Endangered Species – Tension Fuelled Experience
Director: M.J. Bassett
Writer: Isabel Bassett, M.J. Bassett (Screenplay) Paul Chronnell (Story)
Starring: Rebecca Romijn, Philip Winchester, Isabel Bassett, Michael Johnston, Chris Fisher, Jerry O’Connell
Plot: a wealthy American family who travel to the vast African wilderness of Kenya hoping for a dream vacation filled with excitement, bonding and a chance to fix the growing rifts within their family. But when their safari vehicle is attacked by a rhino protecting her calf, the family is left stranded miles from help and their dream vacation turns into a nightmarish struggle for survival in a world where they are the bottom of the food chain.
Tagline – Far from home. Far from safety. Far from over.
Runtime: 1 Hour 41 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Endangered Species starts when a family Lauren (Romijn), Jack (Winchester), Zoe (Bassett), Noah (Johnston) and Zoe’s boyfriend Billy (Fisher) arrive in Africa for a safari holiday, they get into the beauty of the location, while getting prepared for an adventure of a lifetime.
As the family look to explore the safari themselves, they stumble upon a rhino family which will flip their vehicle, leaving them stranded in the middle of the safari, injured, helpless and prime for the picking for the wildlife.
Thoughts on Endangered Species
Characters & Performances – Jack is the father of the household, he has used his money from his luxury job to pay for his holiday as a treat, he is struggling to connect with his son, he wants to make sure this holiday is better than they expect, only his head strong attitude will find them in more trouble. Philip Winchester does give us the character that is conflicted with love and unable to change. Lauren is the wife and mother who is diabetic, which will cause another problem in the battle to survive the situation they find themselves in. Rebecca Romijn might well be the biggest name in this film and she does everything well, it is more that she doesn’t have much to do. Zoe and Noah are the children that are both finding themselves feeling distant from Jack, with them both getting a chance to win his approval on the trip, despite knowing he doesn’t believe everything they want from life. Both Isabel Bassett and Michael Johnston give us performances that will make us believe the insecurities in their characters.
Story – The story here follows a wealthy American family that are on a safari in Africa, only for the trip to turn into a nightmare when they become stranded with the wildlife waiting for a chance to hunt them down, needing to find a way to survive. This story is one that we have seen before with a different environment, a family in need of help, stranded, needing to weight up their options for survival. The obstacles they come across will see them tested and will let them deal with the problems between them too. The story does have a deeper message about poaching, as well as showing us the African animals in their natural environment.
Themes – Endangered Species is an action thriller that will see man versus the wild, seeing how the group must figure out how to survive different encounters. The African backdrop is stunningly beautiful to see, even if the CGI on the animals doesn’t feel as smooth as it could do.
Endangered Species which is on digital 28 June and DVD 5 July
Endangered Species is a tense safari from hell.
