soldiers who've gone missing. The mission turns into a complete disaster early on, as both of the team's vehicles are destroyed by an IED and they're then attacked by insurgents, who kill all but Mike, Frankie, and Frater, who are taken prisoner. Shortly after arriving at the base, the three of them are bound to chairs in a room, and Frankie dies from his injuries. Mike and Frater, however, are able to escape when the insurgents are distracted by the approach of one of the creatures, but Mike is clearly shaken by everything he's been through. Frater, meanwhile, is determined that they complete their mission and rescue the four missing soldiers, a journey that will serve as a test of both men's humanity.

Although he's credited as executive producer (along with, interestingly, Scoot McNairy, one of the first film's two main actors), Gareth Edwards is said to have had no real involvement with Monsters: Dark Continent, as he was making Godzilla at the exact same time. In an interview with followingthenerd.com, Tom Green, the film's director, confirmed that Edwards had no part in the development and he only met him briefly. As it was with Edwards and the first film, Dark Continent was Green's feature debut after he'd done only two shorts and episodes of a couple of British television shows before. Green, who cowrote the film with a writer named Jay Basu, said he was given free rein by the producers to do whatever he wanted and so, he decided to make a movie that was very much its own animal and only a sequel in terms of the creatures and the fast and loose approach to filming. Unlike Edwards, however, Green, so far, has not gone on to make any big Hollywood blockbusters, having followed it up only with episodes of a mini-series and more short films.

While Dark Continent has more actual actors playing characters than the first Monsters, like that film, it eventually comes down to just two people on a journey together. One of them is Mike Parkes (Sam Keeley), one of four guys who grew up in the same tough neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan, and while he doesn't talk a lot in the film itself, he acts as a narrator, telling the audience about the hard life he and his pals have had and how he never had any true family, save for his best friend, Frankie Maguire, who often saved him whenever he was being bullied or beaten on. As he says in his narration, all four of them hated being there and signed up to give their life more meaning, hoping they'd have an awesome experience out there fighting the war against the monsters and would be able to come home with a bunch of great stories. Of the four guys in the group, Mike is shown to be the most pensive and unsure of himself, while the others tend to be a bunch of cocky wise-asses. They fly over a group of enormous creatures on their way to their base in the Middle East and, while the others make a bunch of jokes about it, Mike is totally speechless, so much so that, when they're then introduced to their commanding officers, he looks like he's wondering what he's gotten himself into. When you see them drive into a city that seems as though it could be full of insurgents, Mike narrates about how they were all scared, and while they did break the ice with a lot of kids in the place, he comments, "We wanted to protect them, but it already felt like a losing ballgame here." That night, when they're on their first mission at a farmhouse that could be housing possible insurgent activity, Mike loses his nerve when the owner of the place won't stop ranting at them, despite the approach of a monster, and smashes him in the face with the butt of his rifle. When they return back to base, Sergeant Frater chastises him for it, along with everyone else for their recklessness, saying they will follow the code of conduct, and Mike takes it especially hard.

Mike's entire world is shattered when, as they're on a rescue mission for four soldiers who've gone missing in a particularly hot region, both in terms of monsters and insurgents, they fall into a deadly trap, leading to Shaun and Inks dying right in front of him. Worst of all, Frankie is shot and he, along with Mike and Frater, are taken prisoner. At the insurgents' base, as they're tied to chairs in a room, Mike, despite his best efforts to keep him conscious, has to watch as Frankie bleeds to death. That night, after Frater frees himself while the

insurgents attempt to evacuate as a monster approaches, he and Mike escape, though not before Mike gets revenge by beating the leader to death. Between all of that and watching the monster destroy the base from outside, Mike almost has a total breakdown and goes into shock while he and Frater escape on a pair of motorcycles. Frater does what he can for him, telling him they're not far from the extraction point and that they will complete their mission. When they take cover for the night, the two of them have a heart to heart,

with Mike questioning whether Frater truly believes that what they're doing is keeping his young daughter back home safe, as he claims it is. The next day, they find a destroyed school bus full of the bodies of children, as well as one young boy who's horribly injured but still alive. Though Frater feels all they can do for him is end his suffering, Mike can't bear it and makes Frater stop, attempting to carry the boy to safety. Fortunately, they're picked up by a group of nomads and spend the night with them at their settlement. While

there, Mike sees the women removing the children's bodies from the bus and later, watches in awe, along with a woman from the tribe, as one of the monsters spreads a cloud of luminescent spores through the night. However, when the boy they found succumbs to his injuries, Frater becomes enraged and angrily tells Mike that their priority is the mission, not to play hero. Despite this violent dressing down, Mike continues to hold onto his idealism, up to when, upon reaching the settlement where they believe the missing men are, they learned they've been killed. Frater completely snaps and Mike, with no other recourse, shoots and mortally wounds him. At the extraction point, Mike watches Frater's life give out as an absolutely enormous monster emerges from the desert ahead of them. After that, it's clear when he's choppered out that Mike is now totally broken, letting out a scream before going silent.

Unlike his young, idealistic private, Sergeant Frater (Johnny Harris) is a cynical, no bullshit veteran, one who's into his seventeenth year of service and eighth tour in the Middle East. His introductory scene is him taking out an insurgent with a sniper rifle and then quickly escaping back to his base, where he's then shown washing up and looking at himself in the mirror, the effect of the years he's been doing this obviously weighing down on him. When Mike Parkes and his friends are introduced to him, he lays down the mindset they're expected to take, telling them, "Every one of you is going to have to make decisions there is no right answer to. You have the gift of aggression, and you will have to act. Do not let your emotions control you." He also makes it clear early on that he has no tolerance for their reckless incompetence and cavalier attitude about the war, angrily admonishing them for how badly they handled the search of the possible insurgent hideout, telling them, "Now I don't wanna be wrapped in stars and stripes just because you're not doing your fucking job! Concentrate!" After singling out both Frankie and Mike, telling them he will beat the crap out of them if they step out of line again, he yells, "There is a code of conduct out here! You will honor it! This war is real! Get that in your fucking heads right now! You understand that?! Get it into your heads right fucking now!" Later, when he and his team are tasked with finding the soldiers who have gone missing, Frater tells them before they leave that they're not coming back without them, adding, "It is my job to get you back safe. If anything should happen, I'll do my best to get you out of there." Frater's promise proves to be futile when his team's vehicles hit an IED (improvised explosive device) on the road and they're then fired upon by insurgents. He does manage to help his men get to cover and fire back on their attackers effectively, at one point showing Frankie that he's firing blindly at the hills, and attempts to call in an immediate evacuation, but when Shaun dies from his injuries and Inks futilely attempts to carry his body, Frater has to force him to leave him behind, saying he'll get cut down easily and assures him the body will be picked up. And then, after they run for another bit of cover, Inks is killed, Frankie mortally wounded, and he, Mike, and Frater are taken prisoner. When they're left alone in a room, tied to chairs, Frater does what he can for Frankie, talking softly to him as he starts to lose consciousness, but it's obvious he's just trying to ease him along his final moments.

When a monster approaches the base that night, Frater, thinking on his feet, manages to disable and kill the guards holding them at gunpoint, as well as free himself, before proceeding to clear the building. He and Mike manage to escape via some motorcycles parked out back, but when it all gets to Mike and causes him to go into shock, Frater assures him they're not to far from the extraction point and that, if they stay focused, they will be able to rescue the soldiers they're searching for and complete the mission. That night, when the two of

them have taken cover for the night, they have a deep talk, one where Frater tells him what he does every time he returns home from a tour, which is head straight to a Korean liquor store, walk home while drinking the beer, and get greeted at the door by his wife and daughter. However, he says that, the last time he went home, he saw a look of fear in his daughter's eyes, which has led to estrangement between him and both his wife and daughter. This plays into a scene earlier where he called home and got into an argument with his wife, as he wanted to

talk to his daughter but his wife didn't want her having nightmares and so, he had to settle for her putting the phone next to her while she slept so he could hear her breathing. He then reveals the one thing that keeps him going: it's all worth it because it keeps her safe. The next day, when he and Mike come across the school bus, Frater is more pragmatic, interested in finding any food or liquids, while Mike is horrified at the grisly sight of all the dead children. And then, when Mike finds a boy

who's just barely alive, Frater tells him the only thing they can do for him is "help him on his way." He tries to euthanize the boy but Mike stops him and attempts to carry him off, when a group of nomads finds them and puts the boy under their care. That night, as they stay with the nomads, Frater watches the boy breathe his last in a tent and is overcome with despair and frustration over the futility of their good deed.

When he and Mike meet back up the next morning, Frater angrily punches him to the ground, telling him he took an unacceptable risk in spending the night with a woman nomad and reminds him of their mission, telling him it's the only thing keeping him alive, adding, "What? You hold hands with some village girl, get your mind opened, is that it?" He drags Mike to the inside of the tent, shows him that the boy died, and tells him, "You're not a

fucking hero. You don't get to feel. You do the mission. You do not deviate. You do not question. You move on." The two of them then move on to a nearby settlement where Frater believes the men they're looking for are, but when they get there, they find that the four men were killed prior to the arrival. This sends Frater into an even worse rage and he storms into a small house, points his rifle at an old man, and demands to know who killed the men. He grabs and yanks a younger man into the

house and yells about the futility of everything he's been through, screaming, "Why am I fucking here?! To collect fucking bodies?! Why are those men lying out there?!... Why am I fucking here?! Why am I not in my fucking house?! I don't know who my fucking daughter is anymore! Fuck you people!" In this rage, he points his rifle at the little boy in the house and ends up shooting the old man, before turning his weapon on Mike when he demands he put his rifle down, holding him at gunpoint. Frater asks, "Why am I here? Tell me! Tell me," then swings around and yells, "Tell me!" at the young man and boy, when Mike shoots him. Mortally wounded, Frater staggers out and heads to the extraction point, collapsing and dying as an enormous monster emerges from the desert ahead of them.

Mike and Frater are the only two people who have much substance to them, as everybody else, including Mike's friends, are pretty one-dimensional. You get the notion that they're very close and would do anything for each other, but there's little that makes them stand out enough to where you care for them. Frankie Maguire (Joe Dempsie) is the one who Mike grew up with, the one who always had his back and helped him whenever he was bullied or beaten on. Frankie has a pretty memorable introduction in that, when you first see him, it's a shot of his naked backside as he's drilling his woman, and later, when he and Mike are talking, with Mike saying he'll have his back when they're out in the Middle East, Frankie reminds him of when he helped him when they were kids, beating on one guy who always called him a "welfare baby." He sums it up by telling Mike, "You ain't no welfare baby. You got a family. Fuck anybody says you don't." Memorable moments, for sure, but after that, Frankie gets lost in the shuffle when their tour of duty begins, save for how he seems to take the dressing downs they get from Frater a little more seriously than Shaun and Inks, his getting crazy when they're under during the fateful ambush and shooting blindly at the nearby hillside, which Frater has to correct him on, and his slow and painful death, which Mike is forced to helplessly watch.

According to Mike, although he met Shaun Williams (Parker Sawyers) and Karl "Inks" Inkelaar (Kyle Soller) in training, they grew up in the same neighborhood as him and Frankie, and so, their ending up in the same unit instantly created a bond. While Inks is mainly just a crass, vulgar joker, and is the one who really enjoys the action they find in the Middle East, Shaun has some baggage in that, the day before their deployment, his wife, Kelly, gives birth to a son, and the two of them get into an argument about his going out to party with his friend rather than stay with her the day before his deployment. Shaun assures

her he will come back and Kelly asks the others to make sure he does, promises which you know won't come true. Like most of the others in his unit, Shaun sees the tour as a big adventure and a chance to come back with some cool war stories (at one point, he even comes up with an impromptu rap about the situation he's in). But, when their rescue mission turns disastrous, he's one of the first to die. When his vehicle gets blown up by a hidden IED in the road, Shaun climbs and staggers away disoriented, only to step on another explosive, which blows his legs off. The others manage to get him to cover in the ensuing firefight and Inks tries to stabilize him, but it proves to be no use, as Shaun dies shortly afterward. Inks is so distraught at his inability to save his friend that he tries to take his body with him, but Frater forces him to leave him, saying it'll make him an easier target. Inks calls Frater sick but does as he's told, leaving Shaun's corpse in the shelter. Inks doesn't last much longer, as he gets picked off by a sniper when they take shelter elsewhere to try to recuperate and reorganize.

One guy who I wish was in the movie more is Sergeant Forrest (Nicholas Pinnock), as he acts as something of a counterbalance to Frater during the second act. While he's still as serious about his job, telling the new troops specifically what they're up against following Frater's introduction and giving them the usual drill sergeant trash-talking (he tells Shaun he looks like, "J.J. out of Good Times," and he calls Inks a "sad-looking motherfucker" who wishes he was in "Team My Little Pony"), he turns out to be a bit more personable and laid back towards them. When they're playing football, he continues the trash-talk, hitting Shaun with a "yo mama" joke that really gets him steamed, and after Forrest tackles him and holds him down, he almost gets into a fight with him. As Shaun is restrained from attacking him, Forrest laughs, points at him, and says, "My nigger! My rookie. That's the fire! That's the fire, right there. We need that out on the field." Then, while they're out on patrol, Inks reads a really dirty story Forrest's wife put in a porn magazine, which makes Forrest smile in pride, and he also assures them she's not cheating on him by describing a very powerful, vibrating strap-on he wears when they do their thing, adding, "It comes in pink and black. I wear black." When Inks appears incredulous at this, Forrest asks, "What, you mean you didn't buy your boyfriend a fuck replacement? Shit!" There's also a deeper side to Forrest, mainly in that he and Frater are pretty close, having clearly been working together for a long time. The two of them talk about how undisciplined the troops are following the mission at the farmhouse, and Forrest notes how tried and beaten down Frater is, suggesting he should go home and see his daughter. Frater asks if he's going soft on him and Forrest responds, "Me? Soft? Listen, the last time I was home, me and my wife fucked so hard... the neighbors called the police. I'm serious. The dog was wailing. Lights going on up and down the street. Car alarms sounding. Local TV crew came to watch. That was some night, I tell you that right now." He then laughs and chugs down some liquor in a styrofoam cup like a boss before going to take a leak. Unfortunately, he gets killed instantly when they run over the IED on their rescue mission.

The word "ugly" makes for a very apt description of so many facets of Monsters: Dark Continent, including its very look. It's just unappealing, having that washed out, totally desaturated color palette that was very common in movies for much of the mid-2000's and early 2010's. It reminds me of Terminator: Salvation, probably due to the barren wasteland it takes place in, which only highlights all of these ugly whites, silvers, and blacks that make up

the visuals. There are some scenes, specifically those set inside the military and insurgent bases at night, that are bathed in a white blue light, but it's hardly any prettier, and even the opening in Detroit, while not as washed out as the Middle East, is still unpleasant, coming off as very grungy in the way it looks. That's another thing: the settings. There are very few of them that don't have a raw, gritty feel to them. In fact, the movie opens in a graffiti-covered landfill among some

abandoned buildings in Detroit and from there, you travel through the clearly impoverished and crime-filled neighborhoods, past and around around the metal gated, cluttered yards of some small, rundown-looking houses, into a warehouse that serves as the site of a dogfight between a pitbull and a small monster, a seedy bar, and a house where the boys drink and fuck their last night away. Then, when the story switches to the Middle East, you see the equally crappy and impoverished conditions many of the people there live in, in addition to just how barren and lifeless the hot and seemingly endless desert feels.

This feeling of nastiness extends  to just about everything in the movie, particularly in how it focuses in on some truly grisly images. While there is a fair amount of brutal onscreen violence, namely when the group falls into that trap during their rescue mission and you see Shaun's legs get blown off, most of the time you see the gory aftermath, sort of a take on Gareth Edwards' philosophy that a violent event's remains is more impactful than the event itself. It starts early on, with the dogfight involving

the little monster, where you mainly just hear the fight rather than see it, and when it's all over, you see the dog's horribly mangled remains, and that principle continues on over in the Middle East. For instance, while Shaun's legs getting blown off is horrific, what's truly hideous is watching him slowly die afterward, to the point where he's nothing but just another corpse covered with flies, and the same goes for Frankie slowly bleeding to death at the insurgent base. There are also some

moments where you see the aftermath of attacks that happened days earlier, like when Mike and Frater find the destroyed school bus full of the bodies of dead children, and they've had time to decompose and attract flies. And, of course, it's truly distressing to see the badly wounded boy the two of them find eventually take his last labored, rattling, wheezing breath after having been taken in by the local villagers. This raw ugliness is not limited to just the deaths of people, either, as you see some

animals being slaughtered and butchered, like in the city, when you see a chicken apparently being put into a grinder, followed by a shot of its behead carcass, and when you see the villagers cutting up and disemboweling goats. That looked so real that I'm really, really hoping it was just some truly remarkable special effects work, but I didn't see any credit talking about the Humane Society's involvement with the film, and this was a low budget movie that did film in Jordan, out of sight of such laws, so who knows?

Even the people themselves contribute to the movie's overall ugly tone, not so much in how they look but in the way they act. As you've noticed by this point, there's a lot of profanity, with almost constant F-bombs, and while it may not be as pervasive as in a Rob Zombie movie, it's still a huge departure from the almost profanity devoid first movie. There's also the crassness of the characters, with the sexual jokes they tend to make, particularly Inks and Sergeant Forrest, and in the

opening, you not only see Frankie's butt while he's banging that woman hardcore but also a hard-drinking, coke-snorting party that looks like it's also about to turn into an orgy, given all the half- or completely naked women who are rubbing themselves sensually, jiggling their butts, and making out and having sex with the guys. The guys themselves even have that sort of vibe where you feel these are rough, foul-mouthed people from Detroit whom you don't want to mess with (ironically, though, most of the actors are from the British Isles). And finally, there's plenty of

instances of spit, vomit, and bile, particularly from Frater, to add just a bit more rawness to the proceedings. In short, never would I have imagined that the low-key, quiet, and rather beautiful film Gareth Edwards made would lead to something like this.

These aren't meant to be criticisms so much as observations, and while they did make my first viewing experience really unexpected and unpleasant, I can't deny that they do help Tom Green succeed in his goal of making this feel like its own movie. Plus, they fit with the tone and genre it goes for, which is of an uncompromising war movie, the type that doesn't pull any punches in showing how horrific, gruesome, and unforgiving war is, that

everyone who gets involved, be it troops or civilians, suffers greatly, and anyone who goes into it thinking they're going to come out an experienced badass with awesome stories, as Mike and his friends did, is a naive fool. It also delves into the notion of idealism vs. protocol, with Mike's determination to save those he comes across clashing with Sergeant Frater's single-minded intention to complete the mission they're on, regardless of what happens or what they come across along the way. And finally, it

shows how hopeless and bleak war can be, even for those who dedicate themselves to the cause because they believe it serves a higher purpose, as seen during the ending when Frater learns that everything he and Mike have been through and all the lives that have been lost were for nothing, causing him to snap and question why he's still doing something that has left him estranged from his family. It all makes for a very bleak story and Green goes full in on telling it, which is something I can appreciate.

But, that said, it feels like that's the only reason why it was made, that Green really wanted to make a war movie in the style of The Hurt Locker or Jarhead and used the pretense of doing a sequel to Monsters as an excuse. In fact, it's very easy to forget this has any connection to Gareth Edwards' film or is even a monster movie altogether, as it's all about the struggle against the insurgents rather than the monsters themselves, which are, indeed, little more

than a backdrop. That's fine and all, and the approach has worked for some, particularly Kim Newman, who called it, "One of the most believable, pointed and sober films about the wars of the 21st century," but it's no surprise it's really turned off many of the people who've gone into it expecting a movie about, you know, monsters. Plus, it doesn't help that it's more than a day late and a dollar short in what it's trying to do, given that so many other movies have done the same thing and done it better. It is effectively

gruesome, violent, and emotional in depicting the effects of war, but it's still not the most hard-hitting example I can think of. Hell, the 2008 Rambo gets to me far more than this does, as that movie is unbelievably brutal and horrifying in its war and action scenes, making this look like the Care Bears. And as fine as the actors' performances are, especially when they're watching their friends die right in front of them, it doesn't hit me as much as it could because you don't get to see the true depths of their

bond. You scratch the surface of it, with how close Mike and Frankie obviously are, along with the baggage of Shaun being a new father, but like I said, once they start their tour, they become little more than just faces and you don't get much into how their experiences are personally affecting them until the shit hits the fan, thus lessening the impact.

I really don't care for the actual filmmaking here, either, which is full of a number of tropes and cliches that dominated throughout much of the 2000's and 2010's. For one, it's shot in that handheld style where the camera is almost never still but, rather, is constantly shifting and fluttering around, even when there's nothing major going on, like what you'd see in a movie directed by Paul Greengrass. Because of that, I don't quite get how certain sequences play out, no matter how many times I played them back, so I apologize in advance if I get things badly wrong. Also, the camera does tend to get shaky during the action scenes, though,

thankfully, there's only one where it sometimes becomes really hard to tell what you're seeing... sadly, it's the ambush during the rescue mission, probably the most dramatically important action scene in the film. The film also makes occasional use of really dramatic slow-motion in conjunction with big, meaningful camera angles, such as during the birth of Shaun's baby early on and when Mike and Frater are taking a much needed dip in an oasis the villagers bring them to, and it comes off as very pretentious and arty, as do a number of major close-ups of

people's faces, eyes, and mouths that are peppered throughout film. And finally, there are instances of that trope where someone will get shot or suffer a sudden trauma and the sound either becomes distorted or cuts out and is replaced by a high-pitched whine, another cliche that grates on my nerves. I'm sure it gets across what it would be like if such a thing to happened to you, but it's just been done so much to death by this point.

One thing that probably disappointed a number of people when they saw the first Monsters is how little you actually see the monsters themselves, as they're almost never the focus of any scenes until you get to the third act and you never get a full, detailed look at them until the ending scene. But, even so, the monsters are a major and vital part of the story, as you see the impact their appearance and behavior have had on the people of Mexico, how the entire world has adapted to their existence,

you learn about their behavioral patterns and how they reproduce, and the main plot goes from the two leads trying to get back to the United States without going through the "Infected Zone" to their having no choice but to travel through it in order to reach the border. Their presence was still felt, despite their limited screentime. When you get to Monsters: Dark Continent, however, they might as well not be here, as they have so little bearing on the story. Like I

said, you could very easily forget that this is even connected to that film, and despite the opening credits sequence, which features a recap of how the creatures came to Earth, began appearing, and have now spread to other countries, and the scene in the first act where you see the small creature kill a pitbull in a fight, it wouldn't matter if you did, as this is all about the war against the insurgents. Focusing on the military and their trials and tribulations in this new world seemed like the most logical way to

go, given the military presence that was glimpsed in the first film, and the idea of insurgents popping up to fight against them because they cause just as much, if not more, damage and suffering as the monsters feels like a natural development that lines up with what was seen before, but it's disappointing to see the movie focus solely on that. There are scenes where the characters do encounter monsters and have to either take them down or get out of their way, but they often come off as little more than occasional hazards and, after Mike and Frater

escape from the insurgents, the monsters never again pose a threat to them and are rarely seen afterward, too. Seriously, that last shot here of one in the far background sums up their role for 95% of the movie. I get the idea of "humans being the real monsters" that the movie is going for, but what was the point of making a sequel to Monsters and showing how deadly these things can be early on if you're not even going to focus on them? Couldn't you at least throw them a bone and make them just as much of a danger as the insurgents?

It's a shame the monsters are relegated to the background, because they look pretty damn good. The CGI used to create them, while not 100% photo-realistic, comes off well, and the creatures themselves are nicely rendered and detailed. Ironically, despite their minimal presence, there's actually a bit more variety to them this time around. The ones you see the most are these gigantic, multi-legged, tentacled monsters called "Goliaths" that look like the spider-crab-squid

creatures in the first film with some hideous elephant genes added in, as they have these long, trunk-like necks that end in multi-tentacled mouths right below their large, saucer-like eyes. Despite this off-putting design, they're also shown to be bioluminescent, emitting rather lovely colors from various parts of their bodies. Like in the first movie, they're seen to reproduce through spores they let loose into the air, with one Goliath having to kill another that's been mortally wounded, releasing its spores. Also like in the first movie, while the monsters can be very dangerous and destructive, they mainly appear to attack only

when provoked, and that extends to most of the other creatures seen. The first creature you do see is this small, black, four-legged thing that's pitted against a pitbull in a dog-fighting ring in Detroit and, while it may be small, it proves to be much more dangerous than it looks, as it deploys a set of tentacles near its neck that allows it to grab and immobilize the pitbull, after which it proceeds to mangle him into a bloody pulp, before being put down itself. Before

things go south on their rescue mission, the group comes across a herd of four-legged, tentacled, spiky creatures that can only be described as H.P. Lovecraft's answer to horses in the way they gallop alongside the vehicles while making deep snorting and huffing noises. There also seems to be weird, bird-like creatures but you don't get a good look at them, although you get a hint of what they might look like when, on their way to the settlement at the end of the movie, Mike and Frater come across

a young boy who has a little, winged creature inside of a tin box. He shows the creature to Mike and it flutters out of the box, lands on the sand nearby, sprouts a bunch of tentacles out of its body, and then burrows into the earth. And at the very end of the movie, Mike and the mortally wounded Frater witness a truly enormous, multi-legged monster emerging from the desert ahead of them. You only see it in silhouette but it's enough to let you know that the war they're fighting is one that's impossible to win.

I will also give Green credit in that, like Gareth Edwards, he was able to make a pretty low budget movie look as if it were made for so much more. Green has said they had about the same amount of money as Edwards, which was around $500,000, but I think it has to be at least double that, considering the bigger scope and the use of a bunch of heavy-duty military vehicles like choppers and Humvees. In any case, the number of wide, sweeping shots

of the landscapes makes the movie feel quite big, as do images such as the shots of big herds of Goliaths marching across the horizon, often as they're being bombed, and the ending where you see the enormous creature exploding out of the desert. And while I've been focusing on the movie's uglier aspects, there are some shots and images that are lovely, such as those of the flowing river in a canyon that Mike and Frater bathe themselves

in after being picked up by the nomads, some of those aforementioned looks at the landscape, and that moment where the Goliath releases the spores. That scene is the closest this movie comes to being like the first one, being very similar to the original's ending, as it's a scene between two monsters that takes place at night, is observed by two people, and involves the creatures just trying to survive. The difference is that this has a more poignant twist to it in that you have one monster being forced to kill another in order to ensure the

species' survival, but it's just as impactful, haunting, and beautiful, as this purple-blue whirlwind of spores streams up and then comes down in long branches, dispersing these tiny, jellyfish-like creatures that burrow down into the ground. As much as I've complained about this movie, I can't deny that this is its finest moment by far, just as that ending scene was the same for the first Monsters.

When the movie opens, you're immediately introduced to Mike Parkes, as he gets into some target practice with graffiti of monsters sprayed on a wall, narrating, "Put a bullet in a monster. That was supposed to be our war. But you better know your enemy." As it's revealed he's doing this in the midst of a landfill, he goes on to say, "I never wanted to be a soldier. But what else was I gonna do? Shift rubble and deal crack? Fuck that. So, when the army came lookin', I signed up. Now, it's my blood." He goes on to describe the

situation with the monsters, the destructive airstrikes to destroy them, and the insurgents fighting back against the military, as we're then introduced to Sergeant Frater, as he has a sniper rifle trained on a hooded man in a Middle Eastern city who's talking with two other men. He keeps his scope on the man as he crosses over the street to a car on the other side, pausing when he sees a young girl run up to the man and he lovingly embraces her. As Mike's narration describes him as a "fucking lion," Frater, after waiting for the girl to

head back where she came, takes the possible insurgent out with one headshot. While the sound of the shot sends some birds flying up into the sky, Frater quickly disassembles his rifle and makes his way down from the rooftop he was on via a flight of stairs. Stopping briefly to exchange glances with a veiled woman who comes up the other way, he makes his way out into a backalley, heads down it to the street, walks right through the middle of the road, between the cars, and gets into the

passenger seat of a car that's parked on the other side, waiting for him. They drive through the city, passing by signs of the ongoing war such as smoking buildings, monsters being bombed in the distance, and dead monsters lying by the side of the road. Arriving at a nearby U.S. operations base, Frater and his transport are greeted by armed guards who force him to get out with his hands raised and then to get down on his knees, as he holds his ID in one hand. Once his card is checked and his identity is confirmed, he's allowed inside, where he's then shown washing up, putting his gun away, and looking at himself in the mirror, as a caption comes up telling us he's served seventeen years and is on his ninth tour.

The opening credits is a montage that calls back to how the creatures found their way to Earth and also shows news reports of their appearing in the Middle East, the rise of insurgency against the military, and the threat all of this poses to global security (actually not a bad sequence). After that, we're introduced to the other members of Mike's group, first with Frankie Maguire, and then with Shaun Williams, who's with his wife, Kelly, as she gives birth to a baby boy. Inks is there, too, and they witness the argument Shaun gets into with

Kelly about his going off to party with the others the day before he heads off to war. When the others have left the room, Kelly tells Shaun about how she wants him to come back and, before he leaves, he holds his newborn son's hand in his, telling him, "Protect your mama while I'm gone." Later, they're on a basketball court and get into some play-fighting, as Mike narrates, "People don't get it. They don't get what courage is. We'd all die for each other. We could all stay in the same place and sit in the same fucking bars and share a few

laughs, not being nobody the rest of our lives. But we wanted to come back with a story." They then drive the streets and, as they look at how rundown, miserable, and seedy the place is, Frankie comments, "Fuck this place, man." They head to a garage where a fight is about to take place between a very vicious pitbull and a dog-sized creature. When the fight begins and it looks as if the dog has the advantage, Mike walks away, not as interested in the fight as his friends are, and goes to light a

cigarette. At that moment, the creature turns the tables by sprouting a mass of tentacles out of its nape and using them to grab and secure the dog's head. Mike's attention is caught when he hears the dog beginning to whine and whimper and he walks back over. He sees the dog and the creature locked together, and he's so shocked when it sends the dog flying that he ducks down beside the car he's standing next to. One of the spectators quickly jumps in and shoots the creature dead, and when

they hear the sound of approaching sirens, Frankie tells Mike they need to get out before the feds arrive. The scene ends on a shot of the dog's brutalized corpse. After a brief scene at a bar where Mike questions the point of killing the winner of the fight, and is told it's because everyone wants blood, we get the hardcore party they end their civilian life with. At the end of that scene, Mike is surprised when the almost naked woman sitting on his lap grabs his gun and jokingly points it at him. He raises his hands and tells her, "Let's make love, not war, baby," while she whispers, "Bang."

And with that, we're off to the Middle East Infected Zone, as the guys are choppered in. While flying above the desert landscape, they come upon a herd of Goliaths and fly right over them. Mike is shown to be in absolute awe at the sight of them, as we see them in extreme detail, down to their spindly, crab-like legs, tentacled bodies, and long, elephant trunk-like necks and tentacled mouths. Shaun, who's sitting behind a mounted gun, says the creatures look like "giant, fucking sand crabs," while Inks comments that he could get a lot of

women if he downed one of them. Frankie smiles at this but Mike is the only one who's not laughing, as he still doesn't know what to make of the enormous creatures, especially when one that's right off to the side of their chopper raises its enormous neck upwards. Suddenly, the pilots veer the chopper towards the creature's mouth, only to swerve away when it lunges for them, missing it by what appears to be mere inches. Shaun whoops and hollers at this, while Mike is still at a loss for words, when a squadron of fighter jets

zooms past them. Looking back, he gets a glimpse of one of the airstrikes on the monsters. They then land at their base and are introduced to both Sergeant Frater and Sergeant Forrest, the latter of whom officially indoctrinates them into Team Tigershark, telling them of the dangers of the insurgents, which are their main priority, although they will take down monsters when they encounter them. Following that, you get the football game where Forrest gets Shaun riled

up with disses towards his mother and tackling and pinning him to the ground, bringing out the fire Forrest says he wants to see. Then, they're seen on patrol, driving in Humvees into a small town, when they pull over upon realizing they're being watched by a number of people who do not look happy to see them, with many doing so from rooftops. Mike narrates about how they were all scared about what could happen but that they were being eased into the situation so

they could build up trust with the locals. The troops are seen getting out of their vehicles and walking the streets, as Frater has the translator of their squad, Khalil, speak with a guy they come across named Ali and they photograph his face. Kids and young adults then run up to them and they break the ice by giving them candy, taking pictures with them, and such. However, Mike appears disturbed at the sight of a sullen-looking kid wearing a hood, and as they march in formation, he narrates how things already felt bleak.

Later, the team is watching a farmhouse out in the desert from a nearby ridge, believing there may be possible insurgent activity there. Watching through binoculars, Frater notes that the blue containers being stockpiled there are the same ones IEDs are carried in and, while Forrest believes they should hang back for more recon, he says they're going to wait until dark and then go take a closer look. It then switches to that night, and as four of the troops, led by Frater, approach the property, Forrest and Shaun keen an eye on them from the ridge. Shaun even comes up with

an impromptu rap: "Monsters surround but they ain't scarin' me, in the land of sand where they only speak Arabee. Far from home, I know they be missin' me. My girl on the phone is dreamin' of kissin' me. Out here with Sergeant Forrest, he ain't no gump. Got my rifle in my hand, makin' motherfuckers jump. From to thee, you know, hoes and thugs, layin' down like a king, chasin' giant sand-bugs." Forrest then tells those down below that things still look good and they head into the yard, their weapons drawn, preparing to investigate the

containers stocked nearby. With his night-vision goggles, Frater spots three Goliaths approaching nearby and radios for an airstrike. That's when a barking dog brings out the man who owns the farm and Forrest alerts them of this. Frater draws his rifle on him and yells at him to stay back, while he yells at them in Arabic. Frater orders Khalil to make the man understand what's going on, that they'll shoot him if he doesn't stay where he is, and despite the tenseness and yelling, he's

able to get the message across. Frater then tells Khalil to open his jacket and search him, all while those across the way are keeping their sniper rifles trained on him. He turns out to not have any weapons on him, so the snipers are told not to engage. He talks to those confronting him in Arabic and Khalil translates that he's saying he's lost his children and his family, and that the bombs killed his cattle. Frater, in turn, tells Khalil to tell the man they're giving him a chance to improve his situation, but he man argues back that they don't improve the situation, asking, "Do they fire rockets at your children?"

Frater turns around upon hearing the dog barking again and sees it's pointed at the dark horizon. The man continues ranting at them, with Khalil translating, and Frater asks him to make him confirm if there are any insurgents there. The man answers he'll be killed if he answers that question and goes on yelling at them, despite Frater telling the others to make him be quiet. He goes on about how they're on his land and Frater, again, orders for him to be silenced, as he's becoming a hazard to them all. Forrest and Shaun spot a

Goliath heading straight for them and warn Frater. As the man continues his ranting, it isn't long before the creature is looming over the compound. Frater orders Mike to shut the man up but he refuses to cooperate with Mike and won't back off or stop his yelling. With no other recourse, Mike takes his rifle and smashes the man in the face with the butt, knocking him unconscious. This doesn't go over well with Frater, who admonishes Mike, while Khalil catches the unconscious farmer in his arms. Frater then yells for everyone to line

up and they do, as the Goliath approaches the edge of the property. They aim and unload their weapons onto it, as Forrest and Shaun watch from nearby. One of the men yells, "I fucking love this shit!", and it doesn't take long before the Goliath lets out a death wail and collapses to the ground. At that moment, a missile streaks across the night sky and blows up the nearby herd that was reported earlier. Once they're back at the base, the men stow away their weapons and grab some bottled water. Most

of them brag and make jokes about what happened, but their levity is short-lived as Frater angrily admonishes them for their cockiness, saying the farmer could have been a walking bomb, for all they know. He singles out Frankie, yelling, "Maguire, watch your fucking step! I will fuck you up!", and then yells at Mike, "Parkes, look at me! You say a fucking word, I'll smash a rifle in your face! See how you fucking like it!" He then storms off, followed by Forrest, while Mike beats himself

up for what he did. After a moment between him and Forrest, Frater calls his house, asking to speak to his daughter, but his wife isn't too keen on that, not wanting her to have nightmares, and he has to settle for listening to the sound of her breathing over the phone, which gets him very emotional. Mike then narrates, "It was hard to imagine Frater outside of war. This was his eighth tour. Didn't seem like he was even afraid of death anymore. Guess that's how you survive out here. We'd been on the ground for twelve weeks and ten days [it'd be more practical to say, "thirteen weeks and three days,"], gone on 42 patrols, killed one monster, and watched a lot of others burn. Then, we got the mission."

In the next scene, Frater briefs the team on the situation: they've lost contact with a unit of four men in an area that's a major hot zone, full of numerous monsters, is the site of many airstrikes, and is also a hotbed of insurgent activity. Their mission is to locate and rescue them, and Frater shows the men the unit's last known location on the map, as well as their evacuation corridor. They are going to deploy by chopper and then go the rest of the way in Humvees. Frater pulls out photographs of the four men and tells his troops to burn their

faces into their minds, saying they're not coming back without them. He also adds that he'll try his best to get them all out of there any way he can. With that, they head for the waiting chopper, Inks stopping them to take a picture of them all before they board, and they then take off, watching the landscape pass by below them. They're then seen driving in a pair of Humvees, passing through what's left of a small village. Mike, who's sitting on the back of the Humvee bringing up the rear, turns and looks, apparently seeing something out of the

corner of his eye (and if you look closely, you can also see something run in the background). Not seeing anything, he turns back to the road ahead, but it's soon revealed they've got company, as a herd of galloping creatures runs up alongside them. Hearing one of them snort, Mike turns and sees it, yelling down to those in the vehicle about it, before watching it gallop along with them. It runs on ahead, catching up with the other Humvee, which has Shaun riding atop it, and Mike yells,

bringing it to his attention. Both he and two of the three down below, Forrest, Khalil, and Ryan Conway, are also taken with the sight of it. However, the latter, who's at the wheel, takes his eyes off the road and ends up slamming into another creature, sending it flying over the top of the Humvee, forcing Shaun to duck. Its body spirals right at the other Humvee behind it and slams into the front, bouncing off and landing in the road, with another rushing to its aid. Everyone is both taken aback but jazzed

about what just happened, with Shaun yelling, "Roadkill, baby!", while Ryan yells, "One down, ten fucking million to go, man!" Suddenly, the Humvee hits an IED, causing a massive explosion and a big plume of smoke. It comes to a screeching halt and the other Humvee stops as well, as Frater tries to contact those inside (at least, I assume that's what he's trying to do; this is an instance where the sound becomes muffled for dramatic effect). Another explosion rocks

the inside of the lead Humvee, as Shaun crawls over the roof and fumbles down to the ground, clearly disoriented by what's happened. As those inside the other Humvee watch, Shaun removes his helmet, while Frater frantically disembarks and yells a warning at him. Unfortunately, the warning comes too late, as Shaun steps on another IED and is blown right off the ground. Everyone recoils from the force of the blast and, when they look, they scream at the sight of what's happened to him.

Shots are then fired and Frater orders everyone out of the vehicle. They climb out, using the side of it as cover, Frater firing back from the front, while Inks screams at the sight of Shaun, who, it's revealed, has had both of his legs blown off (the image of him lying there past that plume of smoke looks very much like a visual of war). Frater manages to pick off one of their attackers and the troops rush to the other Humvee, firing back on the attackers, before trying to pull Shaun to safety. Inks tells Shaun to stay with him, when Frater yells

about an incoming RPG, which hits the opposite side of the Humvee he takes cover behind. Things slow down for a few seconds again, before Frater and the others return fire, with Mike having to stop and reload. Frater quickly makes his way to the other Humvee, continuing to fire on the gunmen on the hills, and once he's gotten to cover, he yells for Forrest. Inks manages to get Shaun conscious again, while Frater and the others succeed in killing another of the gunmen. Frater opens up the cab to check on both Forrest and Ryan, but it's

clear the both of them were killed instantly, with Ryan being a bloody, fly-covered mess. Shaun screams in pain as they make a splint for his legs, while Frater checks the back of the Humvee and finds Khalil's body. He then orders Mike, who's buckling under the pressure, to help Inks with Shaun. Mike throws Shaun over his shoulder, while Inks stays ahead of him, firing. Frankie, who's still by the other Humvee, then yells for Frater to run for it, as he covers him. He

manages to take down another gunman, while the others carry Shaun to an abandoned building nearby. Frater takes cover behind a rock and gives Frankie some covering fire as he runs over to join him. The two of them fire back, only to run for it when another RPG comes flying in, its explosion knocking Frater off his feet as he runs.

Inside the building, Inks does what he can for Shaun, while Mike continues firing on their attackers through the windows. He manages to pick off one, while Frater and Frankie make it on the inside of a brick wall surrounding the place. Frankie fires back on the insurgents blindly, so crazed that he doesn't hear Frater yelling at him to stop, forcing him to grab and yank him down. Frater asks him if he can even see what he's firing at, and when Frankie admits he can't, Frater tells him to watch what he does. He then points and

shoots, hitting a man on a far off hill, and tells Frankie to lay down effective fire. He proceeds to do so, ducking for cover after shooting a few shots, while Frater heads into the heart of the building. Inks continues trying to save Shaun, giving him some water, while Frater and Mike pick off insurgents who manage to almost get on top of them. Frater then tries to call for air support, when an RPG explodes right outside. Giving the coordinates, he gets a response that says they'll be there in 27 minutes, but he tells them they'll be

dead by then. Frater asks Inks for an update on Shaun but Inks is getting desperate, not knowing what to do to help his friend. Frater just tells him to keep trying and yells for Frankie to join them inside, which he quickly does. Frater continues trying to call for evac, while Frankie, who's supposed to be covering the rear, freezes as he watches Shaun beginning to fade, mumbling, "I'm going down." Because of this, he's oblivious to a man who shows up at the entrance behind him,

forcing Frater to swing around and shoot him. He yells at Frankie to do as he was ordered, while Mike keeps returning fire and Frater, again, calls for air support. Inks keeps futilely trying to help Shaun, when it becomes clear he's died in the chaos. Inks, unable to accept it when he feels no pulse, desperately smacks his chest, trying to restart his heart, but it's no use and he breaks down crying, telling Frater he lost him, while Frankie almost totally shuts down. Frater then tells them of

a secure compound nearby and Mike and Inks attempt to pick up Shaun's body, when Frater tells them they can't take him. Inks argues, saying they're not leaving him, but Frater tells him he'll get picked off easily if he carries him, insisting the base knows of Shaun and that his body will be picked up. Reluctantly, Inks packs up, snarling, "Fuck this bullshit!", and aids Frankie in covering the exit, when Mike spots a herd of creatures running by. Just as they process this, a bomb is dropped on the creatures, and after he recovers from the force of the blast, Frater runs out of the building, with Mike right behind him, leaving Shaun's body behind.

The four of them run across the open desert, heading for the compound, and when they reach the exterior brick wall, they cautiously make their way onto the grounds, their guns trained and ready. After a few seconds of searching, they determine the place is secure and sit down right outside of the entrance to compose themselves, Frater telling them to get water in them. He tosses a canteen to Inks, who's sitting off to his left, but Inks is in such shock over what happened to Shaun that he doesn't even try to catch it. While Frater

takes out and checks a map, Frankie removes his armor and sits down beside Mike, who offers him a canteen. Inks is shown staring ahead blankly, before dropping his head and looking as if he's about to start crying. Frankie then asks, "Those IEDs: were they for the monsters or for us?", and Frater answers, "Both." Frater, again, tries to contact the base, but no sooner does he start speaking with them than Inks is picked off by a sniper shot, blood splattering against the wall behind his head. The others try to react,

when another shot rings out, this one hitting Frankie in the torso. Frater sees that the shots came from a small building across the way and lowers his weapon to the ground, as two motorcycles and a truck head towards them, the drivers shooting into the air. Mike is so preoccupied with dressing Frankie's wound that he doesn't notice until Frater tells him. Putting his hands in the air, he tells him to follow his lead, as the insurgents disembark from their vehicles and begin quickly approaching

them. Frater walks towards them, yelling in Arabic, as they continue approaching and shooting up into the air. Mike quickly follows suit, his hands covered in Frankie's blood, and as they're surrounded, he's forced down on his knees at gunpoint, while the wounded Frankie asks what's happening. The leader of the insurgents then marches up to Frater and bashes him in the face with his rifle, ignoring what he says in Arabic, while Frankie begins going into convulsions.

They're then loaded into the back of the truck and driven through the desert, sacks pulled over their heads. The insurgents arrive at their base and their prisoners are dragged out of the back of the truck and forced inside. In the next scene, the three of them, still blinded by the sacks on their head, are tied up in metal chairs, Frankie sitting across from Mike and Frater. Frankie coughs and blood drips out of his wound and onto the floor, while Mike fidgets around nervously in his sack.

The leader enters the room with a couple of guards and he has the sacks removed. Once he can see, Mike immediately becomes concerned for Frankie, as one of the guards puts a rifle to his head. The leader grabs Mike's head from behind, putting his arm around his neck and securing the top of his head with his other hand, telling him, "You watch... helpless. Like we watch." Mike seethes and growls in both anger and anguish, while Frater notices that the windowsill

behind them is cracked and serrated. The leader lets go of Mike and, after yelling something in Arabic, walks over to Frankie and caresses the top of his head, as Mike threatens to kill him if he doesn't leave him alone. Of course, he's unable to do anything, and after the leader whispers something to Frankie in Arabic (as well as appears to kiss the top of his head), he and his guard leave the room, ignoring Mike's pleas for them not to leave without doing something to help him. Desperate, Mike struggles to get loose from his

chair, and tells Frankie to stay awake, yelling for someone to help him. He then yells for Frater to do something and he tells Frankie to look at him, as he whispers something to him, but whatever he says is inaudible. It's clear, though, that he's doing all he can, which is offer Frankie comfort in what are obviously going to be his final moments. Mike, again, tells Frankie to stay awake, but Frankie tells Mike he fucked up. Realizing he's dying, Mike yells at Frankie not to leave him but it's no use, as he expires right there, his head dropping down.

Mike breaks down in tears, while Frater looks at Frankie with a mournful but composed expression. Unable to stand it, Mike tries to scoot the chair over to Frankie, but falls over and hits the floor, knocking his head on it. He and Frater exchange glances before he loses consciousness, while Frater looks up at the ceiling and appears to silently yell in frustration.

That night, the building shakes from the approach of a Goliath outside and the light in the room flickers on. While Mike is still unconscious on the floor, Frater sees that the insurgents are evacuating outside and bits of the ceiling are falling from the impact of the monster's thunderous footfalls. Though the insurgents take the trucks and drive off, Frater notes that the two motorcycles from before are still parked outside the window. The insurgent leader then opens the door and, motioning towards

Frater, gives his guard an order in Arabic. The guard stomps towards Frater, takes out a knife, and uses it to cut the ropes tying him to the chair, while keeping his hands bound behind his back. He makes him get up on his feet, yells at him in Arabic, and slaps him across the face, prompting him to back up against the wall. The guard tries to make him walk out the door, but he doesn't cooperate, and when the guard approaches him, Frater rushes him, knocking him to the floor, and

smashes his face in with his foot. While Mike still lies on the floor, coming in and out of consciousness, Frater uses the serrated edge of the windowsill to cut the ropes on his hands. Once he's free, he takes both Mike and the guard's weapons, before taking the knife, as well as apparently slicing the guard's neck to ensure he's dead, and sliding it to Mike, who finally awakens fully (and whose hands are suddenly free). He tells him he's going to clear the building and that they'll meet at the motorcycles out back. He then heads out of the

room, assault rifle drawn, while Mike uses the knife to cut the ropes still binding him to the chair. For the heck of it, he cuts the ropes on Frankie's hands and searches him for anything useful, while Frater makes his way upstairs (there's a moment where he passes by a window and the Goliath's enormous eye looks in). Mike has one last moment with Frankie, putting their heads together, while outside, the Goliath can be heard droning and the building, again, shakes from its footsteps. With that, Mike heads out the door, leaving Frankie's body sitting on the chair.

Mike marches down the hall, when his foot hits something on the floor. Seeing it's a piece of metal pipe, he picks it up and continues on, peeking into one room with a beaded curtain in the doorway before making his way to a door that's slightly ajar. He pushes it aside and comes face to face with the insurgent leader. He tries to go for his gun on a cot but Mike rushes him, knocks him to the floor, and angrily beats him to death with the piece of pipe, yelling in rage with every smash. Once he's

satisfied that he's dead, he drops the pipe, grabs an assault rifle in the room, as well as a handgun, and heads outside to rendezvous with Frater. Though he finds no resistance waiting out there, he does see the Goliath as it looms over the building. The creature becomes intrigued with a beacon standing across from the building, but gets an electrical shock when its tentacled face touches it. Moaning, it then lunges at the beacon, toppling it over, before motioning down towards some equipment on the

ground. Mike, who's already overwhelmed by the sight of it on top of everything he's been through, then hears the sound of gunshots and people screaming on the building's top floor. Unable to cope with the sensory overload, he puts his hands on the back of his head and lets out a pained scream, as the Goliath smashes into the center of the building's opposite side. The movie then cuts to the next day, with Mike and Frater riding through the desert on the motorcycles. Mike suddenly slows down over on the side and then stops and gets off

the motorcycle. He stumbles away from the bike, as Frater parks his own and rushes after him. Mike falls to his hands and knees, when Frater gets in front of him and lifts his head up to look at him. He tells him he's in shock and says to just do what he tells him. He leans over and pulls a small cloth out of Mike's backpack, as Mike himself slightly vomits on the ground. Wrapping the cloth around Mike's head, he tells him, "We're about 80, 90 clicks east of the extraction point. We're gonna find these lost men, and bring them home with us.

We've left six men behind already. I'm not leaving any more. We might no have enough gas. We might have enough... enough ammo. We're gonna be okay, huh, Parkes? You listen to me, and you do what I tell you to, we will complete this mission. Alright? We will complete this mission." Frater stands back up, but Mike still sits there, completely catatonic. Then, they're shown to have driven on until their motorcycles ran out of gas.

That night, they come out of the very arid region they were driving through and upon an abandoned plow near the burning body of a dead creature. Approaching the vehicle, Frater climbs up to the cab and looks inside, as fighter jets streak through the sky, followed by a series of blasts beyond the ridge ahead. When it becomes clear that it's safe, Mike approaches the plow, but stares off into the distance before climbing up into it. That night, as they've taken shelter inside the cab,

Frater asks Mike if he's ever been anywhere outside of Detroit and he says he's never been anywhere like this. He then asks him if he has a family and what his father does for a living, and Mike admits he doesn't know, as he's never known his father. Frater tells him, "What I keep with me when I'm on tour is this walk. I do it every time I get back. I don't get picked up from the barracks, I take the bus. First thing I do, I walk straight over to this piece of shit Korean liquor store on the corner. They have the coldest beer.

And then I walk to my house, drinking the beer. I get to my front door, my wife answers, and my daughter, she stands right there next to her. The last time I got back, and I got to my door, I could see it in my daughter's eyes. It was just for a moment. She was scared. She didn't know who the fuck I was." Mike asks him why he doesn't just give up the military and spend the rest of his life with his family, and he answers, "I came here to keep her safe." Mike then asks, "Do you think we're doing that?", and Frater answers, "Yes, I do."

The next day, they continue their trek through the hot, barren wasteland, when they come upon a site made up of burning fires, a downed monster that's still alive but is too far gone to pose much of a threat, and a half-destroyed school bus, which they rush to. Frater tells Mike to look for any water and climbs inside, searching through the backpacks scattered among the dead kids, but Mike is too shocked by the brutality of the scene to even think about doing so, and walks around to the bus's

opposite side. Frater finds a juice pack and manages to squeeze it into his mouth, but it doesn't do much for him and he's overcome by the smell inside the bus, continuously coughing and gagging, while futilely checking for a pulse on one of the kids. Mike finds a blasted open section of the bus's side and is surprised when a young boy sitting in one of the seats turns his head. He rushes to his side, frantic to help him now that he knows he's alive, and as the boy wheezes his breaths, he picks

him up and lifts him out of the bus, while Frater climbs out, puking and spitting bile from the awful smells and sights inside. Mike carries the boy a few feet away from the bus and lays him down on the ground. As he tries to figure out what to do, Frater walks up to him. The sergeant tells him, "We leave him here, or we help him on his way," neither of which is acceptable to Mike. Frater takes the initiative and decides to go for the latter option. He bends down beside the boy, reaches out and rubs his forehead, when the boy's hand grasps his own.

Standing firm in his decision, as much as it pains him, Frater then puts one hand on the boy's mouth and squeezes his nose with his other hand. Mike is horrified by this and, after a couple of seconds, tells Frater to stop, and when the sergeant doesn't listen, he starts slapping him and ordering him to. Frater does take his hands off the boy's face, obviously disgusted with what he feels he has to do, but as the boy continues wheezing, he attempts to euthanize him again. And again, Mike can't take it and smacks on Frater, yelling at him to stop, then

picks the boy up in his arms and attempts to walk off with him. A group of people on horseback appear and gallop towards them, and while Frater draws his rifle, Mike gets down on his knees, still holding the boy in his arms. When they reach them, Frater yells for them to lower their weapons but the men motion for him to do the same. One of the riders, a woman, dismounts from her horse and walks over to Mike. He tells her the boy is dying and they just found him, before she takes him away. Mike then gets down on his knees and puts his hands up, as one of the men yells at them in Arabic. Mike exchanges glances with the woman, while Frater finally drops to his own knees and puts his rifle down.

In a slow-motion sequence, Mike and Frater take a much needed refreshing dip in a river running through a canyon, and as they do, they look over at the riverbank and see the woman washing the boy's wound in the water. Following that, they watch the inhabitants of the small settlement they've been taken to butcher some goats, and one of them even gives Mike a cigarette and lights it for him. There's a fair amount of children around and a couple of young boys become interested in the visitors, with

Mike showing them his weapon and a badge he keeps with him. He and Frater then join the villagers in eating and then, when the sun goes down, they sing an Arabic song, while Mike and Frater just sit and contemplate what they've been through. Frater watches a boy sleep nearby, while Mike sees the woman emerge from a tent and walk off into the dark with a lantern, following several other people. Mike follows after them and eventually sees that they've walked out to the

bus and are laying the children's bodies on the ground. At the same time, Frater goes into the tent where the boy they rescued is being kept and watches him as he lies there, breathing shallowly. The boy turns and whines as he looks at Frater, his breathing becoming more rattled, before turning his face back to the ceiling and breathing deeper and more labored, until he suddenly stops. Frater is immediately hit by this, a tear running out of his eye, and while Mike continues watching them remove the bodies from

the bus, Frater thinks to himself, "Look what they did to you. How did you let them do this to you? I never had a fucking chance." He starts muttering to himself and then growls like an enraged animal, while out in the desert, Mike and the one woman watch as a Goliath approaches the downed, burning body of the creature lying near the bus, droning and moaning mournfully as it does so. Overcome with what she's seeing, the woman drops down to the ground, as does Mike, and they both watch the Goliath approach its downed

counterpart, reach down with its trunk-like neck, and rub its head against it. When it's clear nothing can be done, the Goliath raises one of its enormous legs and smashes its foot down on the other's head, releasing a column of spores up into the air, which then slowly drift back down to the ground around Mike and the woman. We get a close-up of one, which is shown to resemble a jellyfish, and Mike and the woman exchange glances as the spores continue raining down.

The next morning, Mike wakes up out in the desert, having slept out there alongside the woman. They sit up next to each other, exchange knowing glances, and she touches Mike's forehead around a bruise on his left temple, before getting up and heading back. Mike does the same, and when he reaches the village, Frater walks out, stomps toward him, and punches him in the face, dropping him. He grabs him by the throat and secures him, snarling, "You think this is a fucking game?

You took an unacceptable fucking risk, private. There's four soldiers out there. I'm gonna find them, and bring them home. The only thing keeping you alive is this mission, you understand? You jeopardize my position, I swear, I'll take the necessary action. You understand me? You fucking understand?" He then yanks Mike up on his feet and drags him over to the tent where the boy was. Pulling him aside, he forces him to see that the boy died, and tells him he doesn't get to be a hero, that he just does the mission. He adds, "There's a

settlement that's close to here. Our men will be there. I will complete this mission. Now, get on your fucking feet, private," and heads back outside. It's then revealed they weren't the only ones in the tent, as two of the elders look at Mike as he sits there, emotionally defeated and hanging his head down low. While Frater stands outside and looks up at the sky, clearly losing his mind, one of the elders walks up to Mike and puts his hand on the back of his head.

Heading on through the desert, Mike and Frater find a kid sitting at the base of a ridge. Frater tells Mike to check the kid to make sure he's not dangerous and when Mike approaches him, the kid quickly closes a small, tin box he's holding in his hands. Removing his hood and the scarf around his face, Mike asks the kid why he's sitting out there. In response, the kids pops open the lid on the box, inside which can be heard scuttling and chittering. Mike leans over to look and, telling the kid he's no

threat, the boy hands him the box. Inside it is a tiny creature, which buzzes and chirps, before suddenly taking to the air and fluttering around like an insect. Frater pulls his rifle defensively, but the creature merely flies over to the ground nearby, deploys tentacles from its body, which then hook into the ground, and it quickly disappears down into the sand. The boy takes back his box and Mike and Frater continue on up the ridge, stopping when the settlement they're searching for is within

sight. The two of them exchange glances when they see the different plumes of smoke and fires down below and then cautiously make their way down to it and walk down a small street with their weapons drawn. The place appears to be abandoned, as there's no sign of anyone, there's not a sound, and all of the vehicles seem to have been abandoned as well. Hearing a gunshot nearby, they head towards the source of it, Frater investigating a house while Mike goes down a very tight alleyway. Finding some bullet-holes in a wall, he continues

on, as Frater investigates every nook and cranny in the house. Rounding a corner, Mike comes upon a boy wearing an American military helmet and yells for Frater, who comes running. When he arrives, Mike shows him a group of boys who have their hands on an assault rifle and are using it to shoot at graffiti drawings of the monsters on a wall. Running up to the kids, Frater picks out one boy, takes the rifle from him, and desperately asks him where he got it, demanding he take him there. The boy leads him down the street,

Frater having him virtually at gunpoint, and points to the inside of a brick building, inside which sits a man overlooking several wrapped bodies. Frater walks inside, puts his weapon up against the wall, and goes to the heads of the bodies. He unwraps one body's face and sees that it is one of the men he's searching for. Mike walks inside and puts down his weapon as well. As Frater becomes more and more enraged, Mike looks over and sees the men's pairs of boots lined up against the wall.

Frater storms out of the building and into the first house he comes across. Finding an old man and a young boy inside, he points his rifle at them and starts screaming and cursing at them, demanding to know who killed the men. The old man pulls the boy into a protective embrace, when a young man runs to the doorway. Frater immediately grabs him, yanks him inside, and throws him against the wall next to the old man. While Mike heads towards the home, hearing the commotion, Frater rants and raves at

them, demanding to know why those men are dead and why he's there to begin with, going on about his destroyed relationship with his daughter and how he kills others like them without even knowing who they are. He's so deranged that he wheels around and points his rifle at the kid when he makes a noise behind him. Mike walks into the doorway in time to see Frater swing around and kill the old man with a man shot to the head (for some reason, the blood splatter on the wall behind him appears to be

blue in color). Horrified at this, Mike draws his handgun and, as Frater threatens the others in the house, he orders him to put his weapon down. Frater turns his rifle on him, asks, "Why am I here? Tell me!", while Mike, looking at the scared child, who's being comforted by his mother, grimaces at Frater, his hand shaking in fury. Frater swings back around and yells, "Tell me!" at the others in the house, when Mike shoots him in the lower back. The audio cuts out as Frater yells and the young man gets the woman and the boy out of the home.

Frater puts his hands on the back of his head and continues screaming. Outside, as horses gallop around in a small corral, Frater staggers out into the street and, after looking longingly up at the sky, heads down the road, removing his handgun and its clip and tossing them aside, as Mike follows him. Again, he stops and looks up at a flock of birds flying overhead, before going on to the end of the road and the edge of the village, removing his body armor and his vest beneath. Stopping right outside the village, he turns and looks at Mike, as

something enormous begins to emerge from the desert behind him. With the sun setting, he staggers on and then falls to his knees as he watches the giant creature continuing to remove itself from the sand. Ultimately, he collapses and dies, and an extraction helicopter flies in as Mike watches the gigantic monster emerge and let out a loud, bellowing roar. The roar transitions into Mike screaming as he's being flown out, which is where the movie ends. 

The music score by Neil Davidge is all over the place in terms of style, ranging from percussive electronics to more traditional pieces involving the piano and strings. The former is often used for the action-oriented scenes, while the latter is put into play whenever something emotional happens, but unlike Jon Hopkins' score for the first movie, the music here pretty much went in one ear and out there. Little of it stood out, aside from the very big, sweeping piece of music when the Goliath spreads the spores, the electronic percussive piece that plays over the first part of the opening credits and is followed up by a more low-key, driving theme, a singular string piece when Frater reacts to the boy dying, and an utterly hopeless-sounding theme that plays as the giant creature emerges from the desert at the end. Other than that, it was little more than background noise that didn't have much of an effect on me. There are also some rock and rap songs on the soundtrack, but the one that stuck with me was Bang Bang by the Graveltones, which plays over the hardcore party the boys take part in before heading off to war. It's a very bluesy rock song, which is why it made such an impression (as well as just because of the scene it plays over), but like most of the score, the rest of the songs are just noise to me.

As you can see, I am not a fan of Monsters: Dark Continent. It has some admirable aspects, such as a nice variety to the monsters, good visual and makeup effects, some truly remarkable images and sequences, a scope that makes it feel like a much bigger movie than it is, and an effective way of depicting how truly hellish war is, but the biggest problem is that it's more interested in that than the monsters themselves, relegating them to the background and making it feel as if the director

used this story as an excuse to make a war movie. What's more, other movies have done the same thing, only far better; the characters, while not badly acted at all, aren't very deep for the most part and the bond the four youths from Detroit have isn't explored enough to make what happens to them as impactful as it could be; the two leads, while interesting enough, especially Sergeant Frater, I could take or leave; it's full of all sorts of overused filmmaking tropes and cliches like shaky camerawork, melodramatic slow-motion, artsy camera angles, and audio distortion; and the music score and soundtrack are lackluster, for the most part. Gareth Edwards' movie may not be an absolutely flawless masterpiece but it's still a very well-made, visually poetic and affecting little movie, while this is a loud, crude, and nasty flick that, at the end of the day, feels like a hollow cash-in with little reason to exist. Some may get something out of it, but I can understand perfectly why it's generally not very well liked and is not one I ever see myself revisiting now that I'm done with this review.