Primal

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.

I watched this movie because of Nicolas Cage and Famke Janssen, nevertheless its a lowbudget movie and it shows, average cinematography and some average VFX. Kevin Durand as a villian is okay but overall i have seen much better performances of all the actors in other productions. The plot is very thin, but thats not really the movies problem, just the execution and whole pacing doesnt feel right. If you really need to watch a movie that plays on a boat with some lurking threat i highly suggest "Deep Rising" from 1998, its without Cage but with Janssen, much better pacing and much more entertaining to watch.

A dumb reach thriller with a T. V. movie plot, but you don't watch these type of movies for the plot, a hunter with a chip on his shoulder strikes it rich with a rare type of jungle cat, decides to ship his captured animals on the freight ship, but another type of animal is boarding the ship as well, and it is being guarded by federal agents in a cage just like the jungle creatures, the animal is an internationally wanted assassin, who is another douche bag with a chip on his shoulder as well, everything goes sideways when he escapes on the ship and lets the animals loose too, the movie turns into a thriller with some decent action scenes and funny dialog between Cage and the killer, The hunter now has to capture more than his animals and a few innocent people lives are at stake , not a bad film if you got spare time to watch this, I would rather not see Nic Cage exploit himself doing these releases almost every month as of lately.

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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.

First things first: Primal is carried entirely by its lead and antagonist. With Kevin Durand performing as his typical unhinged villain, Nicolas Cage channels his best Bogart and proves he still has the chops for an action movie. The remainder of the cast is at best forgettable and at worst irritating, but the script mercifully keeps their screen time brief (before killing most of them off entirely) and reserves the majority of the movie to be carried by Cage and Durand. The tension stays relatively taught despite a couple lulls, and the plot is simple but coherent. About as much as you can ask for from an offering like this. Thankfully Cage maintains his trademark commitment and energy till the end, and Durand makes an entertaining, if recognizable, foil. Plus there is a scene with killer monkeys...Decent late night fare.