Paul Magne Haakonsen
Right, well with the notion that "Xtinction: Predator X" (aka "Alligator X") is in the creature feature genre, then chances are that you are in for something that you have already seen countless times before and that you are in for a movie with hilarious special effects.And true enough, "Alligator X" is just that. It offers nothing new to the genre that hasn't already been seen in other movies.The story presented here is a very bland and generic storyline, even in comparison to other story lines in this genre. A genetically modified creature is on the rampage in the wilderness and it is a up to a small group of people to stop it, of course."Alligator X" has some questionable special effects, like so many others in the genre. But that is actually one of the reason why we keep watching this genre, isn't it? To see how laughable and pathetic the creature turns out to be. And the CGI in "Alligator X" wasn't impressive, let's just say that. I was especially impressed with how a big creature was able to not cause ripples on the water as it moved about.As for the acting, well it was as to be expected for a movie in this genre. So don't hold your breath for a thespian experience out of the ordinary. It was, however, sort of fun to watch Lochlyn Munro run around here and pretend to be an officer of the law fighting a monstrous alligator.The characters in the movie were fairly generic, with the heroic protagonists and the stereotypical villain and goons. There wasn't much of characteristics or details added to these cardboard cut-outs, so you don't really care much about the people in the movie.There are far better movies available in the genre, and once you have seen "Alligator X" then you are very unlikely to return to it for a second time around.
DemonaStormShadow
Someone said to themselves lets clone a prehistoric marine reptile and make it look like a gator, because cloning Deinosuchus or Sarcosuchus would be too much work and/or complicated.Pacing could have been better, same for the dialogue. The science is faulty, but isn't it always? Mad Scientist de jur creates the titular beastie and has two drug making swamp bums as his lackeys(you know I wouldn't trust something like this to two guys who diet consists of moonshine and meth), someone has to do the heavy lifting after all.Overall your average very bad B monster movie that really is better as background noise or a way to kill time. If you're a fan of SyFy brand movies this is for you.
Boba_Fett1138
Oh trust me, there is far more worse stuff to watch out there but having said that, this movie is quite horrible.This is one of those incredibly cheap monster movies, that got put together in a matter of weeks and had no large budget behind it. Or at least, it truly does look that way. It isn't isn't ever very creative with any of its ideas and it's a pretty predictable movie, from beginning till end.It still had some good ideas in it, it seemed but the filmmakers obviously had no idea how to handle them. You could tell it's just another paycheck for all them and their heart isn't really into it at all. They decided to play things safely, do it fast and do it is cheap as possible, so maybe the studios would give them another job afterward. These persons are not in the business because they love to make movies, they are simply in it because it pays the bills.And really, with some more creativity behind it, this movie could had at least become a somewhat watchable one, even if it was featuring exactly the same story. Now instead it obviously isn't a very recommendable one, not even if you are really into the monster movie genre. There besides isn't really any good gore or tension present in this movie, which makes it such an incredibly bland one to watch.I honestly quite liked some of the characters and actors in this movie, which is already a real big thing for a movie of this sort but obviously they can't make the movie any more interesting or exciting.Thing that remains the absolute worst thing about this movie are its special effects. My goodness, when you make a monster movie you would think that the filmmakers would realize that having a good- and convincing looking monster is the absolute, most crucial thing but the monster looks absolutely horrendous in this, due to some incredibly bad and cheap looking special effects.It seriously had some good potential in its story but this all goes to waste, courtesy of some not so very talented and interested film-makers.3/10 http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/
Paul Andrews
Xtinction is set in the Louisiana swamps where Laura Le Crois (Elena Lyons) has returned to after several years in search of her missing father Pappy (Philip Beard), meanwhile local Sheriff Tim Richards (Lochlyn Munro) has a growing list of missing persons on his hands. A young couple named Mandy (Lacey Minchew) & Matt (Gabe Begneaud) hire a boat from Laura to go on a sunset tour of the swamp, with no one else to pilot the boat Laura has to herself but while out in the swamp the boat is attacked by a huge underwater prehistoric reptile. On dry land Laura witnesses two local brother's feed her father pappy to the prehistoric monster who then turn their attentions to her, the brother's kidnap Laura, Mandy & Matt while the Sheriff now has to start dealing with various severed body parts washing up on dry land & after Laura's boat is found badly damaged he sets out to find her...Also known as Xtinction: Predator X this was directed by Amir Valinia & although not a Sy-Fy Channel original creature feature it might well have been, in fact I'm pretty sure the Sy-Fy Channel will pick this up as it's just the sort of thing they make themselves. The cloned Dinosaur, the aquatic swamp setting, the policeman & his girlfriend character's, the evil scientist guy, the dumb clichés who are there just to be killed off & some really lame plot twists. While watching this yesterday it felt like I was sat there in front of the telly for hours, this really drags & the Dinosaur feels more like a second thought than anything else. The plot is stupid, are the writers of this thing convinced that anyone who watches this will believe that in order to genetically clone a Dinosaur all you need are some old bones, a few test tubes in a wooden shack in a Louisiana swamp & the combined knowledge of a college teacher & two inbred brother's one of whom can barely speak? Where did the sonar device come from? How did the teacher know it would work, what does the Dinosaur do when the sonar isn't on? Why create a Dinosaur in the first place? What did they intend to do with it? Why didn't they take any precautions to stop the Dinosaur eating them? Nothing quite makes sense, there's little or no reason behind anything that happens & character motivation is baffling. The majority of the film follows Laura as she gets kidnapped, has to escape & then fight for her life as she is pursued by a giant Dinosaur & a couple of local killers. The kidnapping angle dominates the middle third of the film & the Dinosaur really is all but forgotten about. There's a totally random twist near the end in which a friend suddenly betrays Laura & turns out to be working for the bad guy but then once his car crashes a few minutes later he sees the error of his ways & says he deserves to die & the car blows up. The Dinosaur angle is poorly thought out with no reason or logic behind it's creation or continued protection, the character's are poor & it's pretty dull. In fact, are you sure this wasn't made by the Sy-Fy Channel?The CGI effects vary from average to terrible, the same shot of the Dinosaur swimming underwater is used several times & even the gore isn't that good. There's a severed hand, a severed arm, a couple of severed feet & a bit of blood but not much else. The one thing I will say about Xtinction is that the cinematography is quite nice, I expected lots of green trees & bright sunshine but the look of Xtinction is just the opposite with dead trees, very brown & Earthy settings & a Louisiana swamp that looks quite dead & hostile. Not that a subdued colour scheme makes Xtinction worth watching.With a supposed budget of about $2,500,000 I can't believe that much was spent on it, it looks pretty cheap with minimal effects & action. Actually filmed in Louisiana. The one bright spark of Xtinction is leading lady Elena Lyons who does put in an energetic performance, everyone else seems bored.Xtinction is your average stand Sy-Fy Channel quality creature feature, in other words it's routine unoriginal crap. Poor effects, predictable plot, a script that makes no sense & a slow pace just kill it dead in the water. Films like Xtinction are ten a penny & there are much, much better ones out there.