Anaconda (2025) Knows It’s Stupid and That’s Its Superpower
- Dan Brooks
- Dec 31, 2025
- 4 min read
A group of friends are going through a mid-life crisis. They decide to remake a favorite movie from their youth but encounter unexpected events when they enter the jungle.
There are two kinds of movies in this world.
Movies that desperately want your respect.
And movies like Anaconda, which show up wearing cargo shorts, holding a warm beer, and saying, “Relax. We’re here to have fun.”
Bless this movie for knowing exactly what it is.
This is not a film trying to reinvent cinema, comment on society, or earn a TED Talk afterward. This is a movie that looks you dead in the eye and says, “You remember being younger? Yeah. Me too. Let’s make terrible decisions about it.” And honestly, that’s refreshing.
The premise is deceptively simple: a group of friends, now firmly in mid-life-crisis territory, decide to remake a favorite movie from their youth. Because nothing screams emotional stability like flying into the jungle with unresolved issues and a camcorder. What follows is a series of escalating miscalculations, ego bruises, and jungle-based inconveniences that snowball into exactly the kind of nonsense you’re hoping for when you press play.
Let’s start with the obvious: Jack Black.
This movie would legally not function without him.
Jack Black’s physical comedy here is top-shelf, full-throttle, knees-bent, arms-flailing chaos. He doesn’t just enter scenes; he ricochets into them. There’s a looseness to his performance that feels both reckless and surgical, like a man who knows exactly how far he can push before it collapses into pure madness. It’s visual comedy in the old-school sense - faces, movement, timing - and it works because the movie gives him room to cook.
Paul Rudd, meanwhile, does what Paul Rudd does best: plays the calm center of the storm while secretly being the funniest guy in the room. His humor is quieter, sneakier. He lets jokes land by not stepping on them. He’s the guy who raises an eyebrow while everyone else is screaming, and somehow that lands harder. There’s a self-awareness in his performance that pairs beautifully with the movie’s “we know, we know” attitude.
Steve Zahn rounds out the trio with that jittery, slightly unhinged energy he’s perfected over the years. He feels like the friend who absolutely should not be allowed to make decisions but somehow always has the map. Zahn brings a nervous unpredictability that keeps scenes from getting too comfortable, which is exactly what this kind of comedy needs.
The biggest strength of Anaconda is confidence.
This movie fully leans into being a big, dumb comedy. No apologies. No winking embarrassment. It’s silly in the same way Weekend at Bernies was silly - committed, straight-faced nonsense that works because everyone involved is playing it honestly, not ironically.
The jokes hit at the right times, and when they miss, the movie barrels forward so quickly you don’t have time to care. It understands pacing in the way comedies used to: laugh, chaos, reaction, repeat. Shut your brain off. Let it happen. This is not a film that benefits from overthinking, and it doesn’t ask you to.
There are also a few cameos sprinkled in that are genuinely well placed. Not the kind that stop the movie dead so the audience can clap, but the kind that slide in, do their damage, and exit before overstaying their welcome. That restraint is appreciated.
Now, let’s be fair.
The story is thin. Like, aggressively thin. The dialogue often feels improvised, and while that looseness adds charm in some scenes, others could have used a second pass with a red pen. A little tightening would’ve gone a long way.
The villains - without getting into specifics - are straight out of the Keystone Cops School of Menacing. You can feel the studio note that said, “We need stakes,” and the movie responding, “Fine, but we’re not trying that hard.” They exist mostly to justify forward motion, not to leave any lasting impression.
And yes, it’s predictable. You will absolutely see certain beats coming. But here’s the thing: the movie knows you know. It’s not trying to surprise you. It’s trying to entertain you. And in that sense, predictability becomes a feature, not a bug. Comfort food comedy. You know the flavor. You ordered it anyway.
Visually, the jungle setting does more work than it gets credit for. Shot in Australia’s Gold Coast and surrounding areas, it convincingly sells the Amazon vibe without feeling cheap or artificial. The locations add scale and texture, which helps the comedy land harder. It’s always funnier when ridiculous people are placed in environments that clearly do not care if they survive.
At the end of the day, Anaconda is a movie about aging, nostalgia, and the dangerous lie we tell ourselves that revisiting the past will somehow fix the present. But it delivers that theme with pratfalls, ego clashes, and a big dumb grin instead of a lecture. And frankly, that’s the correct choice.
This isn’t a movie you analyze.
It’s a movie you enjoy.
Preferably with snacks.
⭐ Final Rating
7.0 / 10
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