Komodo vs. Cobra

Komodo vs. Cobra is not going to set the world on fire. It's not a hallmark of cinema history. What it is is a group of underfunded filmmakers trying to make another movie, make another paycheck, and continue to support themselves and their families. As such I give these efforts a lot of slack. I mean, come on, it has to be hard to be a Russian special effects technician. Not a lot of big budget films getting made there. BUT-- they are a dedicated bunch and more than willing to throw their all into whatever lame American monster flick needs affordable SFX. And I get a kick out of looking for the same locations appear time and again in these flicks. If for some reason you find yourself watching this again, look at the sequence where Pare and company are walking through a "jungle." Look at their feet and you'll see paved walkways. And if you happen to still have a copy of "AI Assault" (shown a week or two earlier also on SciFi), you'll see the folks in there tramping through the same ersatz jungle. Come to think of it, I think the helicopters land in the same clearing in both flicks. I can admire the thriftiness of these films. Every dollar really does show up on the screen! Too bad there just aren't enough dollars......

KOMODO VS. COBRA is another Z-grade slice of movie monster entertainment from prolific B-movie king Jim Wynorski. This one's a bottom-of-the-barrel production that throws together all the elements familiar from Wynorski's movies: bad acting, cardboard characters, top-heavy starlets in revealing attire, and massive CGI monsters that look like they belong in an old Playstation game.

This one's a kind of spiritual successor to the awfulness that was BOA VS. PYTHON, as it follows almost exactly the same storyline. On a remote tropical island (shades of JURASSIC PARK, which this film so wants to be), dastardly scientists have been genetically experimenting on the wildlife, leading to a pair of giant monsters wreaking havoc on the unsuspecting tourists. What it all boils down to is an average action-adventure template with characters running around and emoting and occasionally being bloodlessly eaten by the beasties.

The special effects are very poor here, although not the poorest I've seen, but the monster action could have been worse, I suppose. There are a few memorably icky moments, like the bit with the giant leeches, which is well achieved. Otherwise, it's business as usual for the B-movie genre.

I can admit right away that this is one of the worst movies i have seen in my life. And that is not saying a little, because i consider myself to be somewhat of an aficionado when it comes to crappy film. But this is beyond bad. This movie is so awful that there is no fun left in it, it's just bad.

Reviewing this is almost impossible. There are no strong points and nothing positive to say. I'll just ramble about a few of the points that sucked. First off, the CGI has to be one of the worst i've seen. I can't believe this movie was made in 2005, the CGI reminds me of something i might have seen in Babylon 5 way back when CGI was new and fresh. It's poor beyond belief. Second, the actors all seem like they belong in the worst kind of daytime soaps. And looking at their resumes i see that i'm correct... Thirdly, being able to breed enormous reptiles is no match to the other technology they invented in this movie: the recoilless pistol with infinite ammo! Seriously, Michael Paré fires 100-200 times without reloading in every other scene... As if that was not enough there are also shape-shifting planes! At first they are regular F-16 fighters, in the next scene they are something else completely, and in the third scene they are F-16 again! If you're buying stock footage, please don't mix it like this!

Honestly, there is loads more to say, but i think i'll stop. You all understand what i'm saying. Honestly i didn't think this kind of movie was made any more. It's like something Ed Wood would do. Completely ignorant of quality, not caring how anything looks... It's almost amazing in all it's awfulness. If i could give it 0/10 i would, but 1/10 is the lowest grade. So that's it.

As a total movie geek with the fortunate job of video store manager, I tend to watch all sorts of movies, from good to very very bad. This was a movie with so many corn-ball lines, cheesy CGI effects and predictable plot points that I ended up laughing extensively before switching it off after 30-40 minutes. The "creature feature" genre of movies has been putting out some pretty awful stuff in recent years (Godzilla 2000 anyone?), but this movie makes me think the creators weren't even trying. It might be worth checking out just for the "make fun of me" potential (count the gunshots!), but I couldn't in good conscience recommend this movie to anyone.

Watched this film with friends, got drunk, cool evening!

The story takes place on some random island inhabited by a giant Komodo and a supersized, swimming Cobra. A group of people, including an alcoholic sea captain and a few bimbos, one of which is a scientist, end up being stuck on this island with nowhere to run.

What I found most enjoyable about this movie was the utter lack of the following: script, good acting and realism (apart from the giant creatures of course).

I you are the sort of person who enjoys seeing a giant komodo run after a chick with baywatch-size knockers, this film is for you. Otherwise, you might find this movie to be somewhat of an offense to your intellect.

(By the way, Jay Andrews (Wynorski or whatever this guys name is) did another film, Shockwave, with the exact same scenario, except that the cobra and komodo were replaced by alien robots, good stuff).