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Credits

Release Date: Apr 11, 1997; Rated: PG-13; Genres: Action/Adventure, Horror; With: Ice Cube and Jennifer Lopez; Distributor: Columbia Pictures
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By Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Ty Burr is a writer at large for EW and is no relation to Raymond or Aaron

Who knew the Midnight Cowboy had a sense of humor? As a villainous snake hunter leading a documentary crew up the Amazon in more ways than one, Voight essentially plays Jaws' Robert Shaw as interpreted by Ricardo Montalban. The rest of Luis Llosa's surprise box office hit Anaconda merely recaptures the schlocky zest of vintage creature features. Seeking the rare Ooga-Booga tribe, the cast instead comes upon a 40-foot snake with bulimic tendencies, proving that (a) state-of-the-art CGI effects can look as cheesy as the zipper-suited beasties of the '50s, (b) if Eric Stoltz is in a movie over a certain budget, he's apparently contractually obliged to lose consciousness in the first half hour, and (c) Jennifer Lopez looks just dandy in a muscle T. The movie's brain is, appropriately, the size of a pea, but by the scene where Voight strangles a character with his knees, you'll be too far gone in kitsch delight to care. B-


Posted Oct 10, 1997
 

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