Anthony's Film Review - The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course (2002)

Crikey! A fun and goofy trip through the Australian outback...

Let me start with a confession. At the time of the release of this movie, I never watched Steve Irwin and his wife Terri on the Crocodile Hunter show on TV. In fact, I never heard of these two until I saw the trailer for The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course, which humorously features a crocodile in place of the lion in the MGM logo. And I'll admit one more thing. I was never too interested in animals and anything on the Discovery Channel. So you would think I would ignore this film and not watch it. I thought so, too, but there's something about Steve Irwin's overly enthusiastic interest in crocodiles that made me curious.

Now that I've seen the film, I can comment on the plot of the film: there really isn't one. It is true that the first scene of the film involves an American spy satellite that has exploded with one vital portion landing in Australia, and CIA agents are assigned to retrieve it before it falls into the wrong hands. The film also has a farm woman who sees crocodiles as a threat.

However, in between these scenes is the actual movie. Steve and Terri Irwin explore the Australian outback and encounter a variety of animals. It's hard to believe that the nature documentary is more interesting than the other subplots. It's one of those movies where there are multiple plots, but you only like one of them.

The animals seen the movie range from the familiar to the exotic. Some are quite dangerous. Steve has no fear when he holds a giant King Brown snake or observing the venom secreted from the bird-eating spider. But it's not all scary and fascinating stuff. He and Terri do find a dead kangaroo and adopt the lone baby kangaroo nearby. Still, for all Crocodile Hunter fans, you will see what Steve does best: wrestling crocodiles. While you're at it, you'll get to see the wonderful sight of some "croc poo."

The only time the other characters become interesting is when they all collide with Steve and Terri. The Irwins have no idea that a satellite exploded far above and that a piece has fallen and been swallowed by a crocodile they captured. The spies think Steve is an enemy agent while Steve thinks they are poachers. There is humor in this because instead of two sides knowing about each other's agendas, they have no idea what the others are doing, yet there is still a battle to be fought. Meanwhile, be on the lookout for a President George W. Bush look-alike, who learns about the CIA's mission progress and comments about the "guy in the khaki shorts."

The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course is an amusing one-and-a-half hour film despite its unusual structure. It is quite fun to see the different animals in the film as if I were watching the Crocodile Hunter television show. And the song in the end credits, "Crocodile Rock" by Baha Men, was a nice one to hear and dance to. It's not a film for anyone who is picky about what they consider funny. For everyone else, it's not bad.

Anthony's Rating:

For more information about The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course, visit the Internet Movie Database.