#273: Anaconda

Release Date: April 11th, 1997

Format: Streaming (Tubi)

Written by: Hans Bauer, Jim Cash, and Jack Epps Jr.

Directed by: Luis Llosa

3 Stars

Anaconda’s reputation precedes itself. This killer snake creature-feature from 1997 is a silly combination of strange accents, bad CGI, great on-location shooting in Brazil, scantily clad ladies, and a few genuine thrills thrown in for good measure. It’s a movie that’s hard not to like.

Peruvian director Luis Llosa is behind the camera, a filmmaker who made his bones under the tutelage of B movie king, Roger Corman. That’s a good start. Two of the three screenwriters, Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., co-wrote Top Gun ten years earlier, so expect some juicy dialogue. The screen is also littered with movie stars, some pre-stardom, some post-stardom, and their performances are calibrated to reach the very back row of the theater.

Is it a good movie? No, not really. Is it a good time? Yes, yes it is.