Grade: B-

Verdict: Ignore the lame plot; you'll be hooked on Irwin and his crocs.

Details: Starring Steve and Terri Irwin. Directed by John Stainton. Rated PG for mild violence and wildlife peril. One hour, 30 minutes.

See it: Local theaters and showtimes for The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course

Rate it: Write your own review

Review: The WWF has nothing on Steve Irwin, as fans of his popular cable show, “The Crocodile Hunter” already know. This crusading naturalist thinks nothing of wrestling a crocodile twice his size. Anyone see the Rock try something like that lately?

Irwin, whose animal-loving exploits would even make PETA nervous, doesn't just fool around with crocodiles. He also plays with spiders, snakes and just about anything else with deadly fangs, teeth, stingers, you name it. And he does it all in short shorts, with a big manic grin on his face, while his steadfast wife, Terri, stands by her man, with a net or an outboard motor at the ready.

Now, about the movie, which, for the record, is called “The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course.” The filmmakers probably insisted on the title, just to make it clear this is a movie, and not just another episode of the show. But for the most part, it really is just another episode of the show — several episodes in fact — as Irwin has his way with a deadly snakes, a venomous spider the size of a small popcorn and, of course, a croc or two. Speaking of crocks, that's pretty much what the plot is. A spy satellite crashes to earth in the Outback and and some important thingie is gulped down by a serene old crocodile with an I'll-Eat-Anything attitude. (Sorta like Captain Hook's famed nemesis who swallowed that ticking clock.) Anyway, rival CIA agencies are on its trail and they mistake Steve and Terri for spies as well.

Think of the plot as an interruption — a good time to go to the concession stand. But don't miss any of Irwin's derring-do, with his cries of “She's a BEAUTY!” (about something trying to kill him) or “She's just tryin' to tag ol' Steve-o in the face!” (about something else trying to kill him). His goofy Aussie enthusiasm is reason enough to watch, but he's also an animal do-gooder who runs a wildlife preserve bounded by his parents and slips in messages about conservation as he's trying to get a noose around a croc's nose.

Irwin's zeal for for the beauties and oddities of his homeland is infectious. By the end of the movie, you'll probably think Irwin something of a beauty and oddity, too.

— Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Cox News Service