THIS VIPER LACKS BITE

REVIEWED - ANACONDAS: THE HUNT FOR THE BLOOD ORCHID: Through some fluke of cultural deprivation, I missed Anaconda, a surprise 1997 commercial success that starred Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Eric Stoltz, Jon Voight and Owen Wilson, writes Michael Dwyer

All have been replaced by relative unknowns in this low-rent follow-up, which clearly operates on the same guiding principle - to put calculatedly assorted characters in peril from enormous CGI-created snakes.

The flimsy, gratingly familiar screenplay involves some unlikely scientists in deepest Borneo searching for a rare blood orchid that blooms for just six months every seven years. They intend to exploit its life-prolonging properties and apply them to humans. "This could be bigger than Viagra," cackles one greedy pharmaceuticals executive who bankrolls the expedition.

Its leader is an Englishman (Matthew Marsden), whose accent is the audience's cue that, in the Hollywood tradition, his intentions are purely mercenary, and he evidently hasn't seen enough movies to know the fate that awaits corrupt scientists who tamper with nature.

The guide for the mission is a walking stereotype: a laconic, cynical and boozy US ex-soldier (Johnny Messner), who's gone native. He has a cute, mischievous little monkey who acts the rest of the cast off the screen.

The overall experience is akin to watching a reality TV show such as Survivor, except that instead of being voted off, the characters are eaten up. The dialogue is generally risible, but the movie is never quite trashy enough to be so bad it's fun.