Movie Review: Anaconda (1997)

A Jaws ripoff with a giant snake probably sounds like a good time, and this movie has its moments, but it also kind of sucks. Every single person in this movie is miscast, and it actually has some big/significant names. Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, John Voight giving one of the most laughable performances in film history, and even Owen Wilson are in this.
It’s basically like Creature from the Black Lagoon. A bunch of people are going around the Amazon on a boat and discover the biggest snake in history, and they argue on whether they should kill it or capture it. Jon Voight wants to capture it, which makes him a secondary villain in a very stupid turn.

This movie would have probably been much better if it was made about 10 or 15 years later. The CGI of the snake looks really bad. I guess it looks okay in closeups when it’s not moving super fast because it’s like an animatronic or whatever. That’s fine, I guess.
But the special effects really drag the movie down. It feels like an Asylum movie, but this movie actually had a big budget of $45 million. And it did well, too, which surprised me. I saw it as a kid and thought it was terrible. It’s not scary, it is ridiculous, and it doesn’t look very good.
And I must say, this movie has some of the most amateur sound quality I’ve ever witnessed for a big budget movie. The sound effects seem more appropriate for an amateur production by a bunch of high school students.
Rating: 2/10
