The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course

Released 2002
Stars Steve Irwin, Terri Irwin, Magda Szubanski, David Wenham, Aden Young, Kate Beahan
Directed by John Stainton

Steve Irwin is completely insane. Anyone who's seen his tv show on The Animal Planet already knows this. He seeks out the most dangerous animals in the world and handles them with no safety equipment. You'd think a person would wear protective gloves before digging under rocks and in holes for venomous snakes and spiders, but he always approaches them in his short sleeves and little shorts. In The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course, Steve and his wife, Terri, bring their tv show to the big screen. There's a lame plot about a spy satellite's black box that gets gobbled by a croc in the Irwins' native Australia and three government agents who attempt to retrieve it, but the plot is irrelevant. This is a vehicle for Steve Irwin, and what matters is him diving into rivers after crocodiles and grabbing snakes by their tails. He lights up the screen every time the camera finds him, and the movie lags whenever it switches to the subplots. It would have been a stronger movie if they had cut the whole satellite subplot and just had Steve fighting poachers. That would have been a more realistic and interesting movie, but Steve has such a terrific screen presence and infectious energy, I didn't care! I was on the edge of my seat every time he was on-screen, and I constantly chuckled at his (improvised) running commentary as he did what he does best. This is a fun flick for all ages.

Summary by Bill Alward, July 20, 2002