Anaconda Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Anaconda Blu-ray Movie Review

Snakes on a boat.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III March 15, 2026

Louis Llosa's surprise 1997 hit Anaconda is a guilty pleasure for those of a certain age group and can still be enjoyed for its camp value, J. Lo, goofy CGI, and that one scene with the backwards waterfall. A staggering six follow-up films arrived in its wake, and now that number increases to seven with director / co-writer Tom Gormican's "spiritual sequel" of the same name. Though initially planned as a straight remake, Gormican and his writing partner Kevin Etten pitched their meta take on the 1997 original and miraculously got the green light. A self-aware comedy about making movies in the vein of Bowfinger, Be Kind Rewind, and Tropic Thunder, Anaconda is far from a rousing success but still good for a few laughs as its cast tries their best to salvage a script that feels as rushed and uneven as their own.

After an opener involving the mysterious Ana Almeida (Daniela Melchior), several pursuers, and a giant snake -- all of whom we'll meet again soon enough -- Anaconda introduces us to aspiring director and current wedding videographer Doug McCallister (Jack Black), who creates sappy video packages for dewy-eyed couples. He's stuck in a rut but soon happily reunited with childhood friends Ronald "Griff" Griffin (Paul Rudd), Kenny Trent (Steve Zahn), and Claire Simons (Thandiwe Newton) at a surprise party, where he's given the best gift ever: a copy of the low-budget movie they made as kids, which until recently was believed to be lost. Griff gives him more good news: he's somehow secured the rights to the original 1997 film Anaconda, a guilty favorite of the whole crew, and applies for a loan so they can remake it on the cheap with Griff and Claire as the leads, Kenny behind the camera, and of course Doug in the director's chair. While they're only approved for a fraction of their initial budget, it's enough for a few weeks in Brazil, a boat rental, and the services of a well-regarded snake wrangler in Carlos "Santiago" Braga (Selton Mello).

Unsurprisingly, the two worlds converge when Ana lies her way on board; she's somehow allowed to stick around, no questions asked, and those men hunting her are still in pursuit but still several days behind. Doug and company begin filming almost immediately... but when Santiago's beloved snake meets an unexpected fate, the crew must get creative if they want to bring back any good footage. So, just like the film itself, their remake now promotes badass Ana to the main character, which of course angers Griff and Claire... but once those hunters and the actual giant anaconda show up, the plots of both Anaconda and Anaconda have no choice but to adapt accordingly.

Anaconda -- the movie, not the movie-within-the-movie -- tries admirably to be clever, and I'll admit that its premise could have been really special if handled with care. It's not. Crucial parts of the story are written sloppily, it veers off course several times along the way, and it doesn't really build to a strong and satisfying conclusion. But Anaconda is worth at least a once-over, as yours truly will admit to almost crying with laughter during at least two or three scenes. Combine that with the enthusiastic performances of Black and Rudd (who play their characters almost exactly as you'd expect), a breezy running time, and more than a few great one-liners and you've got a film that's not good enough to be a classic but too funny to completely dismiss. That said, it seems like the kind of movie that will likely get better on repeat viewings and, for all I know, just mind end up outliving the original. Sony presents Anaconda on Blu-ray as well as a separate 4K Steelbook (review forthcoming) with better A/V specs but the same slate of extras.

Anaconda Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Sony's Blu-ray edition of Anaconda offers a solid 1080p/SDR downscale of its source material, which was of course delivered to theaters as a 4K DCP with Dolby Vision (depending on location, of course). As seen in these direct-from-disc screenshots, the film's all-digital photography clearly follows the somewhat muddy and underlit trend of modern films with a handful of sequences that would obviously look better with HDR. However, what we get here is a solid and faithful presentation indeed that runs smoothly on a dual-layered disc with no obvious compression-related issues or problems with the SDR conversion, as colors look accurate within format boundaries and are even occasionally vivid in certain locates like the gang's arrival in Brazil. Fine detail is excellent under ideal circumstances, while the film's often dodgy uses of CGI blend in well enough with quicker-moving action scenes; in short, they're too brief to really stick out like a sore thumb. While this obviously comes in a pretty clear second to a true 4K/HDR presentation, it should play just fine on small to medium setups, so those with no UHD aspirations should be perfectly happy.

Anaconda Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

I get that most people without 4K setups aren't equipped with overhead speakers, but Sony's odd decision to neuter Anaconda's theatrical Atmos mix to DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio on Blu-ray is a somewhat pointless handicap; in fact, it's one of the first discs I've reviewed that differs from its UHD counterpart in that way. In any case, those "limited" to 5.1 (which really is perfectly fine in most cases) probably won't care, as this track still serves up no shortage of enveloping atmospheric jungle activity and strong channel separation / panning in addition to crisp dialogue and nicely prioritized effects with plenty of room for the original score by David Fleming and classic rock/pop cuts. It'll certainly register as a decently strong and stable substitute for "the real thing" and generally without fault under the circumstances, but I've got to dock it a full point for not preserving the original sonic experience as it should have.

Optional subtitles, including English (SDH), are offered during the film and extras below, and forced translation subtitles are also included for Spanish dialogue spoken by a few supporting characters such as Ana and those pursuing her.

Anaconda Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with poster-themed cover artwork and a Digital Copy code. Extras are limited to a few mostly lightweight promotional-style featurettes and other items.

• A Ride Into Chaos with Jack & Paul (5:18) - Various members of the supporting cast offer praise for our co-leads, who likewise share a bromance while making each other laugh during the filming process.

• Hiss-terical Outtakes & Bloopers (3:10) - This like-minded piece simply trades in those pesky interview clips for a marathon of ruined takes by the primary cast members.

• Friends in the Wild: The Cast (5:49) - All four key cast members speak briefly about their characters and how the film's plot mirrored their shared on-set experiences.

• The Snake Charmer: Tom Gormican (4:41) - The director and co-writer, along with members of the cast, speak about the film's inception which began as a straight-up remake of the 1997 original.

• Reinventing the Legend: Anaconda (4:33) - Returning cast and crew members, as well as few new ones like production designer Steven Jones-Evans, talk about Anaconda's meta take on its source material.

• Deleted & Extended Scenes (4 clips, 4:31 total) - Includes "Griff Go Apologize", "Rewriting Montage" and "Wedding Video Announcement", which are prefaced by a short director intro.

• Previews (3 clips, 7:38 total) - Trailers for Karate Kid Legends, Jumanji: The Next Level, and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. So basically, the shared theme here is "lukewarm IP relaunches".

Anaconda Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Tom Gormican's Anaconda is stuck somewhere between disappointing dud and minor cult classic, with its game lead performances and a handful of big belly laughs and one-liners nudging it towards the latter. But as sporadically fun and funny as it may be, there's a lingering feeling of "almost, but not quite" hanging over the production, making one wish that its separate core elements came together in a more satisfying way. That said, it might age better than expected, and Sony's Blu-ray at least offers solid A/V merits (though a clear second to the 4K edition) as well as a handful of lightweight bonus features. It's Recommended to the right crowd, of course, but the UHD is preferred.