Director: Gary Jones
Year: 2002
Country: USA/Mexico
Alternate Titles: Crocodile II: Death Roll
Genre: Creature Feature
Plot:
After making a daring bank robbery, a group of thieves hijack a plane to Mexico and force it to crash in a Mexican swamp, but when they and the other survivors try treading through the swamp they run into a gigantic crocodile living there and try to make it out alive while not incurring the robbers' wrath.
Review:
This wasn't as bad as it's been made out to be. Among the film’s better qualities is that there are some good action sequences spread throughout, keeping it an upbeat and pretty fast-moving film. From the action of the shootouts at the bank that starts this one off on a fine setpiece showing the various gunplay throughout the building to the plane crash that carries from them being furious about the redirect and overtake the plane which causes the stellar scenes of them trying to get out of the rubble of the crashed plane that has plenty to like about it, the action in this section of the film gets it off nicely.
What was also enjoyable was that when the crocodile was exposed as a threat, the rest of the film more or less centered around it. The second half is just about dedicated to the robbers and hostages trying to escape the crocodile, and that is most welcome since it’s a viable threat that carried the film just as much as the robbers subplot, and it didn't just deal with the exploits of them with the crocodile only munching on the stragglers or strays until the last few are left. The first several ambushes show a fun, cheesy series of scenes, while the entire sequence in the shack is a great sequence, giving the action when it's needed and some nice gore and suspense thrown in as well.
The other good part about this one is that the crocodile is one of the more vicious ones out there, making its presence one that needs to constantly be dealt with. His kills are quite impressive and run an impressive gamut. One is snagged out of a window and hauled outside, another is snapped up from underneath, breaking the arm and then swallowed, and another is chomped and savagely bitten before being put into the infamous crocodile death roll. There are also a few historical ties to the creature that come into play here with a fine backstory that feels logical and could’ve been a real-life incident that spawned actual legends, which is a solid touch. These are what hold this one up.
There are still a few things wrong with this film. The first is that the crocodile really looks fake when it's done mostly with CGI, which is obvious when it is portrayed in that manner. There’s no real sense of connecting it with any sort of realistic design or behavior, and it really sticks out here. That’s even worse when it's also done with a really bad-looking puppet where there’s no sense of believability to it. This one looks mostly like a giant float made up like a crocodile spread out pretty much through much of the film, which can make it a bit grating at times. It's really hard to get into the beginning of this one with the constant cursing which is infinitely grating, but these are the main things wrong with the film.
Overview: ***.5/5
Yes, this is a cheesy film with a bunch to really get up in arms against, but it's not a bad example of the genre that is mostly just for the fans of the films. It can be a guilty pleasure for those not into it, but this is more likely for the fans of the genre or those looking for a cheesy enough creature feature.
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