Movie Review: Anaconda

I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t enjoy the original Anaconda when it slithered into theaters back in 1997. It was a fun bit of B-movie nonsense that knew exactly what people wanted from that sort of movie and delivered it in spades, backed up by a weirdly impressive cast. It subsequently spawned a series of sequels to rapidly diminishing returns, last appearing as Lake Placid vs. Anaconda on SyFy in 2015, a film I have not seen but feel entirely comfortable assuming is not a lost classic. Sensing a giant-snake-sized hole in the current cinema landscape, Sony decided to reboot the franchise with this meta-comedic spin that sometimes feels a bit less certain of what it wants to be than the original, but which remains entertaining nevertheless.

As children Doug (Jack Black), Ronald (Paul Rudd), Kenny (Steve Zahn), and Claire (Thandiwe Newton) used to shoot elaborate backyard movies together, dreaming of one day making it to Hollywood. As adults, their dreams have failed to materialize, a fact that hits them as they reunite for Doug’s birthday party and watch a copy of one of their movies that was thought lost. Afterward, Ronald gets them together and announces that he has somehow come into possession of the rights to Anaconda so that they can reboot the movie on the cheap themselves. While Doug is initially hesitant to leave his relatively stable and comfortable if somewhat unremarkable life behind for any amount of time, he ultimately agrees and the four fly to Brazil to start shooting their movie.

Once there they get aboard their very comfortable looking chartered boat and set sail, joined by snake handler Santiago (Selton Mello), his supposedly tame pet anaconda, and their captain, Ana (Daniela Melchior), who unbeknownst to them is not who she claims to be and has shady characters hot on her tail. Their project seems to be progressing well at first, but before long they find themselves being hunted by a much larger and far more aggressive snake and are forced to live out their movie for real.

This version of Anaconda takes a while to really get going, with virtually no snakes for a noticeably long stretch of its runtime. Still, the cast is pleasant company, and their chemistry keeps the early stretch watchable, even if Black’s usual manic energy occasionally clashes with the film’s more subdued opening tone. Once the real threat finally makes its presence known however the movie kicks into high gear and becomes immensely more entertaining. The action‑horror beats blend nicely with the sillier humor, earning several genuine laughs and a few solid jolts.

The script by Tom Gormican (also on directing duty) and Kevin Etten could have probably used a little more polishing, especially the first half. It doesn’t necessarily need more snake—those quieter scenes do allow for more character work than you’d expect from a movie like this—but the jokes land inconsistently. They’re not bad, they’re just not quite sharp enough. All told though it’s a pretty fun time at the movies. Like the original it’s hardly a masterpiece, but it squeezes out enough memorably funny scenes to make it worth a watch. ★★★