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American Primeval is set in the Wild West of 1857, where the premise states “The series examines the fight to gain control of the American West and the sometimes violent clash between religion and culture”, but that’s referring to some old-school-style ‘Cowbody and Indians’ action scenes, albeit with more modern filmmaking techniques, bearing in mind this is written by Mark L Smith, who also wrote the screenplay for 2015’s The Revenant, and when the action kicked off, the camera zipped about, following the flying arrows that were shooting around.
Initially, we’re introduced to Sara Rowell (Betty Gilpin – The Tomorrow War) and her son, Devin (Preston Mota), who are trying to get across the harsh lands to Crooks Springs and need a safe escort. Her path will soon cross with that of Isaac (Taylor Kitsch – Painkiller) and we’re not sure what her urgency is, but there are others pursuing her, including Virgil Cutter (Jai Courtney – Honest Thief), who thinks she’s rather not quite on the level, but I’m not saying why, here.
Also thrown into the mix are Two Moons Two Suns (Shawnee Pourier), who had to escape her tribe and inadvertently tags along with Sara and Devin, rather causing consternation given their two warring sides; as well as Jacob Pratt (Dane DeHaan (Dumb Money) and his wife, Abish (Saura Lightfoot-Leon – The Agency).
This is a time when railroads were still being built, and just a few decades before the period of Red Dead Redemption 2, so I was sold on American Primeval from that, as well as the fact that it’s shot with a 2.39:1 widescreen ratio, which really suits a Western, something that Kevin Costner’s
Horizon: An American Saga sorely needed… (as well as a plot).
When American Primeval is on its mettle, it’s great and it’s powerful. However, the big problem with this drama is that after just two of the six episodes, it’s achingly slow. I might just have to flick through the rest to get a flavour if it, than sit through it in full, as there are large sections with very little happening, and I was dropping off!
Thanks to our friends at Netflix for the screener prior to release.
American Primeval is not available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD, but is on Netflix from tomorrow.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 35-65 minutes per episode (6 episodes)
Release date: January 9th 2025
Studio: Netflix
Format: 2.39:1
Director: Peter Berg
Producers: Tim King, Robin Le Chanu
Writer: Mark L Smith
Music: Explosions in the Sky
Cast:
Sara Rowell: Betty Gilpin
Isaac: Taylor Kitsch
Abish: Saura Lightfoot-Leon
Jacob Pratt: Dane DeHaan
Virgil Cutter: Jai Courtney
Jim Bridger: Shea Whigham
Two Moons Two Suns: Shawnee Pourier
Devin Rowell: Preston Mota
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.