Quartile rating: 5.5/10 · 1 rating
A big-game hunter for zoos books passage on a Greek shipping freighter with a fresh haul of exotic and deadly animals from the Amazon, including a rare white Jaguar – along with a political assassin being extradited to the U.S in secret. Two days into the journey, the assassin escapes and releases the captive animals, throwing the ship into chaos.
Primal is a fairly generic B-action thriller that doesn't distinguish itself in any meaningful way. The premise—exotic animals loose on a ship with a dangerous assassin—has clear echoes of films like Snakes on a Plane but lacks the self-aware fun. Nicolas Cage's performance is on autopilot, and the supporting cast offers little to elevate the material. The cinematography is functional at best, with little visual imagination. The plot is formulaic and predictable, hitting expected beats without surprise. The ending resolves things without any particular flair or emotional payoff. Across the board, this is a middling genre entry that delivers modest entertainment for undiscriminating action fans but leaves no lasting impression.