Primeval

It’s remarkable just how quickly Primeval establishes itself as a thoroughly awful, downright irritating piece of work, as the film, thanks initially to Michael Katleman’s egregiously flashy direction, kicks off with an action sequence that’s virtually incoherent and things just get progressively worse from there. John D. Brancato and Michael Ferris’ screenplay features a fairly intriguing premise – several figures are sent into Africa to find (and capture) a deadly crocodile responsible for over 300 deaths – but the pair’s reluctance to offer up even a hint of backstory for any of the film’s characters makes it impossible to root for their survival. Talented performers such as Dominic Purcell, Brooke Langton, and Orlando Jones are consequently trapped within the confines of ridiculously simplistic stereotypes, with Jones’ portrayal of the film’s prototypically sassy black victim certainly the most overt example of this (the actors’ uniformly superficial work mirrors Katleman’s relentlessly slick visual choices, at least). The inclusion of several instances of social commentary by Brancato and Ferris couldn’t possibly be more unwelcome, as the writers hit the viewer over the head with their message, which concerns the parallels between the crocodile and the country’s vicious warlords, with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. And as if that weren’t enough, Primeval features some of the worst computer-generated effects this side of a Roger Corman flick; there’s consequently little doubt that what should have been the one bright spot within the movie (ie bloody, gory crocodile attacks) are rendered absolutely incomprehensible thanks to the exceedingly poor special effects and Katleman’s jerky camerawork.

* out of ****