Primal (2019)

I don't know what others were expecting from Primal, one of the many recent Nicolas Cage movies to appear on streaming platforms, seemingly weeks after we heard about it being made, but I was surprised when I heard the plot summary and then heard people reacting negatively to it. I do understand people disliking the film, don't get me wrong, but I don't understand people loathing it if they have any rough idea of what they're letting themselves in for.

Cage plays Frank, a hunter of wildlife who is heading home with his latest shipment of captured animals, including a large white jaguar. The ship he is travelling on is also carrying a prisoner, Richard Loffler (Kevin Durand). Ain't it just a wild bit of misfortune that Loffler escapes? He also starts freeing some of the animals, leading to the ship having a bit of a dangerous Jumanji vibe about it (especially when people have to deal with dangerous monkeys). Frank wants to keep his collection of animals safe, and ends up being the best chance to recapture Loffler.

Okay, just to be clear here, Primal isn't really a film to class as good. The script, by Richard Leder, is far too full of groan-inducing dialogue and contrivances, there's a sad lack of any tension or thrills, and it lacks decent action beats. The fact that director Nicholas Powell has a background in the world of stunts makes the last omission all the more disappointing, considering the potential for some wild and crazy set-pieces. It's clear that someone had a fun idea that was then turned into a film without a big enough budget to realise even half of the potential.

Thankfully, if you're a fan anyway, you get Cage chewing the scenery. He's a blast in the main role, the kind of anti-hero who doesn't care about the people in charge, and just ends up spurred into action because he realises nobody else is as capable as he is. Durand is a decent villain, he can turn on the right mix of charm and menace, while both Famke Janssen and Michael Imperioli help to round out the main cast, as well as LaMonica Garrett.

You know what is coming along in the third act, you know that by the end of the first act, and there are some decent moments along the way. Monkeys, a snake, big cats, they all add to the fun, but none of them are used enough. There's also a lack of any good twists and turns, although things are hinted at here and there that the script never really turns into anything major. 

Let's be very clear. This is a film that has Cage as a hunter, on a ship with a dangerous criminal, and a bunch of wild animals that are set free as events unfold. If you like Cage as an onscreen presence then how can you fail to at least enjoy this? If you dislike Cage then I don't know what to tell you, other than . . . you're missing out.

6/10

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Primal (2010).

A group of people head out into the middle of nowhere to study an ancient rock painting and things end up going very badly for all involved when it turns out that the painting may well be a warning against something in the area that can change people and turn them into pointy-toothed savages (hence the title). That’s the basics of the plot.

Primal gets a lot right but also gets a few things wrong (not really surprising considering that it’s director Josh Reed’s first feature – though do check out the enjoyable short, Rattus Pistofficus, that he made - check it out here). It helps that it’s premise is a good one – like a mix of Cabin Fever, Demons and the “Darkness Falls” episode of The X-Files.

The acting from everyone involved is simply okay. Nobody stands out as excellent but nobody stinks up the place either, it’s only a pity that the actual onscreen characters weren’t actually deserving of much time. The group members seem to spend it’s whole time bickering with each other before making a number of inexcusably stupid decisions. Thankfully, Zoe Tuckwell-Smith does well enough as Anja that you want to root for her and Damien Freeleagus is likeable as the group joker, Warren. And Krew Boylan was cute, which also helped.

The script, written by director Reed from the story by himself and Nigel Christensen, is to blame for those character moments so I can’t really praise it that highly but it does a better job in the early scenes showing the individual members and how the group dynamic seems to be set up.

The second half of the film features a number of shots that suffer from poor lighting (yes, I know that we’re following action taking place in a wild wooded area but we should still be able to see what’s going on) and a rather confusing number of shots that don’t help us to keep track of which character is in peril from which other character.
And then there’s a final 10 minute sequence that may have many laughing at the ridiculousness of it all but that I just went along with. It helps that things lead to a fun punchline at the very end of the movie.

There are some enjoyable moments of madness here, and the special effects are pretty well done, and that’s what helps get Primal back to the stage of something a bit above average. It tries to be a little bit different but also falls into many of the traps that the genre has (a lack of logic, characters being far too stupid, etc). I still applaud it for trying something a bit new though.
 
6/10.

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