Synopsis
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.
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Cast
- Nicolas CageFrank Walsh
- Famke JanssenDr. Ellen Taylor
- Kevin DurandRichard Loffler
- Jeremy Jay NazarioRafael
- LaMonica GarrettJohn Ringer
- Michael ImperioliPaul Freed
- Isaac SantiagoVasquez
- Braulio Castillo Jr.Morales
- Tommy WalkerForrest
- Sewell WhitneyScuddy
Recommendations
- 75
Observer
Recent complaints about action flicks with no action can be ameliorated by Primal, a white-knuckle thriller with a thrill a minute. Nicolas Cage delivers his best performance in years. - 60
The Hollywood Reporter
No film involving Nicholas 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. - 50
Uproxx
At times, watching Nic Cage over emote every single line and bad guys get iced by killer monkeys is as sublime as it sounds. - 42
The A.V. Club
One hires Cage for a generic timewaster like this in the hope that he’ll make it at least a little more interesting on screen than it was on paper, by virtue of some crazed facial expressions and off-the-wall line readings, but he evidently wasn’t in the experimenting mood. - 40
Variety
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. - 38
Slant Magazine
The film too often suggests an Under Siege that’s been pointlessly larded with critters from Jumanji. - 38
RogerEbert.com
Granted, the movie does feature a few endearingly goofy scenes where Cage acts like Humphrey Bogart, with sweat on his brow, a stogie in his mouth, and a haughty putdown for anybody who makes eye contact with him. But he basically already did that in Paul Schrader’s underwhelming 2016 Ed Bunker adaptation “Dog Eat Dog.” - 30
Los Angeles Times
Primal ends up being more exhausting than awesome.
