The Film

After such a huge following in America for so long, it was only a matter of time before a studio threw a wad of money at Steve Irwin. Definitely something for the yanks — a delightfully bad movie and the Aussie larrakin archetype (upon which Paul Hogan’s appeal was based) they can’t get enough of.

The Sight & Sound

The sound delivers every snap of a croc’s massive jaw and hiss from another molested snake.

The Extras

The best bits are the mini docos setting up various sequences and stunts as Steve and offsider Tony try to explain to the production crews about the protocols of working with ton-weight killers and the most venomous snakes alive.

Particularly funny to see Steve discussing filming with a low key countenance — it makes you realise how overdone his ‘crikey’ schtick really is.

Not for environmentalists though is Steve and Tony lecturing the crew about how they love the animals; when a Fierce snake gets overly stressed it goes back in the bag, but nobody minds bounding across a stream goading an enraged croc into lunging for the camera.

A very cool idea is the crock track. Instead of a commentary, you get little tidbits over the action corresponding to what’s going on — they talk about everything from the CIA to the wildlife.

The Worth

Hardly avante garde filmmaking, but the extras will make you realise how uncontrollable film sets really are (with crocodiles and snakes, that is), and there’s more ham than a Deli counter.

4 out of 5

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 1st, 2003 at 12:00 am and is filed under DVD Reviews, Film, Filmink. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.