Primal

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1:27

Primal

R

Released Nov 8, 2019

1h 37m

Action

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

39%

Tomatometer

46 Reviews

23%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

Hunter and collector Frank Walsh expects a big payday after bagging a priceless white jaguar for a zoo. But the ship bearing Frank's precious cargo has another predator -- a political assassin facing extradition to America. When the prisoner manages to break free, Walsh must utilize his expert skills to capture the dangerous killer -- not dead, but alive.

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Critics Consensus

Chiefly of interest to Nicolas Cage completists and hardcore B-movie fans, this action thriller suffers from an unfortunate lack of Primal energy.

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Amy Nicholson

FilmWeek (LAist)

It's more brutal than thrilling... I think the plot summary is probably the most tongue-in-cheek about the way it plays out.

Nov 8, 2019

Full Review

David Ehrlich

IndieWire

A lifeless game of cat-and-mouse-and-jaguar.

Rated: D

Nov 8, 2019

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Simon Abrams

RogerEbert.com

Face it, tiger: Primal is boring.

Rated: 1.5/4

Nov 8, 2019

Full Review

Dev Shea

Nightmarish Conjurings

I love kitchen sink action movies like this where there’s a little bit of everything causing problems. There’s fighting, gore, guns, isolation and wild animals. It’s like Jumanji but with less family-friendly content and more grunting

Sep 15, 2022

Full Review

Howard Gorman

NME (New Musical Express)

Stuffed with unintentionally laugh-out-loud moments, Primal is fun as long as you don't take it too seriously.

Rated: 3/5

Jun 10, 2021

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Alex Behan

The Post NZ

A B-grade blast. Just to be clear, this is a bad movie, but Nicolas Cage is mesmerising.

Jun 4, 2021

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Billy M

This is like if Snakes on a Plane took itself seriously, but with an even lower budget. The CGI is distractingly bad, but not worse than the flat performances by everyone except Nick Cage. The plot does nothing to draw you in and doesn’t deliver on action or any other movie benchmark for that matter.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

05/26/25

Full Review

Rosana B

Nicolas Cage sempre fazendo boas escolhas em seus filmes (???), um caçador ilegal e mercenário que caça um Onça Branca rara (vista uma única vez na vida real em Petrópolis em 2013 e nunca mais), o filme é bem gostosinho, apesar da caça ter sido no Brasil as filmagens foram em Porto Rico, uma trama de ação, perseguição e alguns tiros, animaizinhos atacando os tripulantes, trilha sonora brasileira “Cachoeira Prateada”... Deveriam ter devolvido a onça para seu habit natural, Brasil...

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/01/25

Full Review

Bryan G

I can make a better Jaguar on my laptop in a free program making 3d legos sets. I know that a Nicolas Cage movie made in the last 10+ years is going to be crazy. But what I want to know is what happened to Famke Janssen! How did she go from Golden Eye, Rounders, The Faculty, X-Men, X2, X-Men: The Last Stand to end up doing this crap. She must have to pay her Ex Tod Williams money that is why she takes any and every job that comes. She is in two bad movies a year her ex had not director, producer and screenwriter. has done nothing in 8+ years

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

10/10/24

Full Review

Jeffrey P

Peaks very early on, appearing like it may be better than expected, but it’s all downhill from there.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

08/27/24

Full Review

Mark B

Cgi is not good. Cage was pretty good. Very limited story telling. It was alright.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/27/24

Full Review

Mighty N

Movie is bad but enjoyable for the most part. Watch this when you have nothing else to do. Although, you might want to do something else instead of watching this

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/18/24

Full Review

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Nick Powell

Director

Nicolas Cage

Frank Walsh

Famke Janssen

Dr. Ellen Taylor

Kevin Durand

Richard Loffler

LaMonica Garrett

John Ringer

Michael Imperioli

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Primal: Trailer 1

1:27

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Synopsis

Hunter and collector Frank Walsh expects a big payday after bagging a priceless white jaguar for a zoo. But the ship bearing Frank's precious cargo has another predator -- a political assassin facing extradition to America. When the prisoner manages to break free, Walsh must utilize his expert skills to capture the dangerous killer -- not dead, but alive.

Director: Nick Powell
Producer: Daniel Grodnik, Bobby Ranghelov, Luillo Ruiz, Bret Saxon
Screenwriter: Richard Leder
Distributor: Lionsgate Films
Production Co: Wonderfilm Media, Imprint Entertainment, Pimienta, Daniel Grodnik Productions, Source Investments B.V.
Rating: R (Violence and Language)
Genre: Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 8, 2019, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 8, 2019
Runtime: 1h 37m
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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