It's probably surprising to know that the monster-happy 1950's never brought with them a giant snake movie. Considering a good portion of the population is terrified of them, it should be an easy way to scare an audience. Leave it to the 1990's to provide this service. Along with "Anaconda," the Sci-Fi channel provided us with "Python" and "Python 2." Now in the new millennium, we get another one, "Anacondas."
A pharmaceutical company has discovered a rare drug that could possibly extend a humans life indefinitely. After the initial samples are destroyed, there is no other choice but to head back to Borneo to secure more. With a short blooming season, one that only occurs every seven years, the team must move quickly. Slowing them down is a group of anacondas that have been affected by the mysterious flower through the food chain.
Though the marketing and assorted interviews will have you believe this is a sequel to the 1997 thriller "Anaconda," that's nothing more than a lie. Yes it does have giant snakes that eat people, but there isn't a single mention of any characters, places, or things from the original to be had. It's completely on its own for better or for worse.
There's a distinct lack of anacondas in this film. The giant snakes appear and then disappear in rapid fashion, giving the audience very little of what they came to see. Not until the final moments do you ever get a decent look and even then, the mixture of various special effects techniques just gives them an overly fake sheen that a 6-year old can point out.
This offers up plenty of opportunity to develop the rather mundane set of characters, but there's hardly a believable performance of the bunch. Johnny Messner leads the group through the jungle in hilarious fashion, spouting off terrible dialogue and educating the group on how the oversized mutants feed. Why would you provide information like that to a group who just watched their friend get eaten alive?
Most of the group simply exists as food (not surprisingly) and of course all means out the jungle are cut off. Yes, it's incredibly predictable and clichÈd including the one character that doesn't seem to get the fact that giant snakes are out there to eat him. It's also obvious that some of the roles were meant to be filled by a returning cast as we get an Ice Cube and Jennifer Lopez look-alike. Neither adds much to the film.
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