Back in the innocent days of 1997, it was enough that one giant anaconda was on the loose, threatening with its crushing power and single-gulp eating style.
I think you’ll agree that we live in a very different world now. And so it is that the sequel to 1997’s “Anaconda” should boast not one giant bloodthirsty jungle snake, but dozens of the things.
This is “Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid.” Except for one joking reference, it has nothing to do with the original thriller that put Jennifer Lopez and Jon Voight at career lows. Except that the plot is a carbon copy, albeit with more evildoers.
Not fun: Sequel to the 1997 film, which had only one giant snake on the loose in the jungle. This time the evildoers are multiplying, and our foolish jungle travelers are easily gulped. It’s preposterous, but not in the first film’s fun way.
Rated: PG-13 rating is for violence. |
This time a pharmaceutical company has sent a crew to Borneo (filmed in Fiji) to hunt, well, the blood orchid. The rare flower contains a potential fountain-of-youth drug, and it blooms only once every few years.
All the company scientists are very attractive people. Morris Chestnut (late of “Breakin’ All the Rules”) and Matthew Marsden lead the crew, with KaDee Strickland (who might turn into something if she stays away from movies like this) and Salli Richardson-Whitfield providing the feminine wisdom.
They naturally arrive in the rainy season, when the only boat skipper crazy enough to take them upriver is a grizzled former special-forces dude (Johnny Messner), aided by his Indonesian assistant (Karl Yune). Messner is either auditioning to take over the Snake Plissken role from Kurt Russell, or imitating the guy who does all the voiceover announcing for movie trailers. He’s growly.
After too much time spent getting to know these folks, the picture finally settles into the groove we’ve been waiting for. As one character puts it, the people are basically “mice in the aquarium,” and the giant snake is in the house.
When the first attack occurs, the trekkers breathe a sight of relief. Hey, the anaconda could take days to digest its meal. And there couldn’t possibly be more than one of them. “Unless it’s mating season,” that is, and wouldn’t you know it. …
There are some good overhead shots of an anaconda sliding its way around our travelers, and in general the snakes are better than the serpent in the first movie. That baby was unbelievable; these are just unlikely.
We also get a man vs. crocodile wrestling contest that recalls the “Tarzan” days of Johnny Weissmuller hugging a fake gator. Plus there’s a pretty appealing monkey. None of this detracts from the essential preposterousness of the story or its presentation.
Journeyman director Dwight Little manages to make every location look exactly the same, while ensuring the movie has no semblance of wit. I missed the goofiness of the first “Anaconda,” especially Jon Voight’s bad accent. There’s only so much computer-animated effects can do.
KaDee Strickland, Johnny Messner and Karl Yune in “Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid.”
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