Anaconda A movie review by Monika Huebner Copyright 1997 Monika Huebner
Director: Luis Llosa Cast: Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Owen Wilson, Eric Stoltz
Humanities quest for knowledge never ends. So a team of scientists and film-makers travel to the Amazon to search for a legendary Indian tribe. The party consists of anthropologist Steven Cale (Eric Stoltz) and the camera team consisting of Terri Flores (Jennifer Lopez), Danny Rich (Ice Cube), Gary Dixon (Owen Wilson), Denise Kahlberg (Kari Wuhrer) and Warren Westridge (Jonathan Hyde). Early on their journey they meet Paul Sarone (Jon Voight) whose boat is stuck on the shore. They agree to give him a ride to the next village. He claims to know the area well and can be useful locating the native tribe. Very soon their friendliness backfires on the group because Sarone turns out to be a snake hunter without scruples who only wants to catch a giant anaconda and sell it to a zoo.
We don't have to wait too long for the giant snake. She just had a panther hors d'oevre and now is looking for the main course. Our heroes paddle around in the Amazonas as if it were the pool in their own backyard. No wonder giant animals mistake their splashing for a dinner bell. Our anaconda is a polite one and swallows the first victim in one big gulp. Enjoy!
So much for the first attempt to catch her. But who would want to catch a giant snake with a fishing pole? Our villain Sarone shows his soft side when he stops Terri from shooting the snake. Too bad that anaconda is just about to strangle another member of the expedition. One by one she goes after the others.
Eric Stoltz is stung by a giant wasp right in the beginning and is mercifully unconcious for the rest of the adventure. The rest of the crew keeps entertaining the viewer although not the way the makers of the movie had planned. However the scenes without the anaconda are rather boring. Whenever the leading lady shows up we're in for a laugh. The snake reminds us of a favorite character of a famous animated movie even if she should be an awe-inspiring monster. Her attacks always follow the same plan: one last hypnotic look - she's looking at you, kid - then she speedily wraps herself around her victim and starts to gush it down. Mostly we don't see the act of devouring. But she looks nice when she wiggles away with her bulging middle part. Whoever did the special effects on this movie may have wanted to go to a zoo first and study some real snakes. Maybe then the anaconda model would have looked more real.
The animatronics are somewhat more believable. But that didn't work for the strangling scenes. Don't go see the movie for the F/X. They are everything but up-to-date.
The viewer who likes to watch the end credits will see to his/her surprise that a snake expert was a consultant for the team. We may doubt though that he has ever seen the final result of his work. A well known American science magazine is also mentioned in the credits, but I will refrain from naming it here to avoid further damage to its reputation. The majority of viewer will have left the theater as soon as the credits start rolling, anyway.
What kind of audience is the target group for this movie? Hard to say. This can't be a serious horror movie, or can it? See for yourself.
Rating: * out of ****
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