Really Surprised!

good back-story, and good acting

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

SyFy channel was going in the right direction with not enough ambition. A demonstration by a well respected physicist goes awry and instead of getting a glimpse at an alternate universe...we have befuddled victims of some time travel. The machine malfunctions and delivers the researchers and invited observers to their same location, but pushed back way back in time of hideous creatures in a wooded hunting ground. The survivors of this incident must avoid becoming prey to the creatures eager to taste human flesh at the same time trying to figure how to repair a conveyance device back home. Sounds interesting...well, it is! A lost world that actually was home.The cast includes: Joe Flanigan, Dagmar Doring, Chris Newman, Catherine Walker, Michael Yare, Shashi Rami and John Rhys-Davies.

"Ferocious Planet" (2011) is about a group of office people who are accidentally teleported to another world via an experimental device that opens windows to parallel dimensions. The forested world looks like earth but it's inhabited by ferocious beasts the size of dinosaurs. The group do everything in their power to survive and find a way back.Before watching this one I fast-forwarded through it and didn't think I'd like it, but -- after viewing -- I have to admit that I enjoyed it for what it is. It's both a story of exploration (of the new planet) and survival. The former gives it a sense of mystery and the latter an air of tension.There are a couple of good women, but they have office apparel on the whole time, which isn't a big deal; I just prefer women in cavegirl outfits in these types of movies, lol (like Beth Rogan in the 1961 version of "Mysterious Island" or Annabelle Wallis and Hannah Tointon in 2010's excellent "The Lost Future").Most people seem to be attracted to this film because Joe Flanigan stars in it; having never watched "Stargate: Atlantis", this was my first exposure to him.The film runs 88 minutes and was shot in Ireland.BOTTOM LINE: "Ferocious Planet" is nothing to get excited over, but it is a solid Grade-B creature feature with a compelling survival situation and the anxiety and thrills thereof.GRADE: B-

On paper this looks like a good time waster, dependable lead, monsters, some kind of 'Science' twist. Believe me all the elements are there. Joe Flanigan reprising his man of action role (something he does very well), John Rhys-Davies reprising his stock nasty-man character that he has been trotting out in B movies for years (Anaconda III and IV anyone), even some choice one-liners along for the ride, enjoyed the Jaws reference but really it needed a bigger scene to be effective. And that is precisely the problem with this, it doesn't quite deliver in all the essential areas. The cast do their best, but the script is very sadly lacking in tension or even a real sense of urgency, and you just know stupid people are going to do stupid things for all sorts of completely ridiculous and illogical reasons. The other problem with the script is that far too many ideas come from other, much better, movies. Seriously, if you are going to borrow from other films, particularly famous ones, try to give the ideas some kind of original twist. If you can stay the distance you find yourself noting down all the stuff you've seen before and where you have seen it. I bought this because I like creature features and I like Joe Flanigan, he has an insouciant style which comes off as effortless and invests the characters he plays with a certain devil-may-care charm. Unfortunately here, he really has nothing to work with so it's all very much painting by numbers. Really, if you have absolutely nothing better to do, you can have a little fun spotting all the bits they pinched from other films (and let me emphasise a LITTLE FUN), but otherwise adds nothing to the canon of creature features, sci-fi movies, or action and adventure.

There's not much that bears mentioning here, not even bears, because bears only dwell on savage worlds, not ferocious ones.John Rhys-Davies got killed early and frankly he was still needed, I would've preferred watching him to these random people were. Kinda annoying as he's stuck around longer in worse movies.These critters' heads had many eyes, possibly supposed to resemble arachnids, top-mounted nostrils like a brachiosaurus, except there's one nostril, the overbite and eye ridges from a tyrannosaur, and those tusk- mandibles from some critters from the "Tremors" films. Probably many other species' anatomy were mixed into them too.Also the characters kept getting killed by stupidity, actually only one or two died without stupidity. But somehow, it works.Last Summer, a year featuring many boring-looking Summer movies, another IMDb reviewer wrote, "considering the weak theatrical releases out this summer, and the ticket prices that look like they were set by a big-oil executive, watching this for free is the better option"Amusingly, this Summer, ANOTHER year featuring many boring-looking Summer movies, you know what? I too think you're way better off watching "Ferocious Planet" than wasting your money on those films.