Lake Placid (1999)

Rating: 3 Stars (out of 4)

Croc of the Bay

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy Lake Placid on DVD

Lake Placid doesn't have the scares of Alien, nor the high-mindedness of Jurassic Park, but it is as goofy and fun as Tremors or Anaconda. Bridget Fonda, Bill Pullman, Oliver Platt, and Brendan Gleeson hunt a killer 30-foot crocodile loose in a Maine lake. Writer David E. Kelley (TV's "Ally McBeal") and director Steve Miner (Halloween H20), load up the movie with cliches, like false scares and the inevitable fight over whether to kill or capture the beast, but the characters come alive with their snappy quips and verbal spars. This is what last year's Godzilla should have been -- loads of fun and big laughs.

Starring: Bridget Fonda, Bill Pullman, Oliver Platt, Brendan Gleeson, Betty White, David Lewis, Tim Dixon, Natassia Malthe, Mariska Hargitay, Meredith Salenger, Jed Rees, Richard Leacock, Jake T. Roberts
Written by: David E. Kelley
Directed by: Steve Miner
MPAA Rating: R for violent creature attacks and related gore, and for language
Running Time: 82 minutes
Date: July 16, 1999