Aussie adventurer Steve Irwin - a.k.a. "The Crocodile Hunter" is out to save a gorgeous croc and relocate him. What The Steve doesn't know is that the Crocodile has innocently swallowed a top secret U.S. satellite beacon, and some CIA agents sent to retrieve it. Steve mistakes the CIA agents for poachers and sets out to stop them from capturing the Crocodile. Aussie adventurer Steve Irwin aka The Crocodile Hunter has avoided the death-roll and nabbed another feisty croc, hoping to save it from poachers. What Steve doesn't know is that the crocodile has innocently swallowed a top secret US satellite beacon, and the poachers are actually American special agents sent to retrieve it. Crikey! In the Outback and through the bush with his wife Terri's ever-present commentary ringing out over the countryside ("That was a close one, Steve!"), the Crocodile Hunter is out to save the gorgeous croc and relocate him. It won't be easy, but if he can handle bird-eating spiders and venomous snakes without getting bitten, gun-wielding agents shouldn't be too much of a problem. Steve Irwin, The Crocodile Hunter, and his wife Terri work to save the animals of the Australian outback. An US satellite beacon has fallen out of the sky and landed in Australia. It gets swallowed by a crocodile. CIA agents are sent to retrieve it. American agent Jo Buckley is also sent to get the beacon to use in inter-agency politics. Cattle station owner Brozzie Drewitt is also looking the kill the croc on her lands. Australian Government Fisheries worker Sam Flynn tries to relocate the croc by hiring the Irwins before Brozzie shoots it.<br/><br/>Steve Irwin has an infectious charm. His act is great. There is a natural magnetism about him. Sadly, this movie decides to tie him to this silly international spy stuff. Then the movie adds the terribly broad Magda Szubanski. The whole thing is schizophrenic. I'm perfectly happy to watch Steve wrestle a crocodile. Somebody needs to make a good movie around him. This is not that movie. Hmmmm. how do you approach this movie? It's a Ronseal moment here - it does do exactly what it says on the tin. This movie has 0 airs about it and you get much of what you deserve.<br/><br/>Steve Irwin is. Steve Irwin. The movie's half a mockumentary of his documentary series. He's playing himself, roaming Australia and tackling various dangerous animals. To create a movie, they've strung a (very very) weak plot about a fallen satellite in, with some CIA agents chasing it down. Irwin was, apparently, unscripted and ad-libbed his way through the movie, which is why he appears quite natural. He's being himself.. Whether this is actually acting or not is hard to tell. Ditto for his wife, although she seems more uneasy on camera whereas Irwin is just too insane. The other cast members, contributing to the ridiculous satellite plot, are all rubbish.. That's fine as their storyline is garbage.<br/><br/>It's really hard to talk much about this movie. Do you talk about direction? Is there a point? There's somewhat too much of the satellite storyline when Irwin is the true star. Whenever he's on screen, his manic energy takes over and he seems to genuinely enjoy what he does. He's also fairly amusing - not because of great one-liners but because you're just so incredulous at his stunts (all of which he performed himself apparently). It's a shame he's caught up in the moronic subplot, but otherwise the movie would feel too much like a collection of TV shorts.<br/><br/>Again it's hard to rate this other than on a gut level. The satellite element is pointless and, for me, took away from the movie, for a fair few reasons. It really isn't a cinema movie - much more one for finding on the TV. If you like the man on TV I guess you'll like this. otherwise it has a momentary curiosity value only and certainly no `repeat watch' value. 3/10. The downtimes are so flat that it makes you wonder whether director John Stainton and writer Holly Goldberg Sloan made them intentionally bad, just so we'd look forward to seeing Irwin again.
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346 weeks ago