Primal (2019 film)

Primal is a 2019 action-thriller film directed by Nick Powell and starring Nicolas Cage, Famke Janssen, Kevin Durand, LaMonica Garrett, and Michael Imperioli.[1] The film was shot in Puerto Rico and released in the United States on November 8, 2019.

Primal
DVD cover
Directed byNick Powell
Written byRichard Leder
StarringNicolas Cage
Music byGuillaume Roussel
CinematographyVern Nobles
Edited byRaúl Marchand Sánchez
Production
company
The Pimienta Film Co.
Distributed byLionsgate
Release date
  • November 8, 2019 (2019-11-08) (United States)
Running time
97 min
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

Frank Walsh is a skilled big-game hunter specializing in rare and dangerous species. He has recently caught an extremely rare white jaguar in the rain forests of Brazil and now expects to sell it to a zoo for a fortune. Frank books a ship to deliver the jaguar along with other animals to the U.S. However, authorities also need the ship to transport a notorious killer who must be brought to trial, and who, for medical reasons, cannot be transported by plane. On the way to the U.S., the criminal frees himself and releases dangerous animals and venomous snakes.

Cast

Reception

The film received mostly negative reviews by critics. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Primal holds an approval rating of 39%, based on 31 reviews. Its consensus reads: "Chiefly of interest to Nicolas Cage completists and hardcore B-movie fans, this action thriller suffers from an unfortunate lack of Primal energy."[2] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 32 out of 100, based on 11 critical reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[3]

D.D. Crowley from Nightmarish Conjurings wrote that: "It’s like Jumanji but with less family-friendly content and more grunting. If you’re looking for a wildly fun action flick, I would highly recommend Primal. It is a hell of a good time".[4] Flickering Myth gave the film a rating of 3 stars out of 5.[5] Film School Rejects appreciated the film, writing that: "Primal at least has the added hook of killer animals which bring some thrills and allow for some fun".[6] Also The Daily Beast called it a fun B-movie.[7] Noel Murray of the Los Angeles Times noted "Alas, “Primal” ends up being more exhausting than awesome. Cage and Durand chew the scenery like trenchermen; and Janssen and Imperioli are far more charismatic than their roles require. But while director Nicholas Powell is a veteran stunt coordinator, his movie is decidedly lacking in eye-popping action... Unfortunately, even by the relaxed standards of trash cinema, 'Primal' is dispiritingly tame."[8]

Simon Abrams in his review for RogerEbert.com gave the film 1.5 stars out of four and stated, "So while 'Primal' is supposed to be a star vehicle for Cage, it's mostly enjoyable for its charismatic ensemble cast and incidental gonzo elements... There's sadly not much more to 'Primal' than that. You might think there doesn't need to be, but there should be an extra something given how enticing the movie appears to be (from a distance)."[9] Dennis Harvey of Variety wrote, "'Primal' isn't just a title that's been used many times, it's now a movie that seems to have put several prior movies in a food processor — to results that are edible, but unsurprisingly don't taste like anything in particular, let alone induce a desire for seconds. That this mashup of too many familiar action-thriller elements doesn't emerge a generic mess is a credit to all involved. That it's passably entertaining but also instantly forgettable comes as less of a surprise."[10] The Hollywood Reporter's John DeFore added, "...when the time comes for Cage to play great-white-hunter, viewers will likely want more. But no film involving Nicolas Cage and a blowgun with curare-tipped darts can be all bad, and Primal gives us at least a little of everything we'd want in this kind of yarn."[11]

gollark: Aidan managed to make a cryptic but apparently functional solution in the traditional how does this even work Aidan style, I'm stuck trying to work out the coordinate systems.
gollark: So, I'm doing a programming puzzle thing to find words in a hexagonal wordsearch thing.
gollark: Wow, hexagons are hard.
gollark: arch gnu linunux™ by richard stallamnnn
gollark: htans.

References
  1. Chay, Augustine. "Primal (2020) - Nick Powell | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  2. "Primal (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  3. "Primal 2019". Metacritic. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  4. "Movie Review: PRIMAL". Nightmarish Conjurings. November 4, 2019. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  5. "Movie Review - Primal (2019)". Flickeringmyth.com. November 6, 2019. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  6. "'Primal' Review: Nicolas Cage 0, Uncaged Animals 1". www.filmschoolrejects.com. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  7. Nick Schager (November 2, 2019). "'Primal' Is 'Con Air' but With Nicolas Cage, a White Jaguar, and a Whole Lot of Booze". Thedailybeast.com. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  8. Murray, Noel (November 8, 2019). "Review: Nicolas Cage on the high seas, bloody 'Ballet,' a little Dolph Lundgren and more". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  9. Abrams, Simon (November 8, 2019). "Primal movie review & film summary (2019) | Roger Ebert". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  10. Harvey, Dennis (November 6, 2019). "Film Review: 'Primal'". Variety. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  11. DeFore, John (November 6, 2019). "'Primal': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
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