If you’re anything like me and have been waiting for a dinosaur film that features a lot more blood, gore, and intensity, then have I got a movie for you. Primitive War knows what it is and does it pretty well. Hell, the tagline for the movie is “This ain’t no walk in the park,” a clear wink to the iconic dinosaur film. It’s a solid B movie that’s certainly a lot of fun to watch.

Based on the book of the same name by Ethan Pettus, who co-wrote the screenplay with director Luke Sparke, Primitive War follows Vulture Squad circa 1968 Vietnam, who have just been given a rather mysterious assignment: venture into the jungle and find the Army’s missing Green Berets, no questions asked, all details are classified. It’s a simple setup, but one that ushers in the film’s true ambitions fairly quickly once the squad gets going: there are dinosaurs out in that valley. What follows is a lot of dinosaur mayhem that feels like it could’ve easily been straight-to-DVD shlock, but ends up being a lot better than I anticipated, despite some shortcomings.

Primitive War may not have a Hollywood budget, but it feels like it’s put every dollar to work in terms of the film’s visuals and style. The Australian film was shot on location in the country’s Gold Coast, which doubles as Vietnam and offers a lot of lush locations for the cast to get lost in, literally and figuratively, and a selection of 60s music blasts in the background. The CGI dinosaurs also look pretty great for the most part. While there’s a few instances where the VFX look a bit more unpolished, the dinosaurs look really good most of the time, especially the various types of raptors in the film, all of which are all feathered and terrifying. The Utahraptor, in particular, stood out to me as a real menace. The reasons why there are dinosaurs walking around in Vietnam certainly make sense, in that sci-fi B-movie kind of way that I can totally get behind in a movie like this. I liked how, at first, the characters were very confused about what these creatures were, as feathered dinosaurs were not part of the visual language for dinosaurs at the time, but as soon as they saw the T. rex, the penny dropped.

Now, there’s certainly some problems with the movie, chiefly among them the script and the characters. Apart from the leader, Baker (Ryan Kwanten), and General Jerico (Jeremy Piven), I can’t really tell you anyone else’s name from the movie, or anything beyond something to the effect of “sniper guy”, “machete guy” or “Russian scientist”. The villains are also hilariously one-note, and a last-minute effort to humanize one of them did feel like it came out of nowhere. But honestly, for the type of movie this is, these issues felt largely irrelevant as I was having a good enough time with the gory dinosaur action, of which there is plenty. So, I was able to put that aside. Primitive War knows you’re here for the dinosaurs, and the characters are more or less there to serve as meatbags for the dino mayhem, which was entertaining, wild, and varied. What felt more consequential was the runtime. At two hours, twelve minutes with credits, I feel like ten minutes could’ve been shaved off the movie to give a tighter runtime.

If I were to try and sell you Primitive War, I’d say this: if you like the concept of the original Predator, sprinkle in some Rambo: First Blood Part II, with a side helping of Jurassic Park III, then that’s Primitive War. If any of that sounds fun to you, you’ll probably have a good time with the movie, I know I did. It’s the right balance of cheese, silliness, and straight-up entertainment that makes up for some narrative shortcomings. Primitive War hits the big screen in the US and Australia on August 21st.