A movie directed by legendary director Tobe Hooper has to be a decent movie, this was the man who directed one of the greatest horror movies ever in Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Unfortunately, whilst Tobe Hooper directed great movies he also directed bad movies, and Crocodile (2000) is not just bad, it is absolutely awful. It isn't even bad enough to be unintentionally funny, the movie is just bad.
The plot of Crocodile revolves around a crocodile, unsurprisingly. The opening scene begins with two rather idiotic hunters smashing up eggs, crocodile eggs. This sends mother crocodile into a killing rage. Meanwhile, it is spring break and a group of stereotypical teenagers are going on a boat cruise. There is the usual love story sub plot, and of course as you might expect, the crocodile kills a lot of people. Intermingled with this is an ineffective crocodile hunter, an ineffective sheriff and a back story involving some sort of crocodile worshipping cult and an old hotel. It is all a crock of ...
The plot is of course the usual cliche, but there again how many different ways can you have a crocodile kill people? The cinematography is pleasant, some of the scenery is beautiful, but that is about the only positive I can take from the movie. The special effects are awful, the crocodile looks very unconvincing, and its size seems to change from scene to scene. There is one scene in particular where the crocodile literally jumps 20ft in the air, it reminded me of something you might see at sea world, allbeit with dolphins. The acting is dreadful, every last character is unconvincing. Unfortunately, the acting and special effects are bad but not bad enough to make the movie unintentionally funny.
There is no doubt Tobe Hooper was a great director, but this film misses the mark by a mile. The best part of the film involves a pet dog, the dog literally steals the show with his heroics.
2 out of 10 (Avoid, unless you absolutely love watching bad movies involving crocodiles)