The original Anaconda was a horror film from 1997 featuring a snake hunting down Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Owen Wilson, and other big names. While it was never considered one of the best movies around, it did play with the common fears associated with snakes, which proved to be pretty effective.

Now, at the tail end of 2025, Anaconda is being rebooted in a very unique way: with a comedy movie about people making a reboot of Anaconda as they’re hunted by a giant anaconda. Does it stick the landing, or was it a bad idea to revisit this franchise in the first place? Let’s venture into the unknown that is this intriguing idea of a movie to find out.

The Good

This movie is hilarious. It was so refreshing to see a funny comedy on the big screen with a large crowd again. Jack Black and Paul Rudd are both on top of their game as they bring plenty of laughs with their line deliveries. Steve Zahn is an absolute riot and has plenty of uproarious moments. The movie uses situational humor, witty sarcasm, and plenty of slapstick to create a truly funny experience.

It’s hard not to give the movie props for having such a unique concept and leaning so hard into it. It’s meta and it works surprisingly well. The whole point is that instead of being a true reboot, it’s about the fictional making of a reboot, but the whole thing is still technically a reboot. Its mere existence is a joke, but it also serves as a solid movie with its own story. It’s funny, interesting, and impressive. It’s cool to see that even a reboot of sorts can still be creative.

While this movie doesn’t strive to be a super scary horror flick like its predecessor, there are still a couple of decent scares. Because this one is meant to be more comedic, scares weren’t expected which only made them more frightening. I jumped once or twice. It made the titular anaconda feel like more of a threat which was nice.

The movie also offers a fair share of action, and it’s pretty consistently exciting. The chases are a ton of fun, with the characters dodging snake bites and bullets. There are some moments so suspenseful there will be gasps from the audience while they’re on the edge of their seat.

It’s also a surprisingly heartfelt story at times. The relationships between the characters feel organic, and it’s hard not to root for the friendships as they’re tested on screen. There are some emotional moments that, while they won’t make anyone shed a tear, do feel nice when they play out.

There are a few homages to the original film in the form of references and cameos, which is always exciting to see. What’s also great is that despite these references for fans of the original, there’s never a feeling that homework is needed to enjoy it. There’s no need to see the 1997 movie to get anything in this one. It’s pretty refreshing to see that nowadays.

The Bad

There’s a subplot involving illegal gold mining that feels completely out of place. It’s not a bad subplot, and it does lead to some added excitement and action, but it doesn’t really connect to anything else going on. If anything, it feels like a random distraction at times. It even feels like it could have been removed completely.

There needs to be more of the snake. It’s a movie about a killer snake. It should feel present as much as possible, but there are unfortunately not nearly enough appearances of it. It looks great when it’s there, it’s just not often enough.

Paul Rudd’s character lied to his friends and tricked them into this experience, but he’s the one who gets mad at them when they want to do something differently. It’s frustrating. It makes his character more annoying than intended.

Conclusion

2025’s Anaconda is not trying to be anything new or iconic or the most revolutionary movie out there. It’s got its issues, but they’re pretty ignorable because this movie is everything it needs to be, which is fun. It’s extremely entertaining from start to finish, allowing for an absolute blast at the movie theater. If you want to relax and watch something fun and silly, then look no further than Anaconda.

Rating: 8/10

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