The Crocodile Hunter Collision Course

Aussie Steve Irwin has gained a cult reputation through his TV documentaries, where he stars as a reptile-grappling eco hero. But when 'real-life' personalities make the leap as themselves into fictional film, it's usually a messy business - especially, as here, when the plot is both grandiose and half-hearted. When a high security US satellite crashes into Queensland's arid croc country, Steve and his wife Terri are caught up in a tangle of mistaken identities involving bumbling CIA agents and a cranky, croc-shooting widow (Szubanski). If this sounds like some bizarre pastiche of the Crocodile Dundee series, it manages to escape such dire depths through the appeal of its main man. 'Stevo' is genuinely fun to watch, a fearless, relentlessly jovial man-child, whooping and cooing over venomous outback beasties. And as a kids' movie, the conservation theme is refreshingly unsanctimonious.