‘Anaconda’ (2025) Review: A Meta Reboot With Bite and Unexpected Heart
If you grew up in the late 90s, you remember 1997’s “Anaconda.” You remember the sweat, the surprisingly stacked cast (J-Lo! Ice Cube! Jon Voight?!), and, of course, the animatronic/CG horror that made us all think twice about riverboat tours. It was a creature feature that didn’t take itself too seriously, yet somehow became a cult classic. Fast forward to 2025, and Sony has decided it’s time to head back to the Amazon. But this isn’t your typical reboot. The new “Anaconda” isn’t just remaking the monster; it’s dissecting the machine that made it.
A Meta-Reboot for the Mid-Life Crisis Generation
Hollywood loves IP. If it worked once, the logic goes, it’ll work again. But director Tom Gormican—the mind behind the Nicolas Cage meta-fest “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent”—wasn’t interested in a beat-for-beat retread. Instead, he and co-writer Kevin Etten have delivered something that feels startlingly human beneath its scales.
The premise is pure industry satire wrapped in a buddy comedy. We meet Doug (Jack Black) and Griff (Paul Rudd), two childhood friends whose lives haven’t exactly panned out as planned. Doug is a wedding videographer in Buffalo, stifled by brides who don’t appreciate his “blockbuster” vision. Griff is a struggling actor in LA whose claim to fame is a brief stint on “S.W.A.T.” They are staring down the barrel of middle age, feeling the sting of unfulfilled potential. Their solution? Remake their favorite childhood movie, “Anaconda,” to recapture the spark of their youth.
It’s a “let’s put on a show” narrative for the burnout generation, and it hits a surprisingly emotional chord. By framing the monster movie within a story about friendship and creative redemption, Gormican elevates the material beyond simple jump scares.
Rudd and Black: Comedy Gold in the Jungle
The casting here is the film‘s ace in the hole. Black and Rudd have surprisingly never teamed up like this before, and the chemistry is electric. Interestingly, Gormican flips the expected dynamic. Black plays the straight man—the frustrated auteur trying to keep his production on the rails—while Rudd gets to be the loose cannon.
Watching Doug try to manage a low-budget shoot in the “Amazon” (actually Queensland, Australia) while Griff spirals is a masterclass in comedic timing. They are joined by a stellar supporting cast, including Steve Zahn as their cameraman and Thandiwe Newton as the ex-girlfriend pulled back into the fray. The group dynamic feels lived-in, capturing that specific energy of old friends who know exactly how to push each other’s buttons.
And yes, there are snakes. The film balances its meta-commentary with actual creature feature beats. When their “star”—a tame anaconda named Heitor—meets an untimely end due to Griff’s panic, the crew is forced to find a replacement in the wild. As you might guess, the local wildlife is less than cooperative. There is a particularly memorable sequence involving Black, a wild boar carcass, and some very poor decision-making that is destined to become a GIF for the ages.
Satire with Bite (Or Is It?)
While the concept is undeniably clever, the execution has drawn a line in the sand for critics. On one hand, you have the sheer joy of watching these actors riff on the absurdity of Hollywood. The film pokes fun at the studio system’s obsession with recycling old ideas, acknowledging its own existence as a product of that very system. It’s a snake eating its own tail in the best way possible.
However, blending genres is a tricky business. By straddling the line between horror and comedy, “Anaconda” risks alienating purists of both. It’s not scary enough to be a true horror film—the PG-13 rating keeps the gore largely in check—and some of the industry inside baseball might fly over the heads of casual viewers just looking for a creature feature.
Yet, for those of us who love the mechanics of filmmaking, there is a lot to love. The film explores the lengths we go to for our art, even when that art is a B-movie remake. It asks why we cling to the nostalgia of the past and whether it’s possible to rewrite our own histories.
The Verdict on the Viper
So, is the 2025 “Anaconda” worth the trek to the theater? If you’re looking for a serious horror movie that will keep you up at night, you might want to look elsewhere. But if you’re game for a smart, self-aware comedy creature feature that uses a giant snake as a catalyst for a mid-life crisis breakthrough, this is a ride worth taking.
It’s rare to find a studio tentpole that feels this personal. Gormican has managed to sneak a story about failure, friendship, and redemption into a movie about a giant snake. It’s messy, it’s loud, and it’s surprisingly heartfelt. In an era of copy-paste blockbusters, “Anaconda” dares to be something different—a reboot that questions why we reboot things in the first place. And for that alone, it deserves a viewing.
