The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course

I wasn't sure how they would fit him in, whether it would be some cliched "turn him into a spy" theme or a lame "pet detective" theme. Instead they had the Irwins doing their Discovery thing while the whole spy thing went on without them. They eventually came together in a clever and believable way. In fact, the Irwins never really found out what was really going on.

The "bad guys" weren't the usual bumbling idiots that you find in these kinds of movies, and I appreciated that. Their failings were more due to circumstance and unpreparedness.

There are some very funny scenes here. My 7 year old son and his friend were riveted, and laughing throughout most of it. Nice to know that they can still make non-animated G-rated movies without talking animals and silly gags and fart jokes (ok there was one), and it's still fun and funny.

However, my wife was jumping in her seat. The animal scenes were live and unpredictable, like the Irwins' TV show. When a snake or spider or croc jumped at our hero, my wife jumped too.

The conservation theme is pretty heavy throughout the Irwins' subplot, but since they were just doing their thing it was fine. Besides, people need constant reminders of how badly we are screwing up our planet. The only thing that bugged me was what always bugs me about documentaries -- where is the cameraman they keep talking to? Where does he sit? How does he get around? Anyway, minor quibble.

The whole movie reminded me of The Gods Must Be Crazy, but with more polish. If you are an Irwin fan, you will like this movie. I'm not, particularly, although I do watch his show sometimes. Still, I really enjoyed this movie, and so did my family.

Highly recommended for fans and families.