Fierce Creatures Reviews

Back then, in the 80's, the same cast (John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, Michael Palin) worked together and made one of the most ridiculous and hilarious comedy ever, 'A fish called Wanda'. It was a deserved success and, 10 years later, they were back together and you would hope that it would be again a smash it. Unfortunately, even though it wasn't bad at all, this second flick was unfortunately nothing really mind-blowing. I mean, there were a few laughs here and there, it was expected with those guys but, unfortunately, it never reached its potential. I think the issue is that the story was not really interesting enough and it was the same thing concerning the characters. I mean, you can add as many jokes as you want but if the viewers don't care about the story and/or the characters involved, it will never really work. Still, it remains an entertaining comedy and I think it is worth a look, especially if you loved 'A fish called Wanda'.

Fierce Creatures is a really funny film featuring the same cast as A Fish Called Wanda. This film isn't a sequel of that because of the completely different story and characters within it. It was a funny film but wasn’t as clever as A Fish Called Wanda. It still has that typical clumsy slapstick comedy involved in the film. It was the original comedy style that made me laugh so much. But the things that were a little disappointing was I dont think the characters were as clever as A Fish Called Wanda. The story seems a bit like a family type. I honestly think that not many people like it is because of the weaker story and not as funny story and tries to rip-off a great film like A Fish Called Wanda.


John Cleese was hilarious again. He looks a lot older now than he does in A Fish Called Wanda. I know there is a 9 year different between the two films but the rest of the cast apart from Cleese don't look any different as far as looks of age is concerned. Jamie Lee Curtis is once again as hot as anything. She is obviously a different character but she does have that hot irresistible character to it which is where it is quite similar. Jamie’s hair is really long brown hair in Fierce Creatures but really short brown in A Fish Called Wanda. Kevin Kline is really hilarious again as both Vince and Rod McCain. It is clever because obviously they are both same actor but both look like Kevin Kline even though I know it is. I do think that both characters do seem a bit different from Kevin Kline in a slight way. Michael Palin has a mild appearance in this film which did slightly disappoint me but he was still funny though. Ronnie Corbett is pretty damn funny in it too.


The direction was fair enough from Fred Schepisi and Robert Young in this film. The script was original again what comedies are like really. There were some flaws involved but I did adore the screenplay in A Fish Called Wanda. There were some very long extended scenes involved but that didn’t really affect the film because it adapted together really well which really impressed me.


I do have to say that this film was hilarious but I did like A Fish Called Wanda way more though. The acting was awesome again but not as good as A Fish Called Wanda. That beats Fierce Creatures in every single way. It is on the list of one of the best films of 1997. It is an underrated film that should be considered by more people about it being a loving comedy.

"Mr. Sylvester Stallone didn't get where he is today by playing in Jane Austen."

Fierce Creatures is a charming, rather funny non-sequel to A Fish Called Wanda that reunites most of the original cast, but falls far short of matching up to its non-predecessor. In all fairness, A Fish Called Wanda was way too remarkably excellent and unbeatable that I never expected Fierce Creatures to match it.

Fierce Creatures is of course completely unrelated (except a few sneaky references that one should spot, as well as a few Monty Python homages) while also keeping some of the characters much the same (Kline delivers a trademark macho performance here).

A London zoo, owned by an Aussie business tycoon named Rod McCain (Kline), is successful but McCain demands the zoo owner Rollo (Cleese) to raise funds by 20%. Rollo instigates a new policy; a 'fierce creature' policy that entails removing all placid animals and replacing them with exciting, ferocious ones. This new policy is met with complete shock from the zookeepers who discover that the only way to get rid of their placid animals is to shoot them. When matters get worse at the zoo, McCain sends his son Vince (also played by Kline) and up-and-coming business executive Willa Weston (Lee Curtis) to take control.

Fierce Creatures had all the elements it needed for a good old-fashioned fun comedy (including a very good repetitive joke that paints Cleese as a sexual superman found attractive by humans and animals), and it certainly is a fun film with high re-watchable value; it just can't hold a candle to A Fish Called Wanda.

John Cleese is brilliant as always. His character mirrors some of his other characters in the way that he's notorious for getting into trouble and coming up with hilarious excuses. The man will always be funny despite his age. Kevin Kline is of course an utter delight. He is given some very witty lines of dialogue that had me laughing quite spectacularly. Jamie Lee Curtis is her usual self. Mirroring her role in the non-predecessor, I was very impressed with the performance delivered here. And of course Michael Palin is a remarkable, funny and wonderful. Just like John Cleese, age is of no issue. I will always have fond memories of his Monty Python career.

The one real stand out feature for this film, though, is the exceptional musical score. Despite being just for a typical comedy, this score is definitely one of the best I have ever heard. The music is catchy and it matches the atmosphere while setting a very fitting tone as well. Kudos to Jerry Goldsmith for creating such a perfect score for this film.

Fierce Creatures contains some great scattered laughs with hilarious dialogue that become better with every viewing, and of course the film is great entertainment, but there's nothing to convincingly bring it into the 'brilliant' category. Certainly worth seeing.