Primal

This was exactly what I needed tonight. But what I needed wasn't something good. Nic Cage and everything that happens within his 30-foot sphere of influence is one hundred percent unbelievable at all times. Under Siege with talking parrots, what could wrong? Lots. Still fun though.

_Final rating:★★½ - Had a lot that appealed to me, didn’t quite work as a whole._

Pretty standard thriller, though compared to some of Cage's other direct-to-video flicks. Not altogether bad and I found some of it to be halfway entertaining, even with some questionable visual effects (which I give a pass considering what I assume wasn't a big budget), and it's never a bad thing seeing Famke Janssen. And for his part, as normal Cage performances go, he wasn't bad.

The biggest drawback however was the convoluted plot, I'll give them this high-value prisoner has a health condition that precluded them from flying him back, but the reasoning to be on a cargo vessel was dumb. 2.75/5

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.