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Anaconda
Generally unfavorable reviews
Based on 20 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 7 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Horror | Suspense/Thriller
Written by:
Hans Bauer
Jim Cash
Jack Epps Jr.
Directed by: Luis Llosa
Release Date:
Theatrical: April 11, 1997
DVD: January 20, 1998
Running Time: 89 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: PG-13
Starring Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Jon Voight, Eric Stoltz, Jonathan Hyde, Owen Wilson, Kari Wuhrer, and Vincent Castellanos
Deep in the Brazilian Rainforest, a river barge makes its way up the Amazon. Aboard is a documentary film crew with a dream assignment: to track down the legendary Shirishama Indians-- the people of the Mist! But during a violent storm, the crew rescues a mysterious stranger, Paul Sarone (Voight), whose boat has stalled on the river. Sarone professes a vast knowledge of the Shirishama and volunteers to lead the filmmakers directly to the elusive tribe. But the manipulative Sarone is actually a poacher in pursuit of his own mad dream: a lethal 40-foot anaconda, the largest and most vicious killer snake in the world! (Sony Pictures)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
A slick, scary, funny Creature Feature, beautifully photographed and splendidly acted in high adventure style.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
Coil up with a tub of popcorn, get a stranglehold on your soda - this is a creepy, action-packed boat ride down a jungle river with lots of huge snakes dropping by for man-sized snacks.
Read Full Review >USA Today Mike Clark
An enjoyably cast, superbly shot, jolt-generating device...It isn't art, but it'll crush your bones.
The New York Times Stephen Holden
A trashily entertaining reptilian version of ''Jaws'' set in the steaming heart of the Amazon rain forest.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
Directed by Luis Llosa with all of the subtlety of a snake-oil salesman, is in the great tradition of cinematic cheese, as processed as Kraft Singles slices. [18 Apr 1997, p. 48]
ReelViews James Berardinelli
The biggest flaw can be summed up in a short phrase: lack of excitement. Thrillers are supposed to be crammed with thrills (hence the name), but Anaconda is relatively barren of them.
Read Full Review >Variety Joe Leydon
A silly and plodding "Jaws" rip-off about a 40-foot man-eating snake on the prowl in the Brazilian rain forest.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Staff (Not Credited)
Voight's performance -- one of the film's pure, trashy delights -- is all leer, sneer and macho swagger, while the rest of the actors feel like the disposable snake-fodder they are.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jon Voight, the all-purpose villain, does a pretty good job of imitating Marlon Brando imitating a Paraguayan snake expert, but the rest of the players--including Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Eric Stoltz, Owen Wilson, Vincent Castellanos, Jonathan Hyde, and Kari Wuhrer--seem to be in a hurry to pick up their checks.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Desson Thomson
Feels like "Alien" as directed by Jim Henson. And the suspense is restricted to mundane slasher-movie tactics, including the frequent use of a mobile camera (call it the ’condacam) that’s supposed to represent the snake’s point of view.
Read Full Review >Empire David Eimer
The movie provides a fair number of laughs, even if you can't help wondering how many of them were actually intentional.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen
In what is surely a tribute to the dazzling mediocrity of director Luis Llosa, the real jungle looks as bland as the fake jungle.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Ernest Hardy
Quite unintentionally, director Luis Llosa and screenwriters Hans Bauer, Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr. have crafted a howler; Anaconda, meant to be a nail-biting thriller, is a laugh-out-loud comedy.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
Such a classic combination of feckless dramaturgy and rampant excess that giving way to giggles is the only sane response.
Read Full Review >The New Yorker Terrence Rafferty
Although it's refreshing to see an action movie that doesn't pretend to be something it isn't, this frankness has a downside, because what the picture so unapologetically is isn't, in fact, much.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Rita Kempley
Mr. Whipple squeezing his Charmin is scarier than this phony baloney computer effects-driven anaconda.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
So desperate and silly that here and there, it's a lot of fun.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
Charmless, unfrightening, and even devoid of the requisite gratuitous nudity, Anaconda just plain bites.
Read Full Review >Film Threat Harry Hartoonian
This film marks for Jon Voigt a concerted effort to unseat Christopher Walken in the competition for the Czarship of sneering, wheezing, Machiavellian, all-around weird guys. He spends much of his time standing around making a face like Beavis does when he's really freaked out.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Examiner G. Allen Johnson
If only director Luis Llosa and his cast could see the joke and seize upon it; instead, like its computer-morphed snake, the film doesn't have a clever bone in its body.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 5.2 (out of 10) based on 7 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Mike B. gave it a1:
Anaconda is the type of movie that helps you understand what makes good movies good. This is not because Anaconda is good, since it isn’t. It’s utterly atrocious, bad in a way you can’t blame on age. Characters without character, a monster following illogical rules, bad special effects, nonsensical plot, lack of tension - its as if the director found the checklist for making a bad horror movie and took care to hit every item on the list.
Patrick B. gave it a0:
Horrible plot, bad editing, cheesy effects, and even bad acting by A-list stars. One of the worst movies I've seen in a long time.
Sam gave it a5:
It's to bad that this movie was trying to reach the high bar of "Classic" becuase all it really does is reach the low bar of "So bad it's good."
K D gave it a10:
I dont know why critics dogged this movie so bad. i didnt see anything wrong with it. it was fast paced funny and thrilling. everything u could ask for.
Sam gave it a6:
It's a fun film. Is it super fantastic, kick-ass, best film of all time, classic? No, not really. The best part is watching Jon Voight trying to capture the snake, then running away, then getting swalloed whole by it. Yeah, that was cool. Not many scenes that are as memorable, though, but for those that are looking for a good creature feature after crap like Python and Some gator and croc flicks, see this. Better than the sequel, which, these days, after excellent films like Batman, but its even more kick-ass sequel, begins, and Spider-Man 2, you can't really say alot.
Fred W. gave it a7:
I thought it was a good. A little stupid at times, but good.
