Primal

I have to admit, I had no idea what this movie would be about. Although to be fair, I thought it would play in a different setting - or location if you want to call it that. A location that is being used in the beginning of the movie ... before we get away from there in a more contained ... space.

The movie is or rather feels like a B-movie action thriller from the 90s. Quite the throwback - you have to either love that sentiment or really be annoyed by it. Not much of a story, but well played all things considered. And a lot of death and mayhem that ensues. Take it for what it is.

Granted, this is a Nicolas Cage movie, which means that I am already not having any particular high expectations, as he is not among my favorite actors to watch on the screen. But still, my wife enjoys his movies, so I also ended up sitting down watching the 2019 movie "Primal".

And at least I thought that with Famke Janssen in the movie, then there would be something to look forward to. Let me just say right now, that I wasn't aware that she had a heap of plastic surgery done, so I was in for a rude awakening when she appeared on the screen and removed those sunglasses that she wore. Wow, just wow, it was so hard to take my eyes off of that train wreck that was now sitting where Famke's face was before. Oh my god...

Anyway, moving away from botched plastic surgery and back to the movie. "Primal" is actually a watchable movie, as it follows a nice enough formula of how-to-make an Action movie. Now, action and action might be stretching it, as I would say this was more of an action/thriller. Sure, this wasn't an outstanding movie, but it was watchable and enjoyable enough for what it turned out to be, if you can take your focus away from certain abysmal-looking things in the movie.

"Primal" is a movie that definitely is for the fans of Nicolas Cage, and my wife seemed to enjoy it.

What worked for me in "Primal" was Kevin Durand. That guy was just phenomenal in this movie, and he played his character and his part so well here, and I will say that he was the reason why this movie stayed afloat.

As for the storyline, well let's just say it was simplistic. I mean, a dangerous mercenary assassin in captivity that breaks out of imprisonment while being transported aboard a cargo ship, then letting loose a heap of wild animals aboard the enclosed confines of the ship and start to take out the crew one by one... Well, it wasn't rocket science here, people. Nor was it a particular Shakespearian experience.

"Primal" is adequately entertaining for what it turned out to be, but this is hardly a movie that I will be returning to watch a second time, as it wasn't a particularly memorable movie, nor was it good enough to make me want to watch it again. My rating of "Primal" has to land on a very mediocre five out of ten stars.

If you took The Ghost and the Darkness, First Blood, Under Siege, and a dash of Snakes on a Plane you'd most likely get something like Primal, an okay action thriller that succeeds despite its low budget and shaky FX. Nicolas Cage plays big game hunter Frank Walsh who books a freighter to transport his illegally acquired exotic animals(including a white jaguar worth a small fortune) but his plans hit a snag when some U.S. Marshalls piggy back on his ship to transport rogue Black Ops killer Loffler played by Kevin Durrand. Needless to say Loffler escapes, releases franks menagerie of exotic animals and the fight for survival ensues. If there's anything to be said in Primal's favor it's that it's never boring. Despite the dodgy CGI and some phoned in performance, the action moves at a quick enough pace to keep you engaged and Cage is having fun playing a professional hunter now trying to use his skills against a crazed black ops mercenary. What makes the film stumble unfortunately is its obvious budget limitations and a lack of menace from Durrand as Loffler. Aside from a few moments, the movie downplays the threat of the exotic animals and focuses more on Loffler who just doesn't feel threatening despite his earnest attempts. There's also a tracker Walsh is in possession of that I thought would be used for Alien style suspense, but despite it being brought up, it never comes into play in any meaningful fashion. Primal is a serviceable rental, it'll kill 90 minutes and you'll never think of it again. And for DTV thrillers you can certainly do worse.

Yes, it's a plain action action movie with non extensive action. It is a clear 6.2 on the scale.

I needed some plain movie with nothing to think about, and the bad reviews just gave me the hint, this is exactly what you need today.

And yes, it was amazing, totally predictable, but good enough to ease out the evening and have some "come on"s for the goofs, "next time do better on that part".

But some nice scenes in the jungle already made up for the movie. It was clear from the beginning that it would not be a very special movie, yet it got nice parts and the story was the good vs evil in a closed space type with the expected ending.

So yes, just watch it, if you like Nicolas Cage movies, or at least some of them, this is not his worst, it's pretty decent.

I just spent ten months in the jungle, and this all smells like cat crapto me.

Films where animals mess with the protagonists' life. There are a lot of those movies. Only recently you could see in "Crawl" how alligators tried to outwit a father and daughter with their immense mouths full of razor-sharp, meat-tearing teeth. In "A quiet place" there were creatures with such a developed hearing that they can locate any human sound and quickly go there to tear the source of the noise to pieces. Birds, dogs, cats, crocodiles, tarantulas, grizzly bears, monkeys, ants, snakes, and sharks. An entire segment of the animal kingdom has already been used. This movie "Primal" immediately reminded me of a movie I saw years ago. Namely "Burning Bright". In this last film, too, it was a tiger chasing two innocent people. Only it took place in a kind of Pippi-Longstocking-house. In "Primal", on the other hand, it's a cargo ship that serves as a hunting ground. And Nicolas Cage is also present. Maybe that's why it's worthwhile to give this film a chance.

Nicolas Cage. Man, I admire this actor enormously. He's a phenomenon. I'm sure he's aiming to reach a specific goal in his life. And that's being able to announce on his deathbed that he broke the world record of "Actor with most appearances in feature films". The man (known for his phenomenal roles in "Leaving Las Vegas" and "Joe") did his utmost best in recent years. Every year he appeared in no fewer than six films. Of course, they aren't all masterpieces. But La Cage seems to have an enormous endurance. I think he accepts every offer he gets. Apparently, his love for acting is infinite.

The crucial question you can ask yourself is of course: "Is this movie worth watching or is it completely rubbish?". Well, the truth is actually somewhere in the middle. When Frank Walsh (Nicolas Cage) embarks on board a container ship, together with a whole load of exotic animals, he soon notices that he's not the only one with a unique, life-threatening specimen. Frank earns his living by catching exotic animals, which he then resells to the highest bidder. And the white jaguar ("white jag" as Frank repeatedly pronounces) is a lottery ticket for him. A million to one shot and the guarantee he'll own some real estate in Pine Lake. And suddenly the American authorities show up with a highly dangerous mercenary (Kevin Durand) in chains, a battalion of soldiers armed to the teeth and a personal female doctor (Famke Janssen) to ensure that the mercenary survives the trip. It has something to do with a brain abnormality and atmospheric pressure. A side issue afterward. You can already guess what's going to happen. Soon Frank realizes he has to use his hunting instincts to hunt both the white jaguar and the perilous Richard Loffler.

The film never really gets exciting. It looks more like a long version of playing "hide and seek". The accompanying soldiers are systematically liquidated easily. That kind of looked ridiculous. Also, after a certain period, Dr. Ellen Taylor no longer had a real function. Famke Janssen restricts herself to some annoying protests about catching endangered species. She looks like a feministic environmental activist, who's about to pull up a protest sign with slogans about animal rights. Even the jaguar only managed to convince in the opening scene. Afterward, the jaguar was nothing more than a sneaking shadow. Only the two characters Cage and Durand played, caused some excitement. Kevin Durand managed to play a psychopathic character convincingly. And Cage visibly had fun here. And to be honest, compared to "A score to settle", "Kill Chain", and "Running with the devil" (I shamelessly fell asleep while watching this last one), this Cage-B-film isn't that bad. Are you a Nicolas Cage fan? Well, you can safely add it to your list of "Must See Cage-Movie".

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