Eric Stoltz, Ice Cube, Jennifer Lopez

A filmmaker and an anthropologist travel to the Amazon to shoot a documentary about a mysterious local tribe, but discover far more than they planned.

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32% liked it

398,881 ratings

Critics

28% liked it

32 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 45 min.

Directed by: Luis Llosa

Release Date: April 11, 1997

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DVD Release Date: January 1, 1998

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Flixster Reviews (13,858)


  • September 14, 2009
    Highly entertaining but for all the wrong reasons. It's a bit of fun I guess, it was never going to win any awards and never takes itself seriously. It's definatly in 'So bad its good' terrotory!
  • September 29, 2008
    A film maker and anthropologist travel to the deep Amazon jungle to film a documentary on a lost river tribe. Along the way, the film crew picks up a weary traveler who claims to know the river like the back of his hand and can lead them to the lost tribe. Unbeknownst to the film...( read more) crew the weary traveler and the boat captain have other plans. Leading them away from the lost river tribe the weary traveler and boat captain lead them into the heart of the Amazon on a hunt for one the world?s rarest and most dangerous animals, the anaconda snake.
    Anaconda is your typical monster-action movie. The plot is simple as is the acting. Nothing spectacular is found here, but the viewer needs to look at what the movie is made for, popcorn action and cheap scares. If the viewer can handle these two reasons the movie was made, they will enjoy the film. Jennifer Lopez stars along with Ice Cube and to date this is probably one of her better films. Anaconda offers nothing great, but the movie does the job the movie was intended for. Anaconda receives three snake skins out of five for being fun, sleek, and entertaining.
  • June 11, 2008
    Ridiculous...and all the better for it
  • May 6, 2008
    "This film was supposed to be my big break, and it turned out to be a big disaster!" (This is actually a quote from the movie. Little did they know they were actually predicting the future)


    Before I finally watched Anaconda I was decisively aware of the pastin

    ...( read more)g and criticisms surrounding the production. I don't think I heard even one good thing about the movie. I sometimes enjoy seeking out simple reasonably short (80 or 90-minute) films I know will be crappy. And so equipped with warnings and bad reviews to boot I decided to finally watch it.


    Anaconda is a campy, appalling B-Grade horror fest that is every bit as bad as I heard it was. From start to finish, the film is plagued by a dismal script loaded with stereotypical conventions, predictability and despicable characters. The visual effects look embarrassing, with an anaconda that moves like a flimsy animatronic and isn't in the least bit convincing. While watching this "thriller" (I use the term loosely) I was closer to tears of laughter as opposed to shock.


    Anaconda follows a documentary crew that head out on the Amazon River to make a documentary concerning a mythical Indian civilisation. While heading upriver, they pick up poacher Paul Sarone (Voight, in his worst performance to date) who surreptitiously plans to use the boat + crew to hunt a large anaconda. As predicted, instead of the original plan the crew become snake bait as they are terrorised by a forty foot anaconda lurking beneath the water.


    If you're going to take this film seriously, turn your arse around and go rent something else. Anaconda is seemingly played out for laughs, and if the filmmakers intended to make it serious...they missed the mark completely. The antics of the snake we see in the film are absurd. Every time the snake turns up, there are more factually impossible things that continue adding to the already massive pile of criticisms about the film. These factually impossible snake mannerisms include the thing refusing to die after being blown up, burnt and shot in the head (without a mere scratch, that is).


    Performances are all dreadful; following the standard characters clichés (including the most despicable characters dying first, there's someone who wants to catch the snake instead of killing it, the big-breasted girl who's there for show, etc) not to mention the costume design is even dull!


    But wait, there's more - each character could be outsmarted by a 5-year-old, the visual effects get worse as time goes on, the "scares" aren't even effective, there's no intensity, when the snake attacks things it made me laugh, the snake is "voiced" by an actor, and the film is almost painful to watch. I could go into so much detail but I think I've pretty much hammered the point convincingly.


    At the end of the day, I am aware that Anaconda was meant to be a bit of fun. But...it's not. Instead we're treated to something that is so painfully appalling it couldn't pass as a home movie.
  • May 2, 2008
    I do not like snakes to begin with and now I do not like them even more lol Good movie I thought though.
  • November 21, 2009
    Any movie that relies heavily upon a CGI-created creature as the film's main plot point/protagonist had BETTER have three things 1. Good CGI. 2. Good acting. 3. The director knowing the physical restraints of the creature. You have to remember that this snake does not exist in re...( read more)al life so how the actors react during filming is crucial to the believability of the snake in the first place. The snake had awful CGI and the actors and actresses were wooden, led by the mother of all wooden actresses, J-Lo. But that wasn't the worst. They turned an anaconda, one of the slowest animals in the world, and turned it into a black racer on steroids. Maybe if you pumped the anaconda full of smack could it move the way it does in this movie. A complete mess.
  • November 15, 2009
    Hoorrible now but insanely dramatic and suspenseful in '96. J-Lo's in great shape and Ice cube hasn't overwelmed the b movie market at this point... good ole' snake grapplin fun.
  • November 11, 2009
    An enjoyable Horror/Thriller that's probably not for those who aren't the biggest fan of snakes :P Jennifer Lopez is surprisingly rather good as the lead and Jon Voight is perfect as our secondary villain to the Anaconda. Storyline is also good despite having stereotypical charac...( read more)ters and corny moments here and there. Impressive deaths as you'd expect and overall a good solid ending makes for a good enjoyable film that has since spawned another three sequels since.
  • November 7, 2009
    Severely underrated. This film is scary, fun, adventurous and chilling. Even Roger Ebert liked it.
  • October 30, 2009
    This is the best of all Anaconda movies they made. The film actually has a great cast with Jennifer Lopez, Jon Voight, Eric Stoltz, Owen Wilson and Ice Cube. This is your basic horror/monster film about a giant anaconda that tries to eat the entire crew on the river boat. Has a d...( read more)ecent enough story and acting. Just pure mindless entertainment. Worth a one time watch.

Critic Reviews


Comments


  • MECreviews
    October 7, 2006
    I love this movie. Great scenes throughout. Very suspenseful. The actors roles are very well done.

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Anaconda Trivia


  • Which two actor/singers starred in Anaconda?  Answer »
  • What rapper starred in "Anaconda"?  Answer »
  • Owen Wilson had small parts in 1997's "Anaconda" and 1999's "The Haunting".  Answer »
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