In 1997, the holy trinity of Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube and Jon Voight were among those who faced off with a large snake in the Amazon rainforest in the cult classic horror, Anaconda. Among that cult fanbase were childhood friends-turned-struggling filmmakers Doug and Griff, played by Jack Black and Paul Rudd in this meta-reboot of the same name.
Those two, along with their old friends Thandiwe Newton and Steve Zahn, decide to travel to the Amazon to remake their favourite movie after rewatching the short film they made as kids. Doug, initially resistant to having found a ‘B, maybe B+ life’ making wedding films, eventually agrees to Griff’s proposal, who himself has reached a career high having featured in four episodes of SWAT. The problem with so many of these reboot/remake/”spiritual sequels” is that they never seem able to find a balance between whether they will make a full recreation of the original film, smartly pay homage in its own way, or just completely reinvent it until it is unrecognisable. The meta-narrative allows Anaconda to somehow manage all three at the same time.
While arguably the best moment of the film comes just 15 minutes before the end in the form of a very brief cameo appearance, the performances of the core four cast members are what make this worthwhile. Jack Black, still provided with a brief opportunity to show off his iconic musical scatting, shines in a rare father role, with Paul Rudd playing the part of a struggling actor worryingly well. Perhaps unsurprisingly, their friendship is genuine and heart-warming to watch throughout, despite the two only having appeared together on-screen once in their careers, as Lennon and McCartney in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.
As supporting players, both Thandiwe Newton and Steve Zahn bring their own merits to the film. Newton is given the least amount to play with here, a brief reference to a past relationship with Rudd’s character never really goes anywhere until the credits, but she more than holds her own around comedy legends. Steve Zahn provides the surprise performance of the film however, as addict cameraman Kenny who brings laughs throughout as he tries desperately to please his friends and make up for his past mistakes.
The plot of Anaconda pretty much follows exactly what you would expect from a film of its nature. There are a couple of scenes that seem so out of place that you can only wonder what scenes were cut to allow for them however, it does do the one thing that it needed to succeed. There is no doubt that this is a comedy, and a great one at that. Instead of falling into the trap of wanting to be taken seriously as an action film, the film’s creatives rely on the talents of its cast and firmly place it as one of the top comedies of 2025.
