Primal (2019)

United States of America

Action, Adventure, Thriller

Daniel Grodnik Productions, Wonderfilm Media, Imprint Entertainment, Artem Entertainment, Pimienta, Lionsgate

Nicolas Cage, Famke Janssen, Kevin Durand, Jeremy Jay Nazario, LaMonica Garrett, Michael Imperioli

Nick Powell

Richard Leder

Taglines: The ultimate hunter vs the ultimate predator

assassin, amazon rainforest, freighter, big game hunter, exotic animals

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.

Reviews:

Author: Kamurai
Really good watch, could watch again, and can recommend. This is one of Nicolas Cage's more reserved roles, and the movie is very well balanced between him and Kevin Durand (and LaMonica Garrett and his team dealing with Durand's character). The premise is intriguing and simple: trapped on a boat with a killer, wild animals, military, and a hunter: who wins? The biggest problem I have with this, and the movie specifically leans into it, is that Nicolas Cage is not playing a good guy, he's a poacher. The only reason he doesn't go to prison for life (though I'm sketchy if the US Cost Guard has jurisdiction given it's not a US ship and neither country involved in the trip is the US), is because Famke Janssen has the hots for him. Kevin Durand really is amazing in this. He's been reserved to what feels like bit parts in the past, but giving a chance to shine, he really does. He's able to steal the light from Cage in some parts of the movie. This isn't the greatest movie ever, but it's really good, and I think you'll remember it.