Crocodile Island

Obviously a low budget movie but I've seen MUCH worse high budget attempts with similar story lines. The acting isn't bad, the script is weak and the CGI is only just about acceptable. However, the movie flows along nicely and is actually quite entertaining.

If a child is not scared by a monster crocodile and giant spiders, they may find this a fun watch. The version I watched was the dubbed American version. I have seen a number of Chinese films before, usually with very good CGI, decently filmed, decent dubbing, and often one person who turns out to be almost superhuman in abilities. This is not that type of film. The dubbing was terrible, with a long conversation in Chinese given a couple words subtitle, and some sporadic English. The CGI was not terrible, but flawed. We first see the croc tail in the water, and it seems like that of a normal croc. Then, it comes onto the beach, again not that large. Then it is on the beach, and is it huge. Interesting use of gunpowder to treat a wound. They set up warning pots around their campfire, so they would know if an intruder approaches. But it would take less then a second for the croc to pass the warning pots and eat them all. The storyline states Lu Wenbing shows the honorable aptitudes of family, etc., which may or may not have gotten across. The movie does answer two common questions, however. If getting away from a monster, can any of them not trip, get snagged, not stand dumbfounded, or otherwise fall? And how many bullets does a gun hold? For the first, not really. And the second, more than you could ever believe. And now it is perfectly clear that Chinese film makers have the ability to provide a real stinker just like some American film distributors.

I have to say that I was actually lured in by the movie's cover/poster, and with it being a gargantuan creature feature and a Chinese one at that, of course I have to sit down and watch "Ju e dao" (aka "Crocodile Island") from writer Minming Ni.

Well, perhaps the concept idead behind "Ju e dao" was good in thought, spirit and on script paper, but the transition to the screen didn't really make for an impressive movie from directors Shixing Xu and Simon Zhao. Actually, the movie wasn't even mediocre. It was sort of lazy writing actually ,as writer Minming Ni was borrowing a bit too heavily from the Jules Verne novel.

The storyline was just generic and bland to the point where I didn't care about the characters or the storyline itself.

The characters in "Ju e dao" were bland and faceless. I didn't know where one character ended and the next started, because they had zero personalities and zero quirks or traits that would make them unique and likeable. So I didn't invest anything in the character gallery in this 2020 movie.

Then there were the special effects. They were special alright, but not in a good way. It was hard to fathom how such lousy CGI animation and horrible rendered textures would make it to the screen in 2020. It looked awful, and it took away so much enjoyment from the movie. A creature feature with gargantuan creatures is worth nothing without having proper CGI and effects to make them realistic and believable. Yeah, they didn't have that in "Ju e dao", believe you me.

Well, we are not out of the forest just yet. The acting performances in "Ju e dao" were horrible. It was for the most part very, very amateurish, staggering and wooden to look at. And that definitely didn't help to spruce up an otherwise flaccid and pointless character gallery.

You might want to save yourself the anguish and waste of nearly one and a half hour by skipping out on "Ju e dao" entirely. It just simply wasn't an outstanding, enjoyable or memorable movie experience.

My rating of "Ju e dao" lands of a three out of ten stars.

A giant crocodile .. I mean of course right? Although to be fair if you strand on to an island that has never been inhabited by other humans ... who knows what you'll find on it? Ok I'm partly kidding of course. Although be prepared for the movie to give you more than your average crocodile - or is it alligator? I have to admit, I am still uncertain what the distinction is exactly.

I've read about it because I played Red Dead Redemption 2, but ... well I forgot I guess is the easiest thing to say about that. Whoever wrote the script here may have also forgotten a few things ... like how people would act or react when faced with danger ... surely not trying to make out in a river for example. Reminded me of classic US horror movie cliches.

The CGI barely works, but if you watch this as the "trash" (read low budget) effort that this is, you can have some fun with it ...

I think the other x2 1 star reviews are a bit unfair, i was quite pleasently suprised with this film, sure its not the best film ever, but if your watching a film called crocodile island about a giant crocodile, your not going to be getting oscar winning acting or writing etc, its a film about a giant crocodile and some other critters, and people stuck on the island, the effects range from pretty good to not so great, but if your like me and you like monster films of all kinds, you will find some enjoyment here