“Buenos noches, beautiful.”
Anaconda is not a great film. It knows that it isn’t great and doesn’t try to be. This 1997 creature feature fully embraces the fact that it’s a monster movie with a ton of flaws, decent CGI, and a cast loaded with actors on their way up and actors on the way down in their careers. It’s the kind of film that you watch with friends, laugh out loud, and yell at the heroes and villains. It’s just a fun movie.
The film starred Jennifer Lopez (who was fresh off of her starring role in Selena), Ice Cube (who was making the transition from rapper to actor), Jon Voight (whose career was slowing down), Eric Stoltz (who pretty much just laid down for the entire film, literally), a young Kari Wuhrer, Owen Wilson in an early role, the reliable Jonathan Hyde, and Danny Trejo in a small role. The cast was solid and they did fine in their roles, but Jon Voight and Ice Cube stole the show in my book. Voight with his goofy accent and Ice Cube always looking for fuel made this movie better than it really was.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the film, it is the story of a documentary crew looking for a mysterious tribe in the Amazon who put their trust in a guide (Voight) who turns out to be a sneaky snake hunter that uses the crew as bait in order to capture a massive green anaconda. Voight and the snake start taking out crew members and it’s up to J-Lo and Ice Cube to stop them. That’s pretty much the story and it is wonderful.
There isn’t much more to say about this movie. You either love it or hate it. I experienced it on the big screen in a packed theater with people yelling and screaming at the characters. This added to the film’s allure and may be why I love it so much. In any case, you won’t waste your time watching this cheesy creature feature.
Thanks for checking out my post. I hope that you give Anaconda a chance!
