Primal

Director - Nick Powell (Outcast)
Starring - Nicolas Cage (Mandy, Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse), Framke Janssen (Hemlock Grove, House on Haunted Hill), and Kevin Durand (The Strain, Swamp Thing)
Release Date - 2019
Genre - Action
Tagline - "The ultimate hunter vs the ultimate predator"
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Nic Cage may have fell on hard times but he has found a way to climb into horrordom in recent years with his performance in the 2018 film Mandy.  The movie is easily in my top 10 favorite horror movies and it's one that I try to revisit very frequently.  Since then he has starred in a few more movies but they were easily forgettable and just a quick buck for his bank account.  With that being said, I recently received the action thriller Primal for review.  The film also starred Framke Janssen and Kevin Durand.  It looked like a fun flick so I tossed it in to see what it was all about.  Glad I did because it was entertaining.

     The film follows animal tracker and trapper Frank Walsh (Cage) who bags a once in a lifetime prize when he finds an all white jaguar.  He captures it and gets it to a freight ship where he plans on auctioning it off to the highest bidder.  However, he doesn't expect a team of U.S. Marshalls to escort an assassin onto the same ship.  This highly skilled assassin is able to break free from his shackles and the cage he was imprisoned in.  He goes on a murderous rampage through the ship but not before freeing all of Frank's wild animals.  While the Marshalls are frantically searching for the deadly killer, Frank is hellbent on keeping his prized jaguar alive at all costs even if that means standing toe to toe with a trained killer.

     I wasn't expecting much from Primal.  The trailer looked fun but very generic, however, the film itself was actually pretty entertaining.  Don't get me wrong, it's far from perfect and has some not so memorable characters but it fulfilled it's duty.  The acting in this one is decent.  Cage delivers a solid performance along with the extremely beautiful Framke Janssen but I was a little disappointed in Kevin Durand's performance.  His character is a highly skilled and deadly killer but his persona is more like the frat boy in a slasher.  It was completely out of place and really made the serious scenes feel unintentionally funny.  The story for this one is entertaining but very predictable and melodramatic at times.  I liked the action we got and the setting for the film but once the movie starts rolling you can predict almost each and every scene.  My biggest complaint is how flat the characters are.  Cage has brought some unforgettable characters to life over the years and I feel that his use in this film is extremely underutilized due to lack of character development.  Finally, the film does have some blood but it's quick with minimal effects.  Gore hounds will not be satisfied with this film.  Also, the film has some inconsistent visual effects.  There are times with the CGI looks decent and then there are other times where the visuals are extremely noticeable.  Overall, Primal may be predictable but it still offers up some fun moments.  It may not be your new favorite movie but it will still work for a late night watch when you are craving something new.  Check it out.