Since Steven Spielberg’s original “Jurassic Park” first blew up the global box office, there has been no shortage of feature length knockoffs. They’ve come in all varieties, bearing such hilariously corny titles as “Jurassic Galaxy”, “Jurassic Shark”, “Jurassic Thunder”, and so on. As Oscar Wilde so eloquently put it, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness“. For the most part that certainly fits when it comes to Spielberg’s 1993 blockbuster classic.

In some ways “Primitive War” may fall into the knockoff category. It has the CGI dinosaurs and its story revolves around humanity’s clash with these beasts from the past. Even some of its shots directly call back to the Jurassic Park movies. Yet dismissing “Primitive War” as nothing more than a knockoff would be a disservice considering how the film takes so many wild swings all its own. To be clear, this is no clone of “Jurassic Park”, not in style, tone, narrative, or ambition.

“Primitive War” is an Australian production helmed by Luke Sparke. A man of many hats, Sparke serves as the film’s director, writer, producer, editor, visual effects supervisor, and production designer. On paper there’s no way “Primitive War” should work. But Sparke’s craftsmanship does wonders in many of the areas mentioned above. His direction is solid, his editing is crisp, his production design is superb, and his budget special effects impress more than they let down (more on them in a second).

Arguably the film’s biggest strength involves its time and place. Sparke gets a ton of mileage out of his Vietnam War setting. Set in 1968, the story (based on a 2017 novel of the same name by Ethan Pettus) follows Vulture Squad, a well-oiled elite unit of highly trained Army outcasts who conduct dangerous missions deep behind enemy lines. Sparke smartly lets us spend some time with the seven men early on, both in the field and in the barracks. It’s a choice that adds some needed weight to what’s to come.

After a Green Beret unit goes missing in occupied territory, Vulture Squad is called on by their commander, Colonel Jericho (played by Jeremy Piven brandishing an unfortunate Southern accent). He tasks them with discovering the whereabouts of the missing soldiers and reporting back. But Jericho gives them practically no intel, content with saying everything is “classified”. So Vulture team leader Sergeant Baker (Ryan Kwanten) and his ragtag unit are sent deep into the jungle under the cover the night. And what they discover isn’t the Viet Cong. It is in fact (as you’ve probably guessed) dinosaurs.

Sparke wastes no time putting Vulture Squad in danger. They immediately discover a massive animal track, a giant feather, a heaping pile of dung, and a journal with the slightly ambiguous words “we are being hunted” scribbled inside. Those words become a reality after the soldiers are attack by a ravenous pack of Deinonychus. During the chaos, Baker and a rookie named Leon (Carlos Sanson) are separated from their squadmates. They have a harrowing encounter with a Tyrannosaurus Rex before being saved by a stranded Russian scientist named Sofia (Tricia Helfer) who takes them to her heavily fortified research station.

From there the movie takes one of its several genre turns, introducing a stone-cold crazy science-fiction twist. I won’t spoil it, but you have to respect the audacity while you’re audibly laughing out loud. It’s utterly preposterous, yet the movie’s earnest treatment of it makes it work within the confines of the story. And the entire cast is fully onboard, embracing the nuttiness through characters who have just enough individual personality for us to care. That sounds like a small thing, but it makes a difference in a movie like this.

As mentioned, Sparke squeezes a lot out of the story’s Vietnam War setting. He puts plenty of effort into recreating it, as seen in his choices of shooting locations, the carefully detailed sets, the authentic uniforms, gear, vehicles, and weaponry. As for the visual effects, Sparke doesn’t let his modest budget stymie his vision and what he is able to do with $8 million is pretty remarkable. Without question, some of the CGI isn’t up to snuff. But for the most part, the dinosaurs look great with Sparke and DP Wade Muller often using their camera in a number of clever ways to enhance what we see. It’s pretty impressive.

As for the script, it not only presents a gonzo premise – it fully embraces it. It does so by weaving together a war movie, a gory creature feature, and sci-fi action, putting its own spin on each in the process. At the same time, it tries a little too hard to be grounded and gritty – an issue that shows itself most in the dialogue. Sure, you can pick apart certain things (such as the squad’s seemingly endless supply of ammunition). But those issues are trivial in a movie that succeeds in being exactly what it wants to be – two fun-filled hours of pure genre entertainment.

VERDICT – 3.5 STARS