Review: "Anaconda"

Just about every early review of the new Anaconda movie that I read was negative.  I almost passed on it but was glad that I didn’t.

It starred Jack Black and Paul Rudd, two of the funniest movie comedians in the business. The supporting cast included the very talented Steve Zahn and Thandiwe Newton.  The casting made me take notice.

And then there were the movie’s trailers outlining the plot.  A group of friends who decide to do their own, updated version of the 1997 movie Anaconda starring Jon Voight, Jennifer Lopez and Ice Cube. It’s an indie project that they estimate they can make for a little over $2 million.  The bank is willing to offer them $9000, which they quickly accept.

It’s clear that this new, version of Anaconda is a crazy comedy.  The previews show them hiring a snake owner and his friendly pet anaconda who meets a terrible fate not long after the filming begins on location in the Amazon.  Undaunted, they decide to find another serpentine star in the jungle. 

They get more than they bargained for—a gigantic, menacing reptile intent on squeezing them all to death.

It’s a great premise.  The trailers were packed with funny scenes, raising the question of whether all the funny stuff was in the previews and whether the actual movie could deliver anything more.  Such is the current state of movie promotion in Hollywood where previews often offer up virtually every good scene in the film.

To its credit, Anaconda is not one of those movies. It delivers the goods.  While it may fall short of being the best comedy film of 2025, it is still very much worth seeing.

It’s an insane jungle journey that is not only funny but occasionally terrifying, thanks to the lurking presence of a depicted 40-foot snake that can swallow you alive.  Just ask Jon Voight’s character from the original Anaconda movie, which turned out to be a campy, unintentional comedy despite its attempt to be a serious scream-fest feature.  It became successful for all the wrong reasons, but it made money, and in Hollywood, that’s all that matters.  It spawned several sequels and a few ridiculous rip-offs.

Once again, the giant snake is creepily scary.  Snakes have proven to be box office gold over the years in the movies. I’m thinking of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), as well as Snakes on a Plane, and Snakes on a Train (2006) just to name a few.  And let’s not forget that deadly Egyptian asp in the cinematic epic Cleopatra (1963).  They make great, nasty villains -- the bigger, the better -- and they don’t come any bigger than they do in Anaconda.

Overall, the snake effects are nicely rendered, with the possible exception of the big climax where they start looking very digital and fake.  But by that point, no one really cares, since everyone has been sucked into the pace and preposterousness of the plot.  It’s just plain fun.

There are a couple of notable cameo appearances in the film that can probably be guessed, but it wouldn’t be fair to mention them here.  No spoilers.

The new Anaconda cashes in on Jack Black’s and Paul Rudd’s signature comedy styles. They alone, are worth the price of admission.  They know their craft.

Case in point, that shot of Jack Black’s character, Doug McCallister, sitting in the middle of a field, presumably dead, with a small. regurgitated wild boar gaffer taped to his head and a dead squirrel stuck in his mouth.  It’s a lame attempt on the part of his friends to create a distraction for the snake while they escape, a plan that goes hilariously wrong when Doug suddenly comes back to life just as the snake is closing in. 

It’s funny in the brief preview clip and even funnier in its entirety in the actual movie. 

Don’t let the negative reviews steer you away, Anaconda has all the stuff it takes to squeeze some bucks out of the box office this holiday season. It’s for everyone who is in the mood for some silly, comedy adventure -- good for more than a few laughs, as well as a couple of well-earned, snakey screams.