‘Primitive War’ Review – Vietnam Dinosaur Movie Gets Bloody But Takes Itself Too Seriously

Sending an elite military squad into hostile territory overrun by prehistoric predators is the precise type of high concept that’s all but guaranteed to get butts in seats. Blending a violent Vietnam war movie with dinosaur carnage dangles thrilling potential for genre fun, but Primitive War, writer/director/VFX supervisor Luke Sparke’s adaptation of author Ethan Pettus’ sci-fi military novel, squanders it with a bloated runtime overstuffed with tropes yet stretched thin on plot.

Set during the Vietnam War in 1968, Primitive War introduces its core team, a recon unit known as Vulture Squad, a search and rescue group demonstrating their skills through gunfire in a jungle combat opening sequence. Upon returning from that mission, they’re assigned new orders that will send them into an isolated jungle valley to rescue a missing Green Beret platoon, only to discover that a Soviet experiment has unleashed hordes of ravenous dinosaurs that will thwart their path at every turn.

There’s not much to Primitive War beyond that. A group of soldiers facing dangerous threats at every turn, fighting their way to complete their mission, and often dying in grisly fashion. The good news is that the deaths do frequently come with buckets of blood and entrails spilled, and the dino onslaught is constant. But that’s also about where the good news ends.