‘Primitive War’ (2025)

‘Primitive War’ follows the Vulture Squad, a recon group sent into an isolated jungle valley during the Vietnam war to rescue what’s left of a platoon of Green Berets. Unknown to them, the valley is inhabited by predators no one could have prepared them for.

Proving themselves to be a competent unit, the film opens on Vulture Squad rescuing what’s left of their men behind enemy lines. Running through the roster of forgettable faces, our attention is soon directed to the meat of this story – to go into a jungle valley to rescue another unit that had mysteriously disappeared. Being constantly told not to ask questions, the squad set out and land in the jungle.

Quickly discovering they are knee deep in dinosaur infested woods, the squad fight their way out of a deinonychus infested cave and are split up. With squad leader Baker (Ryan Kwanten) and greenhorn Verne (Carlos Sanson) separated from the unit, the two wander through the jungle and are aided by Sofia Wagner (Tricia Helfer), a Russian palaeontologist.

Leading them to a research facility that she had been hiding out in, Sofia reveals to the soldiers that the Soviets have been conducting unsafe experiments in the jungle. Learning that a variety of dinosaurs have been transported to the valley as a result of a USSR experiment with wormholes, the trio head out to look for the rest of Vulture Squad and to confront and stop the man in charge of the highly volatile experiments.

Perhaps misjudging its own tone, ‘Primitive War’ misplaces a lot of time and effort in trying to explore its characters. With a fairly outlandish premise, one may expect to walk into an action thriller, something akin to a mix of ‘Platoon’ and ‘Jurassic Park,’ focusing its efforts on trying to deliver excitement, scares and tension.

What the film resorts to however, is a poor attempt at trying to address the morality of blindly following orders and trying to distinguish the just and right course of action when the world is literally collapsing all around the soldiers. Not quite insightful enough to address any major philosophical discussions on ethics and integrity, the film sort of sways between lackluster action sequences and poor attempts at character study.

Oversaturated with Vietnam war film cliches, the feature introduces a slew of one-dimensional characters who add little to the story, focusing on the single trait the script had attributed to them, be it mopey, feisty, greenhorn or righteous leader. Spending less than 2 minutes on each soldier, the film provides for a grab bag of disposable souls, who we do not expect to make it to the end of the feature from the outset.

A little disappointing, ‘Primitive War’ does contain a novel premise, yet it somehow manages to deliver a humdrum experience when it comes to the action. With dinosaurs involved, a viewer would expect nothing less than an absolute bloodbath and terrifying chase sequences. What we get instead somehow feels tired and played out.

With little imagination, the film is familiar and unexciting, providing for a handful of elating sequences that are too few and far in between, making the film feel its length. Not unlike a combination of many familiar tropes, ‘Primitive War’ grabs with both hands and mashes together what contemporary audiences are very familiar with, particularly when it comes to war, action and even dinosaurs.

With the film being an adaptation of the 2017 novel of the same name by Ethan Pettus, it is surprising that director and co-writer of the feature Luke Sparke did not choose to further explore the outlandish premise of the story. Instead of taking advantage of the singular setting and creating something akin to ‘Overlord’ (2018) or ‘Dog Soldiers’ (2002) when it comes to cult classics, what we get instead is a film that takes itself too seriously and focuses on the wrong aspects of its own story, providing for a less than enjoyable experience.

With such a unique premise, ‘Primitive War’ disappoints further even after the film has long since finished. Given that we have insane sci-fi meets dinosaurs, the adventure leaves one disappointed as we are instead made to follow the group of dispensable soldiers who try their best, but do ultimately fail to reach any meaningful conclusion regarding the futility of war. With too little action and not nearly enough outlandish dino related gore, ‘Primitive War’ does not make for an enrapturing experience.

Score: 1/4