Primal  ★★★

NICHOLAS Cage has been busy.

In the last three years he has made 18 films but only a few – Mandy, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (voice) and Colour Out of Space – have been critical successes.

The action/thriller Primal is basically another pay cheque with Cage mostly phoning in his performance as a big game hunter.

Why his character, Frank Walsh, is so jaded and cynical is never really explained which makes Cage’s performance all the more unconvincing and cartoonish.

The premise of the film is actually not bad. Walsh is transporting a bunch of animals via a sea tanker to Puerto Rico but the US Government also hitches a ride in order to transport a notorious criminal.

The former American soldier turned assassin-for-hire, kept in a cage ala Hannibal Lecter, escapes and lets all the dangerous animals loose, including a rare and valuable white jaguar.

So the crew and US Government agents are faced with multiple threats while Walsh must decide what is more important to him – the animals (as in their financial value) or his fellow humans.

There are a few other familiar faces. Kevin Durand gives Cage a run for his money as the over-the-top super villain while Famke Janssen is wasted as usual as a navy doctor.

It’s the second film directed by stunt man Nick Powell (his first, Outcast in 2014, also starred Cage) and it’s no better or worse than many other straight-to-video offerings.

In fact it’s probably a bit better because the premise if interesting, the final act is fairly exciting and the CGI isn’t awful. It’s the script and acting that let’s the side down.

Ridiculous, but kind of fun.