Post by Absinthe on Jun 7, 2007 14:44:13 GMT -6
Primeval
- Thriller/Horror
- Starring:
Dominic Purcell
Brooke Langton
Orlando Jones
- Thriller/Horror
- Starring:
Dominic Purcell
Brooke Langton
Orlando Jones
"Primeval" is about an American news crew sent to South Africa to capture and bring home the legendary Gustave; a 25-foot man-eating crocodile that has been terrorizing a small village for decades. The legend of Gustave is a true one. There have been numerous reports of the giant croc and many attacks/deaths documented.
What could have been a simple scream-run-get-eaten movie was taken just a step further by the added factor of a nation in civil war. Tim (Purcell), Aviva (Langton), and Steven (Jones) find that not only must they fight to survive against an angry Gustave, but they must also elude "Little Gustave", the local warlord that has targeted them for death.
This movie exceeded my expectations in more ways than one. The acting was bearable, though at times rather forced and unrealistic. In my opinion, the best two actors in this movie were Orlando Jones and the unknown Gabriel Malema (who played a local villager that joins the hunt for Gustave). Neither of these two really reached full potential, however, as the script/story wouldn't allow it. I found myself easily distracted by other things while I was watching this movie. It simply couldn't keep my attention for very long.
The special fx were average at best, though the gore was considerably more effectively done than the CGI Gustave. There were scenes when the computer generated croc looked exactly that - computer generated. Gustave, in many scenes, did not blend seamlessly with his surroundings as he was meant to and that made it hard to be frightened when he took a bite out of one of the characters - he was too unreal to be effective as the main villain.
"Little Gustave" was more believable than his croc counterpart, but stil not very well played. It seems that the scriptwriters were attempting to shock the audience when "Little Gustave's" identity is revealed. I had it figured out no more than ten minutes into the movie.
"Primeval" had it's moments, so it wasn't a total loss. But it definitely isn't a must-see either. I give it 2 out of 5 for effort.
Primeval hits stores on Tuesday, June 12th