By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
The original Anaconda is one of my favorite guilty pleasure movies of the ‘90s. It’s not a good movie by any snake-like stretch of the imagination, but you don’t exactly watch this film for stellar writing or stunning cinematography. No, you watch it to see Jennifer Lopez looking pretty, Ice Cube cracking one-liners, and Jon Voight winking at the camera after getting barfed up by a giant anaconda. It’s pure, unadulterated schlock, whose magic could never truly be recaptured. That’s why the sequels (yes, there were several) were forgettable retreads of the first film’s creature feature formula.
Understandably, I was horrified when I heard there was going to be a new Anaconda starring Jack Black and Paul Rudd. How could these guys ever possibly top the original movie? By doing something completely different, of course! Anaconda (2025) is a hilariously meta remake of the first movie that involves middle-aged fanboys trying to remake the original film on a shoestring budget. The result is one of the only great remakes of the last two decades, and you can now stream its goofy goodness for yourself on Netflix.
Welcome To The Jungle
The premise of 2025’s Anaconda is that three childhood friends are dealing with a collective midlife crisis. Disappointed with their accomplishments (or lack thereof), they are energized by the bizarre news that one of them has somehow acquired the rights to the original Anaconda. They decide to reinvent their lives by remaking the film, but when they travel to the Amazon Rainforest, they encounter something far deadlier than a giant snake: a mysterious woman who may transform their film into a monster hit, or simply get all of them killed in the most gruesome possible way.
As you might imagine, the charismatic cast provides most of this Anaconda reboot’s charm. Paul Rudd, fresh from movies like Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, returns to his roots as an affable, infectiously funny everyman. Meanwhile, Jack Black dials back the wackiness he brought to movies like Minecraft to embody a role most viewers will find all too relatable: an aging man who despairs that his success came at the expense of his childhood dreams. Steve Zahn, meanwhile, finds himself in the middle: one part straight man, one part wacky comic relief. He serves as the quirky anchor of this ambitiously audacious reboot.
A Delightfully Dumb Script
At the risk of glazing (as the kids might say) the film too hard, Anaconda is a shining example of how to do a reboot. Director and co-writer Tom Gormican wisely realized that a straight remake just wouldn’t cut it. While the original Anaconda stood out in the ‘90s as a B-movie throwback to ‘50s creature feature schlock, countless films (most of them SyFy originals) have tried to bite its style in subsequent decades. In a post-Sharknado world, the original 1997 Anaconda seems downright quaint. Instead of doing a throwback remake, the new film effectively weaponizes our nostalgia for the earlier movie into something new and refreshing.
The plot of the new Anaconda is fairly insubstantial, but that’s not really a bad thing. This is what I like to call a vibe movie; one that lets you turn your brain off and have fun with a cast that is clearly clicking with each other. Jack Black and Paul Rudd have amazing chemistry, and their easygoing rapport helps transform poor-on-paper jokes into unexpectedly hilarious onscreen bangers. In the best sense of the term, this dynamic duo helps deliver the kind of dumb fun that most modern movies are lacking. If you’re sick of elevated horror and cerebral comedies, you’ll love a throwback that feels like Dumb and Dumber meets Tremors.   Â
Not Exactly Oscar Bait
That’s the real secret of the new Anaconda: the salty/sweet combination of a wickedly smart meta concept and delightfully dumb execution. It’s arguably one of the smartest takes on a cinematic reboot (a reliably boring staple of modern Hollywood), but nobody involved is taking any of this too seriously. In that way, this reboot of a beloved ‘90s B-movie embraces the carefree ethos of that decade, encouraging us to engage with this film as lowbrow comedy rather than high art. In an age where other vintage comedy franchises like Ghostbusters are being reinvented as serious (and seriously lazy) nostalgia slop, it’s great to watch a reboot that just wants to make you laugh.
Are you a huge fan of the original Anaconda who wants to return for another rumble in the jungle? Do you like this killer cast, or maybe you just want to laugh like you haven’t in a very long time? Fortunately, you don’t need to head to the Amazon Rainforest to get your kicks. All you have to do is stream Anaconda on Netflix today. It’s the kind of movie you can enjoy as a self-contained, wonderfully irreverent throwback comedy. Alternatively, you can enjoy it as something much more serious: the unexpectedly brilliant future of the Hollywood remake. Judging from this, the ultimate hangout movie, that future is so bright you’ll need to wear shades!
Just, uh, be sure to take them off before you wink at the camera.
