Anaconda (2025) slithers into theaters with a clever meta premise—fans of the original 1997 cult classic travel to the Amazon to remake their favorite movie, only to encounter a real giant snake. With Paul Rudd and Jack Black leading the charge, the film had all the ingredients for a memorable horror-comedy. But as Genesis Johnny North explains in his latest movie review, the result is entertaining but far from essential viewing.
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The Premise: A Meta Reboot Within a Reboot
Director Tom Gormican (who co-wrote the script with Kevin Etten) takes a self-aware approach to rebooting the franchise. Rather than simply remaking the Jennifer Lopez and Ice Cube original, Anaconda (2025) follows four childhood friends experiencing midlife crises who decide to remake their favorite ’90s horror movie in the actual Amazon jungle.
Paul Rudd plays Ronald “Griff” Griffen Jr., a background actor dealing with career disappointment who hatches the plan. Jack Black plays Doug McCallister, a wedding videographer and Griff’s best friend, who joins the low-budget expedition. Thandiwe Newton and Steve Zahn round out the friend group as Claire and Kenny, with Daniela Melchior and Selton Mello in supporting roles tied to the riverboat and snake-handling elements.
“This is like a meta kind of version of Anaconda, where it’s fans of the movie that want to make a movie about the original movie,” Johnny explained. “So it’s weird, it’s different.”
Two Movies in One: Comedy First, Horror Second
The original 1997 Anaconda played its horror straight—a tense creature feature with Jon Voight’s memorably unhinged performance. This reboot takes a fundamentally different approach.
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“You remember Anaconda, it’s more like almost a horror suspense action movie,” Johnny noted. “But this, because we’ve got Jack Black and Paul Rudd, it’s more of a comedy-drama first. And then at a certain point it becomes the action thriller—but still comedy because you have Jack Black and Paul Rudd running away from this huge snake.”
This tonal split is both the film’s defining feature and its central weakness. Johnny described the experience as getting “two movies in one kind of thing—you get this comedy like all the friends trying to come together, they have these kids, and they have new lives and bouncing jokes back and forth to each other. And then they’re making this movie, and then suddenly their lives are, you know, fearing for their lives, running away, everything. And like random jokes about that. Things are dying. People are blowing up.”
The saving grace? “But it’s all good and fun because Paul Rudd and Jack Black are there.”
What Critics Are Saying
Johnny’s mixed but entertained reaction aligns with the broader critical consensus. Rotten Tomatoes currently has the film sitting in the mid-40s on the Tomatometer, with Metacritic posting a similar score—solidly in “mixed or average reviews” territory.
Critics who enjoyed it praise Rudd and Black’s chemistry and long-honed comedic timing, calling it “stupid fun” if you arrive with appropriately low expectations. Those less impressed argue the meta-reboot concept is fun but underdeveloped, with the movie becoming a generic creature feature once the real snake appears—”a missed opportunity buoyed by a likable cast.”
Common complaints include:
- Tonal inconsistency – “Not funny enough to be a comedy, not thrilling enough to be a thriller.”
- Limited snake screen time – The anaconda barely appears, and attack scenes are short and repetitive
- CGI quality – The snake looks artificial and weightless in action sequences
- Undercooked script – The meta “movie-within-a-movie” concept stays surface-level before defaulting to generic jungle action
- Pacing issues – Side plots like illegal gold mining feel abandoned
Some reviewers think Jack Black goes unchecked, with broad gags (including running with a boar taped to his head) that feel desperate rather than organic.
The Nostalgia Factor
For viewers who grew up with the original Anaconda—or caught the various straight-to-DVD sequels over the years—there’s inherent appeal in seeing the franchise return with A-list comedic talent.
“I enjoyed it for the fact that they brought up Anaconda. I remember watching it as a kid,” Johnny said. But nostalgia only carries so far: “I can’t say I really loved this movie. Not the greatest way to end the year.”
Johnny unfavorably compared it to his previous review subject, the Finnish action masterpiece Sisu: Road to Revenge, noting that it’s hard to come down from a genuinely great film to something like this.
The Verdict: For Die-Hard Fans Only
Johnny’s recommendation is clear: “I think only if you’re like a die-hard, love the other Anacondas, watch all the other ones. I’m expecting you’re pretty much gonna skip this one.”
Dave Simon, who found the original 1997 film “creepy,” confirmed he’d be skipping entirely. “I’m not watching no snake movie. I don’t like them. They’re creepy.”
Johnny’s response? A joke about Dave watching Randy Orton every week—apparently, wrestling snakes are more acceptable than CGI ones.
Final Rating
Anaconda (2025) delivers exactly what you’d expect from a meta horror-comedy starring two beloved comedic actors: some laughs, minimal scares, and a premise that sounds better on paper than in execution. Rudd and Black’s chemistry keeps things watchable, but the film never commits fully to either comedy or horror, leaving it stranded in an entertaining but forgettable middle ground.
Johnny’s Verdict: Enjoyable for nostalgia, but not essential viewing. Wait for streaming unless you’re a franchise completist.
Anaconda (2025) is now playing in theaters. Directed by Tom Gormican. Starring Paul Rudd, Jack Black, Thandiwe Newton, Steve Zahn, Daniela Melchior, and Selton Mello. Rated PG-13. Runtime: approximately 100 minutes.
For more movie reviews from Johnny’s Movie Corner, tune into Wrestling Uncensored every Friday at 10 PM ET on the Ringside Report Network.
