Primal Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

Primal Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf March 14, 2020

In this installment of “Nicolas Cage Doesn’t Say No to Anything,” attention turns to the arrival of “Primal,” which, from the film’s marketing efforts, appears to concern Cage’s character as he does battle with a cargo ship full of wild animals secretly released from their cages by a very bad man. Oh, dear readers, if that were the actual picture, what a state of B-movie bliss we’d all be in. The screenplay by Richard Leder (“Christmas on Chestnut Street,” “A Thousand Men and a Baby”) isn’t that bonkers, not even close. Instead of pure exhilaration as the hero(?) is forced to fight for his life against the animal kingdom, the production offers a prisoner escape feature instead, spending more time with a human protagonist. There’s no zoo- gone-mad aspect to “Primal,” but, as always, there’s Cage, and he’s in peak Cage-osity here, trying to give the blandness that surrounds him some much needed thespian spice.

Spending months in the jungle waiting patiently, hunter Frank (Nicolas Cage) has managed to capture the “Ghost Cat,” a white jaguar that will fetch a fortune on the black market, finally giving him a major payday. Ready to board a cargo ship in Puerto Rico with his collection of caged animals, Frank is confronted with a major problem when U.S. Marshals commandeer the ship, with Ringer (LaMonica Garrett) and Freed (Michael Imperioli) making room for terrorist Loffler (Kevin Durand), a dangerous man with specific medical issues, requiring neurologist Dr. Taylor (Famke Janssen) to supervise the operation. When the ship is sabotaged, left without water and navigational equipment, Loffler makes his move, breaking out of his cell and entering the shadows, opening all of Frank’s cages to provide a significant distraction. Furious, Frank tries to round-up his animals, but the dangers of these creatures proves to be a real problem for everyone onboard as Loffler plans his escape.

Cage tries to make Frank passably interesting in “Primal,” turning the hunter into a cigar-chomping, beer-swilling creation who’s perfected his patience when it comes to trapping animals. He even brings a magazine on his hunts, prepared to manage the lengthy wait when collecting exotic creatures. His encounter with the Ghost Cat opens the feature, managing to defeat a powerful predator using his wits and speed, but Cage’s physical acting (and his stunt double’s) doesn’t mesh with the budget CGI utilized to bring the jaguar (and the rest of the zoo) to life. Director Nick Powell (a longtime stuntman who previously helmed the Cage epic, “Outcast”) isn’t gifted a fortune to make the critters look real, which is a problem for the endeavor, as it’s trying to conjure significant menace from Frank’s deadly prizes, with the Ghost Cat the least convincing effect of the bunch, and the jaguar is the big threat in the screenplay.

Animal activity is slowed to a stop once Loffler arrives on the ship, chained up inside a large cage, giving him free access to verbally abuse his captors. Never one to play a role with any sort of subtlety, Durand is his usual maniacal self in “Primal,” representing casting laziness on Powell’s part, a problem that extends to Imperioli, who doesn’t seem to know what he’s doing in the film, and Janssen, who clearly wants to be somewhere else, forced to play the damsel in distress and flirt with Frank, with their warming relationship pure screenwriting formula in a movie that’s loaded with the stuff. Loffler eventually escapes custody and begins to kill again, with his headspace clouded by government tinkering, making him a real problem as he sabotages the ship to prevent others from getting off. Shootouts ensue, along with numerous arguments as Frank faces off against government boobs who know nothing about snakebites and rogue monkeys.

Primal Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (2.38:1 aspect ratio) presentation is dealing with a flat, HD-shot production, and one that makes a lot of use of boat interiors, which coat the feature in a sickly yellow look. This is not a visual stunner, but detail comes through with facial surfaces, opening ruggedness and unnatural smoothness up for study. Dials, switches, and cages are also defined, securing interiors. Jungle and boat tours have dimension. Interestingly, the general artificiality of the animals is noted, with CGI showing off fine hairs and angry faces, identifying budgetary limitations. Colors aren't explosive, but costuming brings out primaries and skintones are natural. Greenery during the opening act is boosted, and dockside life offers bright signage and waters. Delineation does struggle with solidification, losing frame information with shadow play and encounters with limited lighting. Banding is periodically detected.

Primal Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 Dolby TrueHD mix does very well with atmospherics, finding the highlights of the track involving time in the bowels of the boat with the animals, finding specific chirps, screams, and growls nicely ordered, adding some separation effects to the listening experience. Surrounds also do well with room tone, adding touches of metallic echo to interactions, Open air is noted as well, with jungle visits animated with creatures, and top deck encounters boosted by the sounds of the sea. Dialogue exchanges are direct, with sharp voices and distinct argumentative behavior, losing nothing to screaming matches. Low-end adds some rumble to violence and more aggressive ship movements. Sound effects are appealing, deliver snappy gunfire and naturalistic animal activity.

Primal Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Making Of (9:13, HD) examines the creation of "Primal" with very little effort to get to the heart of the creative drive that put the movie into production. Interviews are only limited to producer Luillo Ruiz and actors Famke Janssen and Kevin Durand (that's right, no Nicolas Cage, and his presence is missed), and the conversations were recorded on-set, making any sort of true insight into filmmaking choices an impossibility. Some feigned excitement is shared for the screenplay and the characters, while director Nick Powell is celebrated as a man of action, focusing his attention on stunts, making it easier for the actors to get involved. Boat locations are detailed, and the star power of Nicolas Cage is shared, with everyone praising his professionalism. Lengthy film clips pad the featurette.

• A Theatrical Trailer has not been included.

Primal Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Primal" has something with its contained version of "Jumanji," but it doesn't reach its full potential, electing to remain with twists and turns I doubt few will care about. There's Cage as Frank, tasked with reclaiming his collection, opening the door to screen bedlam as animals take over the ship, forcing the hunter to learn a thing or two about his troubling vocation. But Leder is more interested in scripting a "hunter vs. hunter" scenario, making Loffler the prize of the story. Cage brings welcome irritability to his performance as Frank is surrounded by idiots and a chatty parrot, and the actor is the sole highlight of the film. However, such anger doesn't support the entire endeavor, as Powell seems determined to disappoint his audience, refusing to supply a semi-campy unleashing of confused animals, with Frank the only hope anyone has to restore order. There's the movie, not some tired nonsense about a captured killer and the country who made him.