The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course
Encyclopedia
The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course is a 2002 Australian comedy
-adventure film
based on the nature documentary
series The Crocodile Hunter
, starring Steve Irwin
and his wife Terri Irwin
. The Irwins play themselves filming an episode of The Crocodile Hunter while trying to protect a crocodile
. The film was theatrically released in the U.S. by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
, which used a crocodile in place of the usual Leo the Lion
for its title credit logo sequence.
where it is eaten by a large Saltwater crocodile
. CIA Agent Ron Buckwhiler (Aden Young
) and Deputy Director Reynolds (Steve Bastoni
) reveal that the satellite fragment was a beacon containing millions of classified images and secrets, which could change the axis of power in the world in the wrong hands. They decide to send Agents Wheeler (Lachy Hulme
) and Archer (Kenneth Ransom) as well as an operative in Australia.
Steve
and Terri Irwin
are filming an episode of The Crocodile Hunter
about the less-loveable of Australia's wildlife. They encounter a Perentie
, Fierce Snake
, and a Bird-eating Spider
. They decide to take the spider with them so they can study it at Australia Zoo
. They also take a orphaned Kangaroo
baby and a King Brown snake
they found on a road.
The crocodile that swallowed the beacon lives in the river cutting through Brozzie Drewitt's (Magda Szubanski
) property. Brozzie, a rude rancher with many aggressive attack dogs, has taken it upon herself to kill the croc, as it has been preying on her cattle. The sound of her shotgun has prompted nearby ranchers to call the (fictional) Department of Fauna and Fisheries. They send Sam Flynn (David Wenham
). He arrives and tries to convince Brozzie to hire some experts to remove the crocodile and he reminds her that killing a crocodile is illegal. She makes him leave, threatening to sick the dogs on him. That night, she waits in a tree with a chicken hanging ver the river in order to catch the croc. She ends up falling in the water with it and passing out on the shore when she finds out her shotgun is wet.
Archer and Wheeler arrive in Australia and meet up with the native operative, Jo Buckley (Kate Beahan
). Unbeknownst to the two men, she was hired by CIA Department Director Ansell (Steve Wilder) to obtain the beacon before Archer and Wheeler so he could take the job as head of the CIA instead of Dept. Director Reynolds. The three follow the beacon on GPS to Brozzie's ranch, where they arrive at the river.
Flynn sends the Irwins to relocate the crocodile so it doesn't get hurt. The croc attacks them numerous times before they manage to get a rope around its top jaw. The large animal then proceeds to pull their boat down the river. They are pulled right past the three agents, causing them, and the CIA, to believe that the Irwins have the beacon and will use it to pay for a $40 million expansion to the zoo. Due to them being at many remote parts of the world during stressful times, as well as having been granted full access to two US air force bases, Reynolds and Buckwhiler order the agents to arrest them. All of a sudden, Brozzie's dogs attack the three, causing Wheeler to fire his gun to scare them off. Brozzie then shoots at Wheeler with her shotgun. Steve hears the gunshots and believes poachers are after the crocodile. Brozzie allows the agents to stay once they claim to be the croc-hunters Sam Flynn sent. She takes Buckly up to the house and leaves the dogs to keep an eye on the boys. Once they leave, Wheeler uses a dog whistle to scare off the dogs and they begin pursuing the Irwins in their Jeep.
The Irwins catch the croc and put him in a wooden crate. As they're driving to the spot to release him, Archer and Wheeler pull up right behind the Irwins, and Steve believes them to be the poachers when Wheeler fires his gun in the air. Wheeler jumps on the back of the truck. Steve then gives Terri the wheel and hops on the side of the truck. Climbing to the top, he sees Wheeler. Wheeler pulls out his gun, but he drops it when Terri swerves the truck (due to the spider escaping from its container and crawling on her face). The two men fight, and Steve tosses Wheeler off the back of the truck. As he's falling, Wheeler grabs a rope and gets dragged behind the truck. Steve pulls out the King Brown snake and dangles it by Wheeler's hands, causing him to let go. They then arrive at the river and they put the croc in their boat. Looking into the crate, Steve sees that the crocodile had "pooed" during the trip. In the poo, he finds the beacon, believing it to be rubbish that someone had thrown away. Archer and Wheeler find the truck by the river and get in their own boat to go after them.
At the ranch, Buckley tricks Brozzie and locks her in her own bathroom. She then goes into the barn and discovers an Ultralight aviation and several sticks of dynamite. Buckley blows open the door and flies off, determined to get the beacon. Sam Flynn then arrives and lets Brozzie out, and the two go off to find Buckley.
Steve and Terri release the croc in the river, but they then hear the agent's motor. Steve gets together a bundle os bags and nets in order to make it look like they still have the croc, so they can lead the "poachers" away from the real croc. Buckley then swoops down, dropping the dynamite on the Irwins as well as Archer and Wheeler. The explosions knock the two agents into the river. Worried that the dynamite will hurt the croc, Steve grabs a rope and lassoes one of the ultralight's wheels, causing it to crash into the river. Steve and Terri drive off believing that the "poachers" have learned a "fair-dinkum Steve-O lesson". Sam and Brozzie arrive at the crashed plane and believes Buckley to be dead, but she survived and swam to shore. She then calls Dept. Director Ansell, but he is then arrested for his crimes.
Afterword, Steve is seen playing with the beacon, throwing it to their dog while Terri feeds the baby kangaroo. Then, a bunch of US military helicopters appear.
In an epilogue it is revealed that Steve was confused as to why the Army were so upset about their beacon. The CIA then gave Archer and Wheeler to work at Australia Zoo to better understand wildlife for no pay. Brozzie became a volunteer for the Department of Fauna and Fisheries, but she was still having trouble with the crocodiles.
. Roger Ebert
gave a positive review, stating "You see a couple of likable people journeying though the outback, encountering dangerous critters and getting too close for comfort, while lecturing us on their habits and dangers and almost being killed by them." Robert K. Elder of the Chicago Tribune
said, "Irwin and his director never come up with an adequate reason why we should pay money for what we can get on television for free."
28.4 million at the American
box office, with a worldwide gross of over $33 million.
, a format usually reserved for 1.33:1 ratio content appearing within 1.85:1 or 2.35:1 frames.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
-adventure film
Adventure film
Adventure films are a genre of film.Unlike pure, low-budget action films they often use their action scenes preferably to display and explore exotic locations in an energetic way....
based on the nature documentary
Nature documentary
A natural history film or wildlife film is a documentary film about animals, plants, or other non-human living creatures, usually concentrating on film taken in their natural habitat...
series The Crocodile Hunter
The Crocodile Hunter
The Crocodile Hunter was a wildlife documentary television series that was hosted by Steve Irwin and his wife Terri. The show became a popular franchise due to its unconventional approach and Irwin's approach to wildlife...
, starring Steve Irwin
Steve Irwin
Stephen Robert "Steve" Irwin , nicknamed "The Crocodile Hunter", was an Australian television personality, wildlife expert, and conservationist. Irwin achieved worldwide fame from the television series The Crocodile Hunter, an internationally broadcast wildlife documentary series which he co-hosted...
and his wife Terri Irwin
Terri Irwin
Theresa Penelope "Terri" Irwin, AM is an Australian-based, American-born naturalist, author, the widow of Australian naturalist Steve Irwin and owner of Australia Zoo at Beerwah, Queensland, Australia...
. The Irwins play themselves filming an episode of The Crocodile Hunter while trying to protect a crocodile
Crocodile
A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e...
. The film was theatrically released in the U.S. by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
, which used a crocodile in place of the usual Leo the Lion
Leo the Lion (MGM)
Leo the Lion is the mascot for the Hollywood film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and one of its predecessors, Goldwyn Pictures, featured in the studio's production logo, which was created by the Paramount Studios art director Lionel S. Reiss....
for its title credit logo sequence.
Plot
In space, a top secret US satellite suddenly goes off its orbit, triggering its self-destruct mechanism. The resulting explosion sends a piece flying towards Earth, landing in AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
where it is eaten by a large Saltwater crocodile
Saltwater Crocodile
The saltwater crocodile, also known as estuarine or Indo-Pacific crocodile, is the largest of all living reptiles...
. CIA Agent Ron Buckwhiler (Aden Young
Aden Young
Aden Young is an Australian actor. In recent years he has also turned his hand to filmmaking, directing and writing short films The Rose of Ba Ziz and The Order .- Life and career :Young was born in Toronto, Canada...
) and Deputy Director Reynolds (Steve Bastoni
Steve Bastoni
Steve Bastoni is an Italian Australian actor. He is best known for his role in Police Rescue as Constable Yannis 'Angel' Angelopoulos and as Steve Parker in Neighbours.-Television:...
) reveal that the satellite fragment was a beacon containing millions of classified images and secrets, which could change the axis of power in the world in the wrong hands. They decide to send Agents Wheeler (Lachy Hulme
Lachy Hulme
Lachy Hulme is an Australian-born actor and screenwriter. He wrote the feature film Men With Guns, and co-wrote Let's Get Skase, a comedy-adventure, which Hulme starred in....
) and Archer (Kenneth Ransom) as well as an operative in Australia.
Steve
Steve Irwin
Stephen Robert "Steve" Irwin , nicknamed "The Crocodile Hunter", was an Australian television personality, wildlife expert, and conservationist. Irwin achieved worldwide fame from the television series The Crocodile Hunter, an internationally broadcast wildlife documentary series which he co-hosted...
and Terri Irwin
Terri Irwin
Theresa Penelope "Terri" Irwin, AM is an Australian-based, American-born naturalist, author, the widow of Australian naturalist Steve Irwin and owner of Australia Zoo at Beerwah, Queensland, Australia...
are filming an episode of The Crocodile Hunter
The Crocodile Hunter
The Crocodile Hunter was a wildlife documentary television series that was hosted by Steve Irwin and his wife Terri. The show became a popular franchise due to its unconventional approach and Irwin's approach to wildlife...
about the less-loveable of Australia's wildlife. They encounter a Perentie
Perentie
The Perentie is the largest monitor lizard or goanna native to Australia, and fourth largest lizard on earth, after the Komodo Dragon, crocodile monitor and the water monitor...
, Fierce Snake
Fierce Snake
The Inland Taipan , also known as the Small Scaled Snake and Fierce Snake, is native to Australia and is regarded as the most venomous land snake in the world based on LD50 values in mice. It is a species of taipan belonging to the Elapidae family...
, and a Bird-eating Spider
Goliath birdeater
The Goliath bird-eater Spider is an arachnid belonging to the tarantula group, Theraphosidae, and is considered to be the second largest spider in the world , and they may be the biggest by mass...
. They decide to take the spider with them so they can study it at Australia Zoo
Australia Zoo
Australia Zoo is a zoo located in the Australian state of Queensland on the Sunshine Coast near Beerwah/Glass House Mountains. It is a member of the Zoo and Aquarium Association , and is owned by Terri Irwin, the widow of Steve Irwin, whose wildlife documentary series The Crocodile Hunter made the...
. They also take a orphaned Kangaroo
Kangaroo
A kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo. Kangaroos are endemic to the country...
baby and a King Brown snake
Pseudechis australis
Pseudechis australis, the common King Brown, Mulga snake or Pilbara cobra, is a species of venomous snake found in Australia. It is one of the longest venomous snakes in the world and the second longest in Australia...
they found on a road.
The crocodile that swallowed the beacon lives in the river cutting through Brozzie Drewitt's (Magda Szubanski
Magda Szubanski
Magda Szubanski is a British-born Australian actress, comedian, television presenter, radio host and author.Szubanski's career began while she was studying at university and she progressed to television sketch comedy, as both a writer and performer...
) property. Brozzie, a rude rancher with many aggressive attack dogs, has taken it upon herself to kill the croc, as it has been preying on her cattle. The sound of her shotgun has prompted nearby ranchers to call the (fictional) Department of Fauna and Fisheries. They send Sam Flynn (David Wenham
David Wenham
David Wenham is an Australian actor who has appeared in movies, television series and theatre productions. He is known in Hollywood for his roles as Faramir in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Carl in Van Helsing and Dilios in 300 and Neil Fletcher in Australia...
). He arrives and tries to convince Brozzie to hire some experts to remove the crocodile and he reminds her that killing a crocodile is illegal. She makes him leave, threatening to sick the dogs on him. That night, she waits in a tree with a chicken hanging ver the river in order to catch the croc. She ends up falling in the water with it and passing out on the shore when she finds out her shotgun is wet.
Archer and Wheeler arrive in Australia and meet up with the native operative, Jo Buckley (Kate Beahan
Kate Beahan
Kate Beahan is an Australian film actress.Beahan was born in Perth. she appeared mostly in movies and TV series in Australia ....
). Unbeknownst to the two men, she was hired by CIA Department Director Ansell (Steve Wilder) to obtain the beacon before Archer and Wheeler so he could take the job as head of the CIA instead of Dept. Director Reynolds. The three follow the beacon on GPS to Brozzie's ranch, where they arrive at the river.
Flynn sends the Irwins to relocate the crocodile so it doesn't get hurt. The croc attacks them numerous times before they manage to get a rope around its top jaw. The large animal then proceeds to pull their boat down the river. They are pulled right past the three agents, causing them, and the CIA, to believe that the Irwins have the beacon and will use it to pay for a $40 million expansion to the zoo. Due to them being at many remote parts of the world during stressful times, as well as having been granted full access to two US air force bases, Reynolds and Buckwhiler order the agents to arrest them. All of a sudden, Brozzie's dogs attack the three, causing Wheeler to fire his gun to scare them off. Brozzie then shoots at Wheeler with her shotgun. Steve hears the gunshots and believes poachers are after the crocodile. Brozzie allows the agents to stay once they claim to be the croc-hunters Sam Flynn sent. She takes Buckly up to the house and leaves the dogs to keep an eye on the boys. Once they leave, Wheeler uses a dog whistle to scare off the dogs and they begin pursuing the Irwins in their Jeep.
The Irwins catch the croc and put him in a wooden crate. As they're driving to the spot to release him, Archer and Wheeler pull up right behind the Irwins, and Steve believes them to be the poachers when Wheeler fires his gun in the air. Wheeler jumps on the back of the truck. Steve then gives Terri the wheel and hops on the side of the truck. Climbing to the top, he sees Wheeler. Wheeler pulls out his gun, but he drops it when Terri swerves the truck (due to the spider escaping from its container and crawling on her face). The two men fight, and Steve tosses Wheeler off the back of the truck. As he's falling, Wheeler grabs a rope and gets dragged behind the truck. Steve pulls out the King Brown snake and dangles it by Wheeler's hands, causing him to let go. They then arrive at the river and they put the croc in their boat. Looking into the crate, Steve sees that the crocodile had "pooed" during the trip. In the poo, he finds the beacon, believing it to be rubbish that someone had thrown away. Archer and Wheeler find the truck by the river and get in their own boat to go after them.
At the ranch, Buckley tricks Brozzie and locks her in her own bathroom. She then goes into the barn and discovers an Ultralight aviation and several sticks of dynamite. Buckley blows open the door and flies off, determined to get the beacon. Sam Flynn then arrives and lets Brozzie out, and the two go off to find Buckley.
Steve and Terri release the croc in the river, but they then hear the agent's motor. Steve gets together a bundle os bags and nets in order to make it look like they still have the croc, so they can lead the "poachers" away from the real croc. Buckley then swoops down, dropping the dynamite on the Irwins as well as Archer and Wheeler. The explosions knock the two agents into the river. Worried that the dynamite will hurt the croc, Steve grabs a rope and lassoes one of the ultralight's wheels, causing it to crash into the river. Steve and Terri drive off believing that the "poachers" have learned a "fair-dinkum Steve-O lesson". Sam and Brozzie arrive at the crashed plane and believes Buckley to be dead, but she survived and swam to shore. She then calls Dept. Director Ansell, but he is then arrested for his crimes.
Afterword, Steve is seen playing with the beacon, throwing it to their dog while Terri feeds the baby kangaroo. Then, a bunch of US military helicopters appear.
In an epilogue it is revealed that Steve was confused as to why the Army were so upset about their beacon. The CIA then gave Archer and Wheeler to work at Australia Zoo to better understand wildlife for no pay. Brozzie became a volunteer for the Department of Fauna and Fisheries, but she was still having trouble with the crocodiles.
Cast
- Steve IrwinSteve IrwinStephen Robert "Steve" Irwin , nicknamed "The Crocodile Hunter", was an Australian television personality, wildlife expert, and conservationist. Irwin achieved worldwide fame from the television series The Crocodile Hunter, an internationally broadcast wildlife documentary series which he co-hosted...
– Himself - Terri IrwinTerri IrwinTheresa Penelope "Terri" Irwin, AM is an Australian-based, American-born naturalist, author, the widow of Australian naturalist Steve Irwin and owner of Australia Zoo at Beerwah, Queensland, Australia...
– Herself - Brozzie Drewitt – Magda SzubanskiMagda SzubanskiMagda Szubanski is a British-born Australian actress, comedian, television presenter, radio host and author.Szubanski's career began while she was studying at university and she progressed to television sketch comedy, as both a writer and performer...
- Sam Flynn – David WenhamDavid WenhamDavid Wenham is an Australian actor who has appeared in movies, television series and theatre productions. He is known in Hollywood for his roles as Faramir in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Carl in Van Helsing and Dilios in 300 and Neil Fletcher in Australia...
- Robert Wheeler – Lachy HulmeLachy HulmeLachy Hulme is an Australian-born actor and screenwriter. He wrote the feature film Men With Guns, and co-wrote Let's Get Skase, a comedy-adventure, which Hulme starred in....
- Ron Buckwhiler – Aden YoungAden YoungAden Young is an Australian actor. In recent years he has also turned his hand to filmmaking, directing and writing short films The Rose of Ba Ziz and The Order .- Life and career :Young was born in Toronto, Canada...
- Vaughhan Archer – Kenneth Ransom
- Jo Buckley – Kate BeahanKate BeahanKate Beahan is an Australian film actress.Beahan was born in Perth. she appeared mostly in movies and TV series in Australia ....
- Deputy Director Reynolds – Steve BastoniSteve BastoniSteve Bastoni is an Italian Australian actor. He is best known for his role in Police Rescue as Constable Yannis 'Angel' Angelopoulos and as Steve Parker in Neighbours.-Television:...
- Deputy Director Ansell – Steve Vidler
Reviews
The film received mixed reviews, with a score of 53% freshness from review aggregation site Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
. Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave a positive review, stating "You see a couple of likable people journeying though the outback, encountering dangerous critters and getting too close for comfort, while lecturing us on their habits and dangers and almost being killed by them." Robert K. Elder of the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
said, "Irwin and his director never come up with an adequate reason why we should pay money for what we can get on television for free."
Box office
The film made over $United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
28.4 million at the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
box office, with a worldwide gross of over $33 million.
Film aspect ratios
Collision Course is relatively rare among feature films, in that it was shot in two film aspect ratios, 1.85:1 for the scenes with Steve and Terri and 2.35:1 for the plot about the Australian farmer and the CIA and their efforts to find the tracking drone. In theaters and on DVD, the 1.85:1 image appears with pillar boxingPillar box (film)
The pillarbox effect occurs in widescreen video displays when black bars are placed on the sides of the image. It becomes necessary when film or video that was not originally designed for widescreen is shown on a widescreen display, or a narrower widescreen image is displayed within a wider...
, a format usually reserved for 1.33:1 ratio content appearing within 1.85:1 or 2.35:1 frames.