"Primeval" doesn't really bring anything new to the man-eater genre that hasn't already been seen in movies such as "Crocodile" or "Alligator", or "Jaws" for that matter.The storyline is simple and straight forward; a group of people go looking for a massive crocodile named Gustave in Africa. But nature being as nature is, the roles quickly turn and the people find themselves to be preyed upon by the crocodile they set out to find.While the movie is entertaining enough, it just didn't stand out from so many other movies in the same genre. And as such, it was but a mere mediocre movie experience.As for the acting, well then I am not a fan of Dominic Purcell, not even by a long shot. So it didn't go well with me that he was in the lead. Jürgen Prochnow, however, is always a treat to have in a movie.The cutting and editing of the movie could have been much better, and many scenes with the crocodile were just abruptly cut and then jumped on to the next scene.If you enjoy man-eater movies, then "Primeval" is adequate entertainment, just don't get your hopes up too high.

Attempting to tread a fine line between two different types of film, Primeval is a misguided, but nonetheless kind of fun movie. On the one hand, it wants to be an 'issues' movie, dealing with warlords, child soldiers and western apathy towards violence in central Africa. On the other, it also wants to have a massive great big crocodile running around trying to eat the guy from Prison Break. It's not bad, but while these two separate strands never really gel there's still some entertainment to be had. Provided of course you can look past the incredibly tasteless joke about the slave trade. The film concentrates on Dominic Purcell's news journalist who gets sent off to Burundi to document the search for 'Gustave,' a legendary croc who has chalked up over 300 human victims during his years prowling the river banks. He's accompanied by a British Steve Irwin a-like, Orlando Jones as the "please don't get him" cameraman, a slumming it Jurgen Prochnow, a token female and several dozen expendable locals and together, they trek into the bush to hunt Gustave down. They're also given a few warnings about 'Little Gustave,' a vicious renegade soldier whose private army are responsible for all manner of atrocities in the region. But hey it'll be okay right? They've got a machine gun strapped to the roof...Needless to say, things go badly. There's all manner of carnage to be had as Gustave begins ripping people to shreds and trigger happy teenagers with AK-47s go on the warpath. By the time the credits roll, just as many people have been machine-gunned as eaten by Gustave and Purcell looks like he can't wait to get back to a nice, comfy cell in San Quentin where he only has to deal with corrupt guards and shankings every day. Taken simply as an old-fashioned adventure movie it's not bad and there's certainly fun to be had when the limbs start to get torn loose. The attempts at dealing with the bigger picture though fall flat. It's apparently "inspired by true events," but aside from the fact there genuinely is a crocodile named Gustave in Burundi, that's about as far as the realism goes. Hotel Rwanda this ain't. However if you want a movie where a great big scaly beast eats people every ten minutes you can't go wrong. You'll have a hard time remembering any of the characters names when the time comes to type up the review though.

I've seen many killer crocodilian films, some good and some bad. This film surpasses most of them, if not all of them. Primeval (not to be confused with the TV series) centers around a crocodile that actually exists in Burundi locally known as Gustave, who is rumored to have killed approximately 300 people. Attempts on his life were made but so far he's only suffered minor gunshot wounds. Gustave is still alive to this day and he's living large.Now on to the movie. Taking place during a genocidal civil war in Burundi, a news crew and a herpetologist (a person who studies reptiles) are sent in to capture the legendary Gustave, who has grown a taste for human flesh thanks to bodies being dumped into his river during the genocide. Things look bad enough when the croc turns the tide on them but then the gang gets targeted for death by a crime lord called Little Gustave because they filmed an execution he pulled off. Our heroes must do all they can to survive the onslaught of both man and a force of nature.Going into this movie, I expected it to be just a silly low-budget film but was 100% wrong. It's a serious and pretty well-thought out movie. The special effects for the mighty Gustave are amazingly good and his attacks plus the human deaths are gruesome and brutal. With a decent cast like the comedic Orlando Jones and great, scary scenes involving the crocodile, this is one of my favorite killer croc films and I do recommend that you see for yourself.

"Primeval" can only be regarded as a minor classic of the "true suspense" genre. Unfortunately, upon its release, it was publicized as a straight up horror film. That it isn't. Actually, it has a lot more going on than most - and offers much more of a payoff as a result. Dominic Purcell leads an impressive cast (including Orlando Jones and Brooke Langton) in a "true" story of the search for a killer crocodile in war-torn Burundi, an African country besieged by warlords and destructive civil unrest. Impressive direction raises the bar for this thriller, which I found to be very effective in both suspense and social relevancy. In fact, as Film Appreciation instructor at a state university, I showed the film to my students and we broke it down to its constituent elements. All agreed that it was a well directed, well acted addition to the suspense-thriller genre and unfairly overlooked upon its release. Yes, the studio should have sold it as something other than a "horror" film, but one cannot fault the film itself for a misleading advertising campaign.