O Caçador de Crocodilos: Rota de Colisão

From the trailer, it seemed that this movie was (1) a comedy, and (2) had some kind of plot. But upon watching it, you see it isn't so. For one thing, the first half of the movie seems to forget it's supposed to be a comedy! Sure, Steve is doing his usual thing, but you can easily see that on any episode of his TV show. I was expecting that Steve (playing himself) would be encountering situations not found on his TV show, and his reaction to these events would provide the comedy. Nope; the first half of the movie plays (for the most part) like an expanded episode of his show.

The second half of the movie is an improvement, though not by much. There are some attempts at that kind of situation humor, though for some reason it only comes across as mildly amusing at the most. Oh, the plot? Well, just like the first half of the movie, there is barely ANYTHING that can be called a plot, including the ending, which is a real cheat.

As bad as the movie is, none of it is Steve's fault; he was clearly up to anything the production told him to do. It's too bad that pretty much all the movie gave him to perform was dreck.

I wasn't sure how they would fit him in, whether it would be some cliched "turn him into a spy" theme or a lame "pet detective" theme. Instead they had the Irwins doing their Discovery thing while the whole spy thing went on without them. They eventually came together in a clever and believable way. In fact, the Irwins never really found out what was really going on.

The "bad guys" weren't the usual bumbling idiots that you find in these kinds of movies, and I appreciated that. Their failings were more due to circumstance and unpreparedness.

There are some very funny scenes here. My 7 year old son and his friend were riveted, and laughing throughout most of it. Nice to know that they can still make non-animated G-rated movies without talking animals and silly gags and fart jokes (ok there was one), and it's still fun and funny.

However, my wife was jumping in her seat. The animal scenes were live and unpredictable, like the Irwins' TV show. When a snake or spider or croc jumped at our hero, my wife jumped too.

The conservation theme is pretty heavy throughout the Irwins' subplot, but since they were just doing their thing it was fine. Besides, people need constant reminders of how badly we are screwing up our planet. The only thing that bugged me was what always bugs me about documentaries -- where is the cameraman they keep talking to? Where does he sit? How does he get around? Anyway, minor quibble.

The whole movie reminded me of The Gods Must Be Crazy, but with more polish. If you are an Irwin fan, you will like this movie. I'm not, particularly, although I do watch his show sometimes. Still, I really enjoyed this movie, and so did my family.

Highly recommended for fans and families.

This isn't a movie, it is just an extended version of the popular Crocodile Hunter show on Animal Planet. And that isn't such a bad thing, if you like the show, which I do. I was going to slam this movie based on the first part, but in the last 40 minutes it really picks up and becomes entertaining and mildly funny. I really liked the chase on the river because Steve keeps thinking they are poachers and tries to fake having the croc in the boat. The whole part was just funny to me. Of course, I still don't even know what that little round top was and why the government wanted it. But, who cares, when you watch this you aren't expecting a plot that requires brain cells.

FINAL VERDICT: If you like the Crocodile Hunter show, then this is something you would like and maybe find amusing. A good way to waste an afternoon.

This is the most deeply, funny film I have seen all year. Whoever came up with this idea is, in my opinion, a genius.

It could have been awful. But the film-makers have struck upon this unique formula where the feeble back-plot (straight out of a cheap 80's TV movie purposefully serves to enhance Steve's personality and appeal, and the two mingle into a delightfully campy experience.

I call this a surprisingly refreshing, possibly touching on genre-defining, classic that I will be watching many more times.

This movie is not your typical movie, on any level. That's why it's called Collision Course, it collides with all of our typical mainstream ideas of movies. I never watched the show, but thanks to this movie I am now a huge fan and watch the show whenever I can. I like it more than I like the movie, it's because of its weak CIA storyline. Steve, you're just fine in this reviewer's book, don't listen to your critics. You do what you love and you're not ashamed of it.

a new fan

my rating: 7 out of ten because of the CIA thing.