"Primal" (2019)

[tharpdevenport]

I waited, but I didn't see anybody post it...

Coming this fall from the creator of "Samurai Jack", Genndy Tartakovsky.

Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KFyVu514DY
(youtube.com/watch?v=0KFyVu514DY)

 

[Christopher]

This is the first Genndy Tartakovsky TV project that I find I have no interest in. There's nothing new or engaging about another iteration of the hoary, blatantly wrong "cavemen and dinosaurs" trope, and I don't find anything entertaining about indiscriminate violence and gore.

 

[tharpdevenport]

If I based my opinion on "Samurai Jack" on just brief short seconds woven together of him slicing things with his sword and yelling, I would have missed out on a hell of a show.

I think we can put more faith into Genndy. He's yet to disappoint.

 

[Christopher]

If I based my opinion on "Samurai Jack" on just brief short seconds woven together of him slicing things with his sword and yelling, I would have missed out on a hell of a show.

There are several differences there. First off, Samurai Jack wasn't built on a hackneyed cliche. A samurai in a post-apocalyptic future is a lot less done-to-death than a caveman fighting dinosaurs. Second, until the recent revival, Jack's opponents were robots and the show was bloodless -- and though the revival was more violent, Jack actually valued life and had a moral crisis when he killed. The trailer shown here showcases an ultra-bloody killing rampage as if it's a selling point, and I find it repulsive.

I think we can put more faith into Genndy. He's yet to disappoint.

I think sometimes creators have tendencies that are better kept in check than encouraged to run out of control. Restraint in some respects can be good. Tartakovsky does have a knack for stylized depictions of violence, but it's the stylization and the detachment from the gory reality of violence that keeps them from crossing a line. This trailer looks like it's on the wrong side of the line, at least for me.

 

[tharpdevenport]

There are several differences there. First off, Samurai Jack wasn't built on a hackneyed cliché.

Right. It: was built on three clichés:
1. Hero goes threw tiem to try and fix what has happened.
2. Post-apocalyptic future setting.
3. Loner who makes friends along the way.

Probably more. But none of that matters based on what I wrote.

I think sometimes creators have tendencies that are better kept in check than encouraged to run out of control.

True, but so far Genndy hasn't pulles a Joss Whedon or George Lucas on us. Unless I missed some project where he did.

Tartakovsky does have a knack for stylized depictions of violence, but it's the stylization and the detachment from the gory reality of violence that keeps them from crossing a line. This trailer looks like it's on the wrong side of the line, at least for me.

But we're right back at where I started: If I had judged "Samurai Jack" by...

 

[JD]

I'm not a huge fan of the emphasis on gore in the trailer, but it was just a first brief teaser so I'm still pretty excited for this. I hadn't heard about this until I saw the teaser, but it's Genndy Tartakovsky, so I'll definitely at least give it a look no matter what.

 

[Christopher]

It's partly the gore, it's partly that I can't believe people are still basing stories on the idiotic "cavemen and dinosaurs lived together" trope. Not to mention the sexism built into the myth that human prehistory was defined by cavemen going around killing things. These ideas should've died decades ago and it bothers me when new works perpetuate old ignorance.

 

[JD]

I doubt very much that a show like this is concerned with historical/scientific accuracy.
It is ridiculous, but at this point the whole cavemen and dinosaurs idea is such a huge pop culture thing that I'm really not bothered by it.