Movie Review: ‘Anaconda’

Paul Rudd and Jack Black bring a ton of laughs to ‘Anaconda,’ a monster movie meta-comedy that still has a surprising bit of heart at its center.

(L to R) Doug (Jack Black) and Griff (Paul Rudd) in Columbia Pictures' 'Anaconda'. Photo: Matt Grace. © 2025 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Opening in theaters on December 25 is ‘Anaconda,’ directed by Tom Gormican and starring Paul Rudd, Jack Black, Thandiwe Newton, Steve Zahn, Daniela Melchior, Selton Mello, and Ione Skye.

Initial Thoughts

(L to R) Claire (Thandiwe Newton), Kenny (Steve Zahn) and Griff (Paul Rudd) in Columbia Pictures’ 'Anaconda'.© 2025 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Photo: Bradley Patrick.

No one will ever mistake the original ‘Anaconda’ for a good movie, and even the 1997 film itself doesn’t pretend to be one. With its random cast (Jennifer Lopez! Ice Cube! Jon Voight!), intentional silliness, and wacky premise, the movie leans into its own absurdity and ends up becoming one of those cult classics that fans adore for its ridiculousness (it was also a decent box office hit and spawned a raft of even worse sequels).

Fortunately, the filmmakers behind the new ‘Anaconda’ understand the assignment: the movie, directed by Tom Gormican (‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’), can only be described as a meta-reboot, in which the film both makes (loving) fun of its subject and becomes part of the pantheon itself. With comic sure things Paul Rudd and Jack Black leading the cast, the new ‘Anaconda’ is full of laughs for the first two-thirds of its running time – until it runs out of gas – and is actually even a sweet-natured homage to friendship and the love of making movies.

Story and Direction

(L to R) Jack Black and Director Tom Gormican on the set of Columbia Pictures' 'Anaconda'. Photo: Matt Grace. © 2025 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Ronald ‘Griff’ Griffen Jr. (Paul Rudd) is a struggling actor (his claim to fame is a few episodes of ‘S.W.A.T.’) who returns home from Hollywood to Buffalo, New York for the surprise birthday party of his friend Doug McCallister (Jack Black). Doug writes screenplays at night but shoots wedding videos by day (although his idea to turn one into a horror movie is shot down by the less-than-enthusiastic couple), and is worried about being stuck in the job forever – until Griff comes to the rescue.

At lunch with Doug and two of their other old friends – recent divorcee Claire (Thandiwe Newton) and Doug’s sometimes assistant, the dissolute Kenny (Steve Zahn) – Griff announces that he’s gotten hold of the rights to the original ‘Anaconda,’ their favorite movie as youths, and proposes that the four of them head to Brazil and ‘reboot the thing indie style.’ With the loving support of his wife (Ione Skye), Doug agrees to direct, while Griff and Claire will star and Kenny will co-produce (or something like that).

With a budget of $35,000 (their initial $2 million figure got shot down by a local bank), the foursome head to the Amazon, where they rent both a boat and an anaconda, along with his slightly obsessive owner and trainer (Selton Mello). At first the shoot seems to go swimmingly, but then they learn that the presumed captain of the boat (Daniela Melchior) is not who she appears to be, that Griff hasn’t been entirely honest with them – and that there is a real giant anaconda in hot pursuit of them.

(L to R) Jack Black and Paul Rudd on the set of Columbia Pictures’ 'Anaconda'. Photo: Bradley Patrick. © 2025 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The plot – director Tom Gormican co-wrote the screenplay with Kevin Etten – is little more than nonsense, but it’s fun nonsense and the laughs come steadily for much of the film’s first hour or so. It’s an excuse for (mainly) Rudd and Black to riff on the original movie, and the meta factor gets even more byzantine when they learn that there are real bad guys on the river behind them and a real monster snake lurking in the depths as well: Doug writes it into the script, prompting an awestruck Griff to proclaim, ‘You could be the white Jordan Peele.’

It’s only when ‘Anaconda’ turns into a semi-real action movie in its final third – with chases and explosions and lots more of the CG title beastie, which is almost an afterthought for the film’s first hour – that the movie’s charm and goofy energy begin to flag. Well, truth be told, it kind of starts to wane halfway through, but there are enough jokes to carry it along until the more conventional pyrotechnics of the third act take over, along with a not-unexpected but still rather awkward cameo.

Cast and Performances

(L to R) Claire (Thandiwe Newton), Doug (Jack Black), Griff (Paul Rudd) and Kenny (Steve Zahn) in Columbia Pictures' 'Anaconda'. Photo: Matt Grace. © 2025 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Paul Rudd and Jack Black. Need we say more? Both actors are well within their comfort zone here. Rudd does his ‘middle-aged man struggling to find his way’ routine effortlessly, while Black does his ‘insane middle-aged man struggling to find his way’ act equally well. There is a lot of charm and chemistry between the two of them, and even though Thandiwe Newton and Steve Zahn are underwritten (especially the former), the quartet do manage to generate some of the joy of old friends having fun together and making a movie – that old ‘let’s put on a show’ vibe still comes through.

Brazilian actor Selton Mello has a few chances to steal the show with his not-quite-all-there anaconda trainer, but even he doesn’t quite pull it off, he manages to imbue the character of Santiago with some genuine empathy – even if his relationship with his snake seems a tad unnatural.

Final Thoughts

Doug (Jack Black) in Columbia Pictures' 'Anaconda'. Copyright: © 2025 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Photo: Bradley Patrick.

All we can add about ‘Anaconda’ is that we went into the movie with low expectations (or, really, no expectations) and ended up having a good time. While there have been a handful of excellent comedies released in 2025, those films – like ‘Splitsville’ or ‘Friendship’ – have focused on the toxic side of relationships, whether between lovers or friends.

The relationships in ‘Anaconda’ are not particularly toxic, and the friends are rather quick to forgive each other. Of course, none of the actions they take are remotely believable or smart – especially when the anaconda is chasing them – but that’s part of their appeal too. We laughed a lot at ‘Anaconda,’ and the movie embraces its source material and its own identity with the right attitude.

‘Anaconda’ receives a score of 75 out of 100.

(L to R) Griff (Paul Rudd) and Doug (Jack Black) in Columbia Pictures’ 'Anaconda'. Photo: Bradley Patrick. © 2025 CTMG, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

What is the plot of ‘Anaconda’?

Childhood friends Doug, Griff, Kenny, and Claire seek to recapture their youth by traveling to the Amazon to shoot their own remake of the 1997 cult classic ‘Anaconda.’ But a real giant anaconda turns their guerilla filmmaking project into a perilous fight to stay alive.