Film Review: Anaconda

Who knew that Hollywood wanted to reboot Anaconda? A lot audiences were not expecting it at least. Not only is Sony Pictures rebooting the film, but they want to modernise it and turn it into a comedy adventure. Luckily, they got a great cast on their side with Jack Black and Paul Rudd playing the key roles of two best friends who come back together to reboot the original Anaconda film. Thandiwe Newton, Steve Zahn and Daniela Melchior also star in the film but the film relies a lot on the comedy pairing of Rudd and Black.

Jack Black in a jungle film feels mildly reminiscent of a certain Sony franchise with a board game; Jumanji. Whether it was intentional or not, there are some moments in the film that feel like homages and easter eggs to Black’s other jungle franchise. Another part of the DNA of the film is Tropic Thunder, the idea of making a film within a film. Merge these two ideas together and you get a Frankenstein’s monster version of the original Anaconda film. Saying that I have never seen the original but I am aware of the premise, a film crew going into the Amazon Rainforest to find a snake that is deadly and huge. That same essence and plot is here, but there is a lot of jokes and nods to the current state of filmmaking in Hollywood. Some of it works, some of it doesn’t.

There is a lot of emphasis on the comedy, Zahn and Newton feel like they’re trying too hard when it comes to landing jokes and sticking the landings. Black and Rudd however are having a great time and their chemistry makes the film work in many ways. The question of who owns the rights to the Anaconda franchise is one such moment in the film that will leave audiences smiling and gracefully laughing. Then there’s other moments like a pee joke and a dead boar joke which feel meander in comparison. Sadly, most of the film plays it a bit too serious for any comedy to shine through. The energy that Black and Rudd brings is there, but that is all that is there unfortunately.

Anaconda, the original film, is a bit of a cult classic and snake films are few and far in-between these days. The premise is fun and even though this is a reboot the concept is a big draw, the whole “movie inside a movie”. The end result is something fairly forgettable. Jungle films are all too common these days like The Lost City, Jungle Cruise and the aforementioned Jumanji films and this film blends into the others without making a distinct style of its own. It is fun while it lasts but it won’t make you want to quote many lines from the film on the way home.

★★☆☆☆

2/5

Final Verdict:

Anaconda goes a bit too deep with its meta-sense of humour. At some points it does get confusing as to what is a film and what is the film within a film. It does attempt to add that sense of adventure that the Jumanji series is known for, but at the same time it attempts to homage Tropic Thunder as well. Unfortunately, the result is a little messy. It has some entertaining moments thanks to the chemistry between Rudd and Black but most of the humour is effortless and doesn’t land. Considering this is a reboot of the Ice Cub and J-Lo film, this expectations were already a little low but it definitely fits in with the current reboot trend of having old cast members and new ones colliding, resulting in a film as messy as it sounds.

Thanks for reading today’s blog!

Alex Murray, the Head of Eyesight Productions