Endangered Species Movie Review, Bad Survival Movie

Movie Review 

MJ. Basset, director of Endangered Species, was previously responsible for dark fantasy Solomon Kane and British horror Wilderness. So my expectations were pretty high for Bassett's latest feature, which details the plight of a family set in Kenya and forced to work together when stranded in a sprawling safari park.

  Unfortunately, despite the promise of a decent survival story featuring rhinos, hyenas and other African animals, the film quickly falters due to a lame script, dodgy acting and a lack of any real tension. 

 Since endangered species is a wildlife conservation message, this is perhaps another reason why real animals are not forced to appear. Still, it wouldn't go amiss if a few scenes featuring actual African wildlife were shot from a distance.

 

Lack Of Real Animals 

 The lack of real animals isn't the only problem with this film, as I suggested earlier. One of the biggest problems here is the quality of the script. If there should have been more scenes interacting with the animals of the Kenyan background, too much time is spent on fighting between family members. This saps much of the tension from an already weak story and makes the film a frustrating watch rather than an exciting one.

 

Plot Points

 Some of the plot points are also very silly. At one point, a character is savaged by a leopard and dragged into a tree. Miraculously, this person survives the attack and is barely able to limp or stumble after escaping the animal's clutches. Then there's the moment when the father lets his son Noah drive the van around the park, even though the teenager has little driving experience and there are potential dangers at every turn. Such moments are far from reality and the film gets funnier and funnier towards the end.

Bad Script 

  The script is bad, but if the acting was better, the weaknesses could have been overcome. Not every actor gives a bad performance, but there are a few performers who mishandle almost every line they are given. I won't name names here because that would be a little unfair, but it doesn't take long to figure out which actors can rise above terrible dialogue and which ones can't.

  

Disappointing 

It's disappointing that this movie is bad because Bassett has some interesting moments in a clunky story. It is not only a survival thriller but also an anti-poaching film and it highlights the evils of poaching within the story and in the coda that appears at the end of the film.

  The characters also talk about their environmental responsibilities, such as the moment when daughter Zoe sends her father away for bringing plastic bottles instead of glass alternatives. Unfortunately, the moment is slightly shaken when they later regret leaving the plastic bottles behind when the glass bottles Zoe brought with them break when their van is run over by a rhinoceros. 

Not Bad At All

 However, the movie is not bad at all. It was filmed in a real National Park in Kenya, which gives the endangered species a degree of authenticity. The wide, sweeping vistas of the African plains are quite beautiful to behold, and the director can be commended for his camerawork, which gives us both a bird's-eye view and an up-close-and-personal view of the landscape the hapless family is forced to navigate. around as they fight for survival.

  The CGI animals are also pretty well realized, although there are a few scenes that don't ring true because the actors are acting with something they can't actually see. It's surprising that the director chose to use special effects for these shots, but the film is set in a place where real animals likely roam.

  Of course, it would be wrong for Bassett to put his actors in danger, so I can partially understand why they used real hyenas, leopards, etc. they didn't have to play with. The famous 1981 film Roar highlighted the real danger of filming. scenes with actors and potentially hostile animals, as several people were seriously injured on the set of a movie nightmare.

There are some excellent human vs. nature films out there, including Day of the Beast and Naked Predator , and Idris Elba's upcoming Beast , about a family being hunted by a rogue lion, also looks good. In comparison, Endangered Species is pretty scary, so if you're looking for a survival thriller or something with a decent plot that fits the environmental messages of the film, it can't be recommended.

Cheesy Family Drama

  Ultimately, it's a cheesy family drama masquerading as an adventure picture with characters you can hardly root for. Chances are, you might secretly wish some of them had been eaten before the closing credits started rolling. It's a pretty sad thing to say, I know, but when you have to listen to the characters drone on for over 90 minutes, it would be a pity to avoid their excruciating dialogue and bathroom antics.