The region embattles the title of a complicated place that lies off the coast of China, also a part referred to as the Bermuda triangle of Asia. Aviations are prone to accidents and occurrences of mishaps around this area due to electromagnetic interference. Gallen Lo played Lin Hao in the movie who was a passenger along with his daughter Yi Liao Yinyue on board the flight GZ261. Lin Hao and Yi were voyaging above the infamous region when their flight suffered a technical fault and an emergency landing on crocodile island was the only option. During the residing of the passengers and Hao on the island, they had to come across a gigantic crocodile and a spider and had to fight it off. While an enormous monster slaughters Yi, her dad Lin tries to do everything to rescue his daughter in this bizarre realm.
In general, “Crocodile Island” is yet another cheesy creature feature that would not offend much. One of the bright spots of the film is that it does not ridicule an already ridiculous story by writer Ni Minming about a plane crash in the region and its passengers’ survival on such an inhospitable island. The scenario of the plane coming to the area where the magnetic forces are at work in the background is certainly good for the ever-increasing series of ship and plane accidents in the area throughout the centuries. It also helps explain the presence of the giant creatures well. The crocodiles and spiders are shown to have existed on the island which allow them to witness the coming disaster. This in turn allows for some interesting subplots once they get to the island. For example, Lin Hao’s chance to meet Yiyi again while they are looking for ways to leave the island, while their build-up in realisation to letting her grow up and be independent has been touch and anticipated but still satisfying.
Nonetheless, what turns out to work best for “Crocodile Island” is the unapologetic and comedic portrayal of the various creatures’ attacks. The CGI for the hordes of various beasts creates an effect that makes the tasks required of the action seem exaggerated and ungainly, as the beats in these attacks are actually amusing. The first attack sequence is when the crocodiles ambush a fleeing pilot, followed by them attacking the beach and chasing the survivors back to the jungle, as well as crocodiles tracking the group as they search for water in ponds or lakes, and finally, the climax where Yiyi wins a struggle to see who gets back the crocodile after she had been captured in an earlier fight. Along with that, the storyline also includes the spiders on the list of creatures and adds a twist as well and gets a little more adventurous as well, with the beasts going after the refugees in the trees of the island.
There are issues to be addressed in “Crocodile Island” which might mar the whole experience. However, it should be noted from the onset that there are a dozen positives too. The primary concern is how the above-mentioned excessive cheesiness of the film’s production makes it an appropriation of the genre rather than an original work. Why should we suspend our sanity and accept stories of this caliber? Numerous twist after twist, pseudoscience jumps, touching on the reason why a island was formed Apparently it was formed based on the way a bunch of spiders and crocodiles got stranded after World War II. It is how the narrative folds and this is how disjointed the storyline is.
These bizarre clichés ultimately typecast them as they had started with the means of getting stranded on the island, the presence of both the spiders and crocodiles, and the later discovery of the WW II-era firepower left behind. What is more comical is the presence of CGI effects which don’t instill the desired effect of being scary but rather range from looking unconvincing and cheap. All these flaws make it less of an original experience as there are certain elements which get repetitive throughout and also diminishing in quality. It does however fit well with the genre while being consistent.
Overall, generic and lame but entertaining, “Crocodile Island” is just another addition to a long list of wacky Chinese creature features, and this feature has little to no changes as well. The people who enjoy such types of films or are fond of this style will be targeted with this movie.
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