Anaconda is a
1997 horror film,
directed by
Luis Llosa, starring
Jennifer Lopez,
Ice
Cube, and
Jon Voight.
It centers around a
film crew for National Geographic
who are kidnapped by a hunter who is going
after the world's largest giant
anaconda, which is discovered in the remote jungle.
Though a
box office hit, the film was
critically panned. It was followed by the sequel
Anacondas: The Hunt for
the Blood Orchid.
Plot
Shooting a
documentary about a long-lost
Indian tribe on the Amazon River,
director Terri Flores (Jennifer
Lopez) and members of her crew, including cameraman Danny Rich
(Ice Cube), production manager Denise
Xalberg (Kari Wuhrer), soundman Gary
Dixon (Owen Wilson), visionary Warren
Westridge (Jonathan Hyde) and
anthropologist Professor Steven Cale (Eric
Stoltz), come across stranded Paraguay
snake hunter
Paul Sarone (Jon Voight) and help him,
believing he knows how to find the tribe they're searching for, but
Sarone acts strangely and the crew suspect something. While
trying to free the boat's propeller from a rope, Cale is stung in
the throat by a wasp which somehow got in his scuba gear (this
leaves him unconscious for nearly the rest of the film). With that,
Sarone takes command of the boat... and the crew. They are then
forced to help him achieve his true objective; hunting down and
capturing a record-breaking
Green
Anaconda he had been tracking. During the process, several
members of the crew are killed before the snake itself is shot dead
and Sarone incapacitated by the newly awakened Cale. Later on,
Terri and Danny, two of the surviving members of the crew, are
captured when Sarone catches up to them. He dumps a bucket of
monkey blood on them and then uses them as bait in an attempt to
capture a second, larger Anaconda. The anaconda wraps around Terri
and Danny and begins to squeeze the life out of Terri. The snake
still squeezing Terri and Danny are caught in a net by Sarone, but
escape when the snake breaks free. Terri and Danny cut their bonds
and break free as Sarone himself is killed by his quarry. The snake
becomes trapped in the smoke stack, which Danny ignites and it
seems to have died. As Terri and Danny recuperate on a nearby dock,
the snake appears one final time. Danny beats the anaconda with an
axe until it is finally slain. Afterwards, the survivors of the
expedition reunite on the ship, and as they float down the river,
accidentally locate the natives they were originally searching for.
They realize Sarone was right and begin filming their documentary
as the movie ends.
Cast
Reception
The film received negative reviews from critics. The review
aggregator
Rotten Tomatoes reported
that the film received 24% positive reviews, based on 29 reviews.
Metacritic reported the film had an
average score of 37 out of 100, based on 20 reviews. Although not
being well received, the film had an average box office
performance.
One of the few positive reviews was by
Roger
Ebert, who gave it three and a half out of four stars, calling
it "a slick, scary, funny Creature Feature, beautifully
photographed and splendidly acted in high adventure style."
Sequels
The film was followed by three sequels,
Anacondas: The Hunt for
the Blood Orchid in 2004, two made-for-television movies,
Anaconda 3: Offspring
and
Anacondas: Trail of
Blood, both produced in 2008. Even though no characters
from the first film appear in the sequels, they are referenced by a
character in
Hunt for the Blood Orchid. However, it is
quickly dismissed as an
urban
legend.
References
External links
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