The Jurassic Park saga completely revolutionized the creature feature genre. Three decades later, the series is as successful as ever, as highlighted by Jurassic World Rebirth’s theatrical success.
Usually, when a franchise is that successful, many others try to replicate its success, but few could do it with Jurassic Park. However, the new release Primitive War might finally be able to hold its own against the Steven Spielberg-created dinosaur series. The sci-fi action horror debuted in theaters on Aug. 21, and Primitive War received a thrilling 89% approval from the audience on Rotten Tomatoes.
Primitive War is an Australian production and combines war, science fiction, and creature features. The early reviews are thrilling, praising the “great action and lots of dinosaurs,” as well as the soundtrack, performances, and direction. One review calls it “Better than every single Jurassic movie except for [Jurassic Park] 1, 2 and [Jurassic World] 1.”
A different review also compares it to Jurassic World Rebirth, writing that, “Primitive War is 20x the better movie: more action, more dinosaurs and more terror! This is THE must-see dinosaur movie!!”
The film doesn’t have a critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of writing, as it only features six reviews, and only two of them are negative. However, it needs more opinions to come through before an official score, and it’s difficult to pinpoint which way the critical consensus will swing. The critics’ reviews highlight that the film is not a typical blockbuster, but that it’s entertaining and action-packed, with many calling it even better than the recent addition to the Jurassic Park franchise.
NYC Movie Guru’s Avi Offer calls Primitive War a “thrilling, action-packed B-movie movie that blows Jurassic World Rebirth out of the water,” with jimschembri.com’s Jim Schembri describing the film as “If Platoon and Jurassic Park had a love-child Primitive War is what it would look like. Plenty of chomptastic fun here with this big fat serving of masterfully made B-movie mayhem.” ScreenSpace’s Simon Foster writes, “[Luke Sparke] understands what makes for a rattlin’ good B-movie romp, including a game cast (Ryan Kwanten and Jeremy Piven, most notably) and effects that deliver bang/roar for your buck.”
Among the negative reviews from the critics, Bloody Disgusting’s Meagan Navarro notes Primitive War is ruined by “a bloated runtime overstuffed with tropes yet stretched thin on plot,” arguing that “Tonally, Primitive War tends to take itself way too seriously to a tedious degree, stretching that two-hour and fifteen-minute runtime into a grueling marathon, but will occasionally insert puzzling bursts of silliness,” calling it “surprisingly inert” despite the constant action.
What Is Primitive War About?
Image via Sparke Films
Primitive War has Luke Sparke at the helm, based on Ethan Pettus’ 2017 novel of the same name. Pettus also co-wrote the film with Sparke. The cast blends some familiar names like Ryan Kwanten (True Blood), Tricia Helfer (Lucifer), Nick Wechsler (Revenge), and Jeremy Piven (Entourage), as well as Anthony Ingruber, Ana Thu Nguyen, and Aaron Glenane.
Primitive War’s logline reads, “Vietnam. 1968. A recon unit known as Vulture Squad is sent to an isolated jungle valley to uncover the fate of a missing Green Beret platoon. They soon discover they are not alone and must face the most terrifying creatures to ever walk the earth.”
CBR’s Grae Drake spoke to the director and cast in the CBR studio at SDCC. Sparke explained that, since he thought he might not ever be able to make his own Jurassic Park, he used his military background and filmmaking skills to make his own version of the dinosaur franchise. Piven teased about his character, “I send them into this impossible mission, and my character has seen everything that you can see in war until he discovers a dinosaur tooth… and then he needs his diaper.”
Primitive War is playing in theaters.
Release Date
August 21, 2025
Runtime
135 Minutes
Director
Luke Sparke
Writers
Luke Sparke, Ethan Pettus