Anaconda

Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Jon Voight, Eric Stoltz, Owen Wilson, Jonathan Hyde, Kari Wuhrer, Danny Trejo
Directed by: Luis Llosa
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Thriller, Horror, Adventure
1997

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: A group of documentary filmmakers (Jennifer Lopez, Eric Stoltz, Ice Cube, Owen Wilson) travel deep into the Amazon to film a legendary lost tribe. When they meet up with a mysterious poacher (Jon Voight), they soon get caught up in his plot to capture a giant killer anaconda alive.

Review:

Tim: Anaconda is a major failure. It is a silly, stupid movie that believed the special effects of the giant anaconda were enough to make up for the lack of good character development, believable dialogue, or a logical story. Obviously, this is not the case, and this is a weak, regrettable movie.

The cast isn't terrible, although none of them are particularly strong. Jennifer Lopez was obviously cast for her exotic looks, but she is mostly bland. She disappears into the film, and makes an extraordinarily small impact with her performance. Ice Cube has a few good moments, but he is mostly wasted as well. Eric Stoltz spends most of the film off screen, so it is curious he even bothered to sign on. I did like seeing Owen Wilson in a small role. All of these actors, however, are overshadowed by the scenery-chewing, over-the-top performance of Jon Voight. Voight sports a questionable accent, odd, chilling looks, and mostly gives as ridiculous a performance as possible. He really needed to show some restraint here, although I understand- this is a movie about a giant killer snake. Why be subtle?

The biggest problem with this movie is that it is just silly. There are a number of plot holes, extremely convenient turns of events, and just place ridiculous moments. The real draw here is to watch a 40 foot anaconda strangling and swallowing a group of people one-by-one. That is the main draw of this film, although most of the death scenes are a bit far fetched and ineffective.

Anaconda is a weak movie. There's not a great deal to like here, and despite having an impressive cast, this movie failures to deliver. I am not a fan of this movie, and I can't imagine there are many out there, either.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 4.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid, Snakes on a Plane