The premise was great. Gustave, the famed massive Crocidle who has terrorized Burundi and knocks humans off the throne of the food chain finally gets his spotlight from Hollywood. And, they missed the mark. "Primeval" follows a group of assorted journalists, hunters, and military men on the hunt document the capture of the famed Gustave among the war torn Burundi. That's about it. I have 3 issues with this film that ruined a potentially interesting film. 1. Gustave. Until the last scene, he looked bad. He was on par with "Lake Placid", and that was nearly 10 years ago. The lack of animatronics, and reliance on pure CGI ruined it. You have lush, beautiful African landscapes that have an exaggerated computer Croc jumping around and moving so fast he's a blur. The final scene (not the Range Rover attack) had Gustave looking great in the dark rainy swamps of Burundi. But aside that, Gustave was dated. 2. The political stuff. Granted, the theory is that humans are what created Gustave. The civil war left mass graves that would leak into the water systems, and Gustave being nearly 20 feet, he has trouble catching small prey so he took a liking to humans. So be it, a Croc's gotta eat. My issue is that it's far TOO intriguing to couple the idea of a civil war and how humanities willingness for war not only destroys ourselves, but it pits nature ultimately against us. These ideas were mentioned in one line of dialogue. Wasted. The politics they did use were cliched, and involved corrupt militants and legislators who were following the expedition. It all felt to cliched, all too implausible, and sadly just oozed unbelievability when Hollywood tries to put African politics in a killer croc movie. 3. Orlando Jones. Now, I know this guy was a fad back in the late 90s fresh off MadTV and his "Make 7, Up yours!", but he always rubbed me wrong. And now, he feels washed up. Unfunny. Out of place. One liners about black this and that, he just ruined it for me. I didn't care if Gustave bit him in half, he annoyed me. Not to mention the cast is bland. Jurgen Prochnov is wasted. Dominic Purcell is sleep walking through this. "Primeval" just missed to many marks. It has it's mind in the right direction, but it's execution failed. It's flaws aren't that it didn't touch on some interesting issues, but that it dismissed them and back dived into Hollywoodland again. For all it's failures, it does have some genuinely creepy scenes. And it's clear that filmmakers did have moments of inspiration. The opening and ending scenes are honestly the best. They show none of Gustave, but you know he's there, and that's what works. Allowing our minds to imagine the terror staring up at us from the murky depths instead of having computers envision it for us. And there is a great scene where Gustave chases a character through a grassy field, dimishing the Hollywood fallacy that sea creatures are only lethal in water. The deleted scenes also feature an alternate take of the showdown with Gustave that I believe would have added more to the film, for what that's worth? "Primeval" fails because it appears the filmmakers did it by the text book, and little inspiration seems to have been used. It's cliched, unintelligent, and Gustave is distracting because of how out of place he looks. Maybe in a bit they should attempt a more in depth tale, because Gustave deserves better. And so do we. Can't recomend with a straight face.Read full review
more about the killing fields in Africa. Orlando Jones was good as the black sidekick, enjoyed the jokes and wisecracks ("Do whatever you have to get out of Africa"). Dominic Purcell is handsome as always. The opening exposition scene sending them off to Africa felt off somehow. I don't see a man-eating croc as a ratings grabbing story that you'd send one of your better reporters on. But the movie picks up one we get to Africa. There to hunt and capture the man-eater Gustav they are quickly side tracked when they have to escape the real monster little Gustav (along with big Gustav), the warlord whose murders created the man-eating croc. CGI is great once we get to the latter half of the film. And Gustav gets the upper hand on someone daring to hone in on his name and savage reputation. Watch the director commentary. It is fascinating.Read full review
Primeval First off I'd like to say that when this movie was in theatres I thought it was about a serial killer... it's actually about a Crocodile... that kills people. The cast isn't all that great, the acting is borderline atrocious, and the movie isn't really scary or tense even though I thought it was supposed to follow in the footsteps of a movie like Wolf Creek. On the plus side, it had a really great story and some really great special effects. While it isn't worth buying I'd definitely recommend renting it. Final verdict: 3/5 Worth Buying?: Nope, a rental will do.
It was ok I had bought it for my son, not sure what he thought. I also watched it. I could take it or leave.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
Considering the recent rash of horror/suspense/thriller movies to come out lately, this one stands out. What actually made me rent this was the fact that it's about a man-eating crocodile and not your typical low budget slasher flick. First thing that to my mind BEFORE watching this was will this be another Lake Placid, could have been good but in the end fail terribly? The acting might not be the greatest, but in this type of movie I don't think an all-star cast is needed. It starts out a bit slow but once it gets going it rolls at a good pace and will keep you interested until the end. The graphics are decent enough, especially when compared to earlier movies like Lake Placid, Ananconda and Deep BLue Sea. Some of the things this croc does do seem a bit unlikely but then again I've never been around a pissed off crocodile, but it makes for alot of excitement. While not scary, the movie will make you jump a handful of times when you least expect it. Some of the death scenes are pretty good although a bit to fast for my taste. This is a definite rent and for me an absolute addition to my collection.Read full review
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