By Simon Henderson
I honestly don’t care what others think about Primitive War. From the moment I first heard about it, I have been eager to see it and was pushing it on socials as much as possible. I went into it hoping it was going to be what I wanted, but if it was bad, I was going to be annoyed and really honest in my review.
I was thrilled at how much I enjoyed this. At no point did it ever feel like a low-budget film, especially given that it was made for nearly a quarter of what was originally planned. You can see where every penny was spent. The VFX, direction, editing, etc, were all done by the director, Luke Sparke, and the talent and passion he had for the project are apparent throughout.
Set in a Vietnam jungle valley during 1968, the film follows a reconnaissance unit that carries out a rescue mission for a US Army Special Forces platoon and is attacked by dinosaurs. The story begins as a simple one, but it begins to spiral out of the control of the troops on the ground when they’re attacked by strange creatures deep in the forest.
As the head of Vulture Squad Baker (played by Ryan Kwanten) is a tough, no-nonsense soldier, a man who wants to get his mission completed and go home, hopefully with his whole squad. He is really solid in the role and is someone I’d happily watch in something else. The film also includes two pretty well-known actors in Tricia Helfer and Jeremy Piven. Helfer sports a slightly dodgy Russian accent as Sofia and Piven plays his role as an OTT Colonel who causes more than one bout of subtle laughter in the audience.
For me, the standout character was Logan Stovell, played by Aaron Glenane. Logan is a man clearly suffering from some kind of PTSd, or other condition, from his time in Vietnam and the way he plays it really makes him stand out.
Overall? I loved this film, and if it were showing for a proper run in the cinema, I’d be going back to watch it multiple times. The direction is superb, the effects are great, and the dinosaurs feel really accurate. For me, this is a 4/5 and gets a recommendation to try and watch this at any point you can, however you can.