ANACONDA (1997) A Film Review by Ted Prigge Copyright 1997 Ted Prigge
Director: Luis Llosa Writers: Hans Brauer, Jim Cash, and Jack Epps Jr. Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Jon Voigt, Ice Cube, Eric Stoltz, Owen Wilson, Kari Wuhler, Jonathan Hyde, Vincent Castallanos, Danny Trejo
Take a giant, computer-animated snake, toss it in the jungle with a fake film crew, and toss in a campy Jon Voigt for good humor and you have what is pretty much "Anaconda," an intelligently stupid creature flick, not to mention one hell of an enjoyable one. Like its great predecessor, "Tremors," "Anaconda" is a tongue-in-cheek bit of fun scariness that is pretty much guaranteed to entertain as long as you don't think about it.
"Anaconda" follows a documentary film crew through the jungles of South America as they make a film about a group of people who live in the jungle. The director (Jennifer Lopez, from "Selena") is a first-timer, trying to get her first break. Along with her are: her boyfriend and scientist (Eric Stoltz); her old school chum and cinematographer (Ice Cube); the sound man ("Bottle Rocket"'s Owen Wilson); the perky production assistant (Kari Wuhler); the british narrator (Jonathan Hyde); and the captain (Vincent Castallanos), the latter who pretty much screams "expendable!"
Along the way, they encounter a broken down ship with a mysterious pony-tailed Central American old man (Jon Voigt), who gets aboard their ship and begins telling them how to survive the dangerous jungle they are in, since he knows all about it. "This jungle can kill you in a thousand ways," he says. And soon, it becomes apparent that he's actually interested in the big attraction of the jungle: the anaconda.
Of course, we all know what's going to happen: the anaconda - which is boasted to coil its victims, breaking their bones, them eat them, and sometimes regurgitate them so they can devour them again - will attack each of the members of the crew. The film knows that, and plays along with it to its fullest extents. We get early shots of it attacking a leopard (and squeezing it so hard that an eye pops out), and one of the crew members (guess who?) is eaten early on.
The film plays with us, not letting us see the anaconda in full view to well into the film. And each of the characters, or characateurs, are well-defined and we care about them...well, most of them. This makes it particularly scary when one or a couple of our favorite characters have fallen into the water. Director Luis Llosa (who also made the crap "Specialist") plays with our nerves a bit, including some not-so-subtle movie allusions to earlier creature-features, like "Jaws." And he even plays with the old Ebert cliche BADF (Brother Always Dies First), when Ice Cube says he's going to go back into the water to check on a missing crew member (cue: groaning by everyone in the theatre).
The cinematography and sets in the film are incredible. It's a beautiful bit of cinematography that lulls us into fake peace, only to surround us with snakes and various other deadly Amazon creatures. It's one of the better traits of a creature film if the cinematographer can fool us like that.
The anaconda when seen is a pretty cool special effect. It doesn't look realistic (though I've never seen one of them in real life), and it sometimes defies gravity, but it's a cool piece of shockdom. It moves incredibly fast, sometimes at what seems to be the speed of light, although it sometimes stalks creepily. And when it breaks someone's bones, it has this great sadistic look on its face. It's one of the more impressive uses of special effects, like the dinosaurs in the "Jurassic Park" flicks.
But to me, the real treat of the film is none other than Jon Voigt. Playing a typical river rat, he makes him into a fascinatingly funny piece of camp. Voigt's an Oscar Winner, and one of the best actors of his generation (see "Midnight Cowboy" and "Coming Home," as well as his other river flick, "Deliverence"), and its hilarious to see him go full ham on us. With his cuban or latino accent, as well as his Brando-like delivery, he makes the film more enjoyable than it is, and he never overdoes it. Just to see him smile at Jennifer Lopez cunningly is well worth the price of admission.
"Andaconda" is a superior creature flick in that it is entertaining, never boring, and always hilarious. Besides, it has Jon Voigt. And Jon has enough brauvara to make even "Glen of Glenda?" interesting.
MY RATING (out of 4): ***
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