NEWS

A spiritual successor to the 1997 film, Anaconda (2025) now sees Jack Black and Paul Rudd as Doug and Griffen, two unfulfilled, aspiring filmmakers who, with the help of their friends, decide to make a low budget remake of Anaconda. Unfortunately, while doing so, they end up attacked by an actual, giant anaconda and have to try and survive.

A comedic, almost parody-like, take on the original film, Anaconda (2025) is chock full of references to, and jokes about, not just the original film, but modern Hollywood filmmaking. Many of the jokes are surprisingly outlandish and daring. Therefore, much of the film absolutely has to be seen to be believed.

The cast of friends of Jack Black, Paul Rudd, Steve Zahn, and Thandiwe Newton have each hit a mid-life crisis of sorts, and take up Griffen’s (Rudd) offer to reboot Anaconda. Black is surprisingly wholesome as Doug, an overly ambitious filmmaker with a taste for dramatic horror, while Zahn adeptly plays the role of Kenny, a bit of a bumbling sidekick. Rudd and Newton round out the group, each adding to the rediscovered camaraderie of old friends and the comedic challenges of fulfilling childhood dreams.

Though much like many of his recent films, Jack Black includes many of his famous isms, it is still fairly easy to look at Doug and not simply see Jack Black. As is the case with any comedy, especially one based on referential humor, not every joke lands. In fact, some jokes may come across as a bit forced for the sake of meeting some sort of quota. Thankfully, these jokes don't significantly drag down the rest of the film, and some will still get a light chuckle.

A bit of horror, a bit of crude humor, yet incredibly entertaining, Anaconda (2025) is a very enjoyable film. With jokes galore and many daring decisions, Anaconda (2025) certainly is worth a watch.