2025’s Primitive War Shows Jurassic Park How It’s Done

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Given the massive success of the Jurassic Park movies, it’s easy to see other dinosaur films as cheap imitations. However, a 2025 release quietly surprised audiences with a genuinely frightening and well-made dinosaur film that many consider better than several entries in the Jurassic Park series.

As a huge cinema fan, I recently checked out Primitive War, based on Ethan Pettus’s 2017 novel, and I was really surprised! It doesn’t have the huge budget or star power of the Jurassic Park movies, and the special effects aren’t on that level, but honestly, it’s closer than you’d think. What’s amazing is it only cost a little over $1 million to make, yet it scored a 65% from critics and an impressive 85% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. But for me, the real kicker isn’t just how well it did on such a small budget; it’s that it actually shows the Jurassic Park films how to make a truly original dinosaur movie.

Primitive War’s Source Material Helps it Stay Fresh and Unique

By the seventh Jurassic Park movie, the series had started to feel repetitive. The core idea of a park filled with dinosaurs had been explored many times before, and while the previous film attempted to recapture the franchise’s thrilling and scary roots, it didn’t quite feel new or innovative.

Based on a series of novels, Primitive War boasts a rich story and well-developed characters. Rather than the usual setting of a remote island or park, the film takes place during the Vietnam War, exploring the emotional scars of war and the bonds formed between soldiers. Then, it throws an unexpected twist into the mix: a dangerous rescue mission complicated by flesh-eating, ancient reptiles.

You’ll likely become more invested in the characters of Primitive War than in many of the one-off characters from the Jurassic Park films (excluding the original trio, naturally). The film focuses on creating a connection between the audience and the soldiers, which is something the more recent Jurassic World movies lacked – they often presented heroes without much depth or believable relationships.

Primitive War Brings the R-Rating the Jurassic Park Franchise Has Desperately Missed

While the first Jurassic Park movie has its share of frightening scenes, the series generally avoids showing the truly brutal consequences of humans encountering dinosaurs. Primitive War, however, doesn’t hold back, delivering the graphic, violent action that fans have been wanting from a *Jurassic Parkstyle movie for years.

I was completely blown away by the sheer intensity of Primitive War! From the terrifying Deinonychus to the colossal Tyrannosaurus rex, this movie doesn’t hold back on the gore. What I really appreciated was how they blended practical effects with digital ones – it created these incredibly realistic and shocking dinosaur moments. It even took some classic scenes we all loved and pushed them further, giving us exactly what we wanted to see!

While the acting and special effects aren’t quite as polished as those in the Jurassic Park films, and it’s definitely more mature with its R-rating, the lower production cost – meaning it didn’t require a huge $100 million budget – makes it worthwhile.

Universal could learn from the success of Primitive War and consider creating a fresh, original story with an R-rating. While that might exclude some family audiences, the premise of dinosaurs battling humans isn’t exactly family-friendly to begin with. Disney’s risk with the R-rated Deadpool & Wolverine paid off, earning the film half a billion dollars. Universal should follow suit and prioritize bold creative choices, rather than sticking to what’s safe.

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2026-02-19 06:39