Simply put, Primeval is a sub-par movie with a somewhat clever marketing campaign. Television ads and movie trailers have touted it as a film about the world's most terrifying serial killer whose victims number around 300 and who's still at large. I must admit that's a good hook to fill a few multiplex seats during the ho-hum early months of 2007's moviegoing season. But no amount of deceiving marketing can cover up one undeniable conclusion: Primeval itself just flat-out bites.

Set in a remote area of the troubled African country of Burundi, the movie begins when a local legend is about to become worldwide news. For years, countless natives have fallen victim to "Gustave," a massive crocodile (yup, you read it right -- the killer is a croc) who hunts within the local waters in a bloodthirsty manner similar to the way warlords have begun waging civil war throughout the land. But when a white humanitarian worker becomes Gustave's latest lunch, the world finally snaps to attention.

In a bid to get a big scoop on the story and perhaps even capture Gustave, an American news crew, including reporter Tim (Dominic Purcell) and cameraman Steven (Orlando Jones), is sent to Burundi, teaming up with a local guide (Jurgen Prochnow) and an animal expert (Gideon Emery) to attempt tracking down the notorious reptile. However, even after Gustave makes himself known and dines on a few more people, the crew finds that there's just as much danger on the land, for a local warlord has grown suspicious of the Americans and will do whatever it takes to keep his murderous activities a secret.

The idea of combining a creature feature with a good dose of political commentary may be an intriguing one, but Primeval fails to deliver on its potential. The way this movie handles both genres is akin to watching Blood Diamond and -- in the middle of a particularly intense scene -- killer bees show up out of nowhere. Although this decision indicates the filmmakers had a bit more brainpower than is usually devoted to modern day B-movies, it's still annoying. 

In the end, Primeval is just another "killer animal on the loose" movie, albeit one with a couple of loftier expectations. The film follows the same structure as Jaws, but its overall effect is closer to Jaws: The Revenge, a haphazardly-edited horror flick that might have had a chance to draw viewers in more effectively and frighten them if the cinematography hadn't made it practically impossible to see anything. After watching this movie and See No Evil, I'm beginning to think studios believe the less someone can actually see of a movie, the fewer negative elements will be noticed. And it doesn't help that Gustave comes across as a rather ungainly computer-generated creation, a beastie that's much more fearsome when it sticks to the shadows and the audience sees him as nothing more than a pair of beady eyes staring hungrily out from the water.

A couple of the attack scenes are intense here (Gustave's last assault on a handful of survivors trying to escape in a truck definitely gets the blood going), and the movie definitely doesn't skimp on the gore (when Gustave munches, he munches hard). Still, it's not easy to become engaged by Primeval except on a "When Animals Attack" level, especially since the movie sticks so closely to the structure shared by similar movies. The same characters (the hunky hero, the wisecracking sidekick, the veteran who's seen it all, the priggish expert, etc.) go through the same motions, share the same deaths, and are given the same amount of bland personality by the actors (still, being a big Das Boot fan, I'm always glad to see Jurgen Prochnow on the big screen).

I also had a big problem with the fate of one of the characters, which the movie goes out of its way to suggest as being up in the air, only to completely botch in the final revelation. It's not as glaring as what happened to a certain someone in X-Men: The Last Stand, but it's still very disconcerting.

Primeval will remind many people of Lake Placid, another croc-on-the-rampage flick from a few years ago. I didn't care for that one either, but at least Lake Placid had the benefit of Betty White spouting words you'd never expect Betty White to say in a million years. Primeval does boast a cool slow-motion shot showing Gustave chasing down a potential victim, but  since that moment occurs near the end of the movie, you're better off renting the DVD and fast-forwarding to that particular scene. Or, to save even more time and money, just give this one a pass. 

MY RATING: * 1/2 (out of ****)

(Released by Touchstone and rated "R" for graphic violence, brutality, terror and language.)