Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course

December 10, 2004

Rated: PG Runtime: 89 min Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

The Crocodile Hunter has decided to have a go at the big screen. Whoooooooo! That’s a Steve Irwin “whoo!” and not a Ric Flair “whoo!” by the way. For those who never watch Animal Planet on the telly, Irwin is the Australian host of The Crocodile Hunter TV show. To say he is enthusiastic about his work would be an understatement, mate. Crikeys, this bloke is so energetic that he would make coffee nervous!

The plot is kind of irrelevant because this movie is really just a showcase for Irwin to do his thing. But they at least tried to include a storyline. A spy satellite self destructs, and its hard drive comes crashing to earth. It lands in the outback of Australia and is eaten by a crocodile. Steve-o doesn’t know anything about any blooming satellite but just happens to rescue the croc with the hard drive in its tummy. He ends up being pursued by multiple city slickers seeking the hard drive, but he’s oblivious to the whole thing for the most part.

That’s the story, but what the movie is really about is watching Steve, and his sheila Terri, roam around the outback rescuing animals while showing them to us, the audience. “The Crocodile Hunter” is really a bit of a misnomer as anyone who has watched his show knows. He’s not hunting crocs to kill, if he’s after a crocodile it is so he can save it by rescuing it from a hazardous area and moving it to a new one. Steve teachs nature conservancy and does not harm animals even when it means putting himself at risk. He never uses tranquilizers on crocodiles for instance because of the risk the anesthetic poses to the animal. So instead he wrestles and captures it by hand.

On the surface Steve Irwin seems nuts. Normal people do not play with snakes that put out enough venom in one bite to kill 100 men, nor do they wrestle 1200 pound crocs or sift thru huge piles of dung to see what they can find. He’ll grab a venomous snake by the tale and proceed to give us a great lecture on the species even while the snake is trying furiously to tag him. Steve-o can jump away from an attempted strike by a 12 foot snake while telling us all about the snake and what a beauty she is without missing a beat. Crikeys!

And there-in lies the charm and appeal of The Crocodile Hunter. It is exciting and truly educational at the same time. Steve Irwin’s enthusiam and true love of animals and nature is infectious. He has a charisma and energy that can’t be taught, and he uses it to deliver his message and educate us about the animals he loves. Those who have been watching him on Animal Planet know this already, and if you were wondering if it would carry thru to the big screen, it does.

The movie delivers exactly what you’d expect. If you’re a Croc Hunter fan, you’ll want to see it. If you’re not, consider catching some of his stuff on cable before seeing the movie otherwise you might not understand why this nut on the screen is wrestling crocodiles, poking poisonous spiders with a stick or getting his face 10 inchs from a snake that just tried to bite him right in the crotch.

Posted by Billy Bob | Filed Under 3 Stars, Action, Bindi Sue Irwin, David Wenham, Magda Szubanski, PG, Steve Irwin, Terri Irwin, Theatrical