“Primeval” (Hollywood Pictures)
It’s All Just A Big Croc
“Primeval” is the kind of movie you go to see just for the fun if it. It is based on a true story but the film is basically a big croc or at least a movie about a big croc. Yes, this is the story of a crocodile that terrorizes people who live along the banks of a river in Africa. It also concerns a civil war going on in the territory where the river is located. So you have two means of violent deaths.
In the film Dominic “Prison Break” Purcell plays a TV producer named Tim Manfrey. He, a TV personality named Aviva Masters (Brooke Langton) and his cameraman Steven Johnson (Orlando Jones) go to Africa to do a story on a big crocodile that is terrorizing a community. Once they get to Africa they realize they may have bitten off more than they can chew.
The area where the crocodile supposedly is, is a war scene. There are opposing factions who are desperate to gain control of the country. Manfrey and his crew, plus their guide Jacob Krieg (Jurgen Prochnow) and a Steve Irwin type naturalist named Matthew Collins (Gideon Emery) have been promised protection by the government but that protection is iffy at best.
Their plan is to film and to capture the creature but that is easier said than done. This is a croc and a half and it won’t be captured easily. Plus there are rogue soldiers committing atrocities all around them. Soon the adventurous party is being decimated and getting back to a safe civilization becomes priority number one.
Purcell is interesting as the producer who has to call on his inner Jungle Jim to try to get out of a messy situation. Langton is a spunky damsel in distress while Jones is a standout as the only person offering comic relief.
Thanks to computer graphics the crocodile comes alive in all of its terrorizing huge-ness. It is a terror and a half and seeing it take chase to any and every one in the cast is scary and fun. It has just the right amount of frightening scenes to make it all interesting.
The film is rated R for profanity and violence.
“Primeval” is probably a movie that will do better on DVD than in theaters. It just doesn’t have the star power clout or dramatic content to make it a big screen hit. But if you do go to see it, and keep your expectations low, you will have a good time. I know I did.
I scored “Primeval” a scaly 5 out of 10.
