Primitive War

I knew for months, since seeing the first poster for Primitive War, I would see this movie in theaters. It's a real shame the release is so limited - because I could see this appealing to a broader audience.

Vietnam War. 1960s soundtrack. Dinosaurs (and PLENTY of them). Carnage. What more do you want?

Is this an Oscar contender? Maybe not.

Is it a refreshing dinosaur & popcorn flick? Absolutely.

I'll admit, I tempered my expectations and halfway expected some extra campy SyFy movie, but ended up pleasantly surprised.

The script is absurd, the characters are underdeveloped - and there's more implausibility to go around than dry turkey on Thanksgiving, but I don't care. Because tucked away are some great one-liners, a well-bonded "Vulture" team of actors (the core cast is quite good; Aaron Glenane 👀), and some surprising little nuggets of real emotion.

I loved the handful of jump scares and suspense, the score and soundtrack, the gruesome and ruthless details of death by dinosaur, and the dinosaurs! I don't know what the budget for this was, but I can't imagine it had a "Jurassic" pocketbook, yet it looks really solid.

Overall, Primitive War is something I didn't know I wanted. I'll buy it when it's available - and can see myself watching it and appreciating it more later, I'm sure.

It's a keeper!

Let me preface this with my husband loves Jurassic Park so when I saw the preview for Primitive War I knew we were going to go. After being letdown by Jurassic Park Rebirth I was apprehensive about taking him to Primitive War, especially since we were driving an hour to the nearest theater that had it. All I can say is WOW I'm glad we did. This movie with, what I assume, is a much smaller budget than any of the big studios, impressed me so much I looked at my husband and said we are buying that one. The beginning of the movie sets the suspense right from the start and it just keeps coming. Is the acting 9/10 no. Is the CGI 9/10 not always. Does it all come together and is better than I expected? Absolutely. Go see it!

This was so much fun. Man, I have no complaints. You can tell the director was so passionate about this project, it really shows through. They performed a literal miracle with the budget they had. The dinosaurs look incredible. It's campy and ridiculous and over the top but it freaking works! Ryan Kwanten is the king of B movies and he doesn't let anyone down in this one. I was worried in the first twenty minutes or so because it really felt like they were trying so hard to get you to care about the characters and I really couldn't, they felt flat. But an hour in I cared about all of them. The subplot with how the dinos came to be in Vietnam was also ridiculous but in the best possible way. I don't want to give any spoilers because I think you should just see it in the theater while you have a chance, I don't think it'll be the same watching it at home. A lot of it is also shot very very dark so I can imagine it being difficult to see exactly what's going on watching on a TV screen. Jeremy Piven, say what you want about him, is also hilariously over the top in his performance. You can tell he had a lot of fun with this. There's a specific scene with a tiger that had me actually laugh out loud a little, and then a scene near the end in a helicopter where he's yelling that got me laughing again. That dude has charisma whether you like him or not. I'm going to try to see this again with some more friends before it's gone.

The dinosaur action was amazing and obviously there's some parts that could look better but that's it if you're really nit picking. If you're a fan of dinosaurs and want a mature tone for your dinosaur media than this is right up your alley, it's not a field trip in the jungle it's a fight for survival and seeing that in a serious tone with consequences was great to see on the big screen. As Luke Sparke said on InGeneral: The Jurassic Outpost Podcast, he said he loves randomness with his dinosaurs and them just being animals and you get a lot of that in this movie. From grazing, to hunting (some were on demon mode), to sleeping they captured the dinosaurs in a great way (while showing off how dangerous and deadly they are).

The Marines and their story took me by surprise with how good it was and how they got a story and honestly the struggles of war and PTSD and just mental health was captured really well and something that caught me off guard. The characters were good and did their job only some were a tad questionable but it's not that bad. The dialogue was good and I was surprised with how funny it was? I guess because it is a war movie set in Vietnam you can use colourful language and they didn't shy away from it and it really sets the tone.

The gore was INTENSE and I'm definitely not use to seeing that in a Dinosaur movie and it was a nice change showing how dangerous a dinosaur is and so much death, I honestly lost count in the first 15 mins there was so much and it was fun a fun WILD ride. For an independent film, the scale is amazing I honestly can't get over how great it was and you can just tell how much passion is in this movie, Luke Sparke is like us A HUGE dinosaur fan that achieved his dream and made his dinosaur movie, I genuinely think you should check it out if you love Dinosaurs and as a Jurassic Park/World fan we need competition and competition breeds greatness, we need more dinosaur media in general and this is the right way forward as a Dinosaur fan. So enough of me yappin and go check out Primitive War.

If Apocalypse Now and Jurassic Park had a baby, you'd get Primitive War and that sentence alone is baffling enough to turn heads. A movie like this can go one of two ways: ridiculously stupid or surprisingly epic. To my surprise, it succeeds in most areas, despite a few rough edges.

The biggest strength lies in the direction. The cinematography and lighting are often stunning, creating an immersive atmosphere that fits the story perfectly. The camera work feels deliberate and engaging, pulling you into the chaos of the jungle. On top of that, the dinosaurs look fantastic. The inclusion of feathers was a great detail, and the CGI was convincing enough to make the creatures feel genuinely dangerous especially the raptors, who were easily the highlight.

The plot itself is simple, almost reminiscent of The Mist with its "experiments gone wrong" premise. I appreciated that the film didn't overcomplicate things and instead leaned into a straightforward survival story. However, the screenplay was definitely the weakest element. The dialogue often felt clunky and occasionally cringe worthy. The constant one-liners undercut the tension, and I wish the characters had approached their dire situation with a bit more seriousness.

As for pacing, the runtime felt justified and never dragged. That said, the ending went a little too far. I was already suspending disbelief for the story, but the final act with its slow-motion sequences and over-the-top carnage pushed things past the point of plausibility.

Overall, Primitive War is a ridiculously fun ride with strong direction, great cinematography, and some memorable dinosaur moments. It's not without flaws, the dialogue and ending drag it down but when the movie is firing on all cylinders, its no doubt epic.