Anacondas The Hunt for the Blood Orchid DVD with Morris Chestnut, KaDee Strickland, Eugene Byrd (PG-13) +Movie Reviews

SSSSSSSSnakes, Snakes Everwhere!

rhmoviemogal | Florida | 11/08/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The first rule of thumb with most nature-run-amok pictures is they have very little logic, but try to over explain itself to justify its star critter. Lucky for us, this is a sequel, so we aren't bothered by such things. A crew sets out to find a rare flower, but find themelves in a real snake pit of trouble. Again, like most sequels this one has to be bigger, and more. So, they are faced with a larger snake, or should I say snakes. They are everywhere! Lots of action, and plenty of goo and gore make this adventure fun. Still there are some attempts to overexplain things to manufacture a plot. But who needs a plot? Come on people! This is not 'Passion.' It's a snake movie. It is suppossed to not make any sense. Sit back, eat popcorn and enjoy."

Silly but loads of fun

Ratcher | Planet Zybex | 01/08/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As dumb as it is, you'll no doubt be highly entertained by Anacondas, the far superior sequel to the 1997 original. This time around it's the greedy co-orperate types who are the real snakes, the reptiles are bigger and scarier, the direction darker and more complex and the fun level higher.

I would have liked to have seen more people gobbled up but it's mighty fine, completely harmless fun for what it is. Anyone judging Anacondas as anything other than popcorn fare doesn't deserve to have their opinion listened to."

The Human element

Ian | USA | 01/08/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Anacondas. The sequel to the now cult classic first movie. Although the two movies have little in common (save the large snakes), the sequel takes a suprising twist. It focuses more on the human charachters (and the lovable monkey) and less on the snakes.

Anacondas plot is nothing spectacular. Big greedy corporation decides to go get a plant to make fountain of youth pills. Of course, the plant is in the middle of a third world jungle full of vicious snakes during the mating season. Some company people go and try to get the plant, while trying to avoid being eaten.

However, the suprise with the sequel is that it focuses on the human elelemts rather then an all out snake feast, and I personally think it works. Although we dont get much charachter development with the humans, I did come to like most of them, and felt sad when a few of them died. I especially liked the river boat captain, who reminded me of Han Solo from Star wars. Of course we also have the African American comic relief charachter ("She sliced she diced!", funniest line of the movie). And then theres the main bad guy, who's like Burke from Aliens. All (s)he cares about is money and profit, while everyone else wants to get out alive. Of course, this dosent go well with him, and he decides to do some rather nasty (and evil) stuff.

The Anacondas themselves appear less then last time, but they are bigger and apparently more vicious. I am a little dissapointed that we didint get more snake action like the first movie, but this one focuses on the humans. The effects used to create the beasts were a little bit better (especially the "snake moving underwater" shots), but for the most part are at the same level of the last movie. No better, no worse.

Although other people complain about the cliche driven plot, I say "So what?" It didint affect me while watching the movie. I didint care how they used stuff from "Jaws" and the cliche steryotypes. There were a few good materials sprinkled into the mix, such as the monkey (Which you care about more then the humans), and the rock spider (the first death caused by the spider is sad to watch).

In the end, I was suprised by Anacondas. It focused more on the human charachters then the snakes, and I think it paid off. I recommend it as a casual viewing experience."

Actually better than the first "Anaconda". Hissss!

Matthew King | Toronto, Canada | 12/25/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The first "Anaconda" featured a crew of filmmakers venturing deep into the Amazon to shoot a documentary. That movie became notable due to the presence of on-the-rise actors like Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson. But Anaconda was far from a good movie, no matter who was in it. "Anacondas: Hunt for the blood Orchid" is a sequel in-name-only that ventures into much of the same territory as the first one. A group of medical researchers in NYC believe they have found a way to prolong life. In order to create this revolutionary chemical, they need to hunt for the "Blood Orchid", which blooms every 7 years. The crew must head into the jungles of Borneo and grab the orchid before it again lays to rest.

The first thing I noticed while being introduced to this no-name cast of characters was how much they seemed to be attempting to recreate the crew of the original movie. You have a Spanish woman playing the JLo role, a laid-back beach dude playing the Owen Wilson role and an inner-city kid playing the Ice Cube role. It's almost as though they wanted the same people but the producers were obviously unable to coerce any of the original cast members to come back for a sequel. I kind of knew I was in for a bit of pain when from the get-go none of the characters appealed to me. Worst was the Ice Cube wannabe. His character is hands-down one of the most annoying I've ever come across. He kept uttering lines like "Holmes", "Aiiight" "You da bomb". Aside from reinforcing urban African-American stereotypes to the Nth degree his character served absolutely no purpose. The only truly likeable character in this one was the little pet monkey. That tells you something.

But while I couldn't stand the cast, what made this movie watcheable was the terrific use of set locales. This movie has amazing jungle scenery the whole way through. Whereas in the first Anaconda the entire movie took place aboard a raft while the crew wafted through the Amazon's canal, here the characters get off the boat and venture deep into the thick bushes of the jungle. They come across a whole slew of eye-popping sites. For this reason, along with better scenes of suspense, I found this "Anaconda" to be slightly better than its predecessor. Still when all is said and done this movie had me rooting for the snakes. Not a good thing...

"

This is Why We Go to the Movies

L. Mintah | USA | 01/10/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Films like Anacondas 2: Hunt for the Blood Orchid are why we go to the movies. To escape. To forget our problems. Anacondas does not disappoint. I was enthralled from the moment I pushed play on my DVD player.

The filmography is impressive. There are great panoramic shots of jungles and nice shots of the full moon that gave me chills. The score of native music lends to the mood of being lost in the jungle with a maniac and giant anacondas.

The story is about a group who goes to Borneo to seek rare specimens of the Blood Orchid. These researchers believe the Blood Orchid has chemical properties that can extend a cell's lifespan, thus prolonging life. The expedition does not go as planned, and our friends are soon fighting for their lives.

The little monkey, Kong, is so cute. He is a terrific actor. The director did really well to focus on him so much. The monkey's facial expressions, chattering, his toting goods, and his obvious emotion should win him Best Supporting Monkey. He lent a great deal to the film.

The DVD extras have deleted scenes, trailers, and a featurette on how they made the anaconda effects as well as how the movie was made. The director and some of the actors speak about the making of the film.

I think we could have seen more snakes. I just wanted one final, big showdown with the anacondas."

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