Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Twilightfa Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

Roman Sampson One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

studioAT This film is an obvious cash in on the success of 'A Fish Named Wanda', using many of the same actors, playing very similar roles.Lightning however rarely strikes twice, and this is a film that never moves from being 'sort of funny' to 'actually funny'. Cleese seems, as he always has, incapable of playing a role that isn't Basil Fawlty, so now we get Basil Fawlty running a zoo. How funny. Not.Depressingly, there's actually some very funny people in this film (Kevin Kline, Robert Lindsay, Ronnie Corbett) but they are either not supported by the script, or given very little to do.Even Cleese himself said that this film was a mistake. How right he truly is.

baronrock Given that the central premise is shaky - animal-lovers resisting the commercialization of leisure time, in this case zoos? - this gentle, well-meaning film still ought to be a lot funnier than it is. It's quite cleverly written, chock full of funny actors and fierce creatures, but the whole thing comes across as a trifle half-hearted, especially amongst the supporting cast. The animals certainly play their part, but there ought to be more gags, really. Is the film trying to make a serious point? If so, it rather gets lost in the edit. Cleese reprises his Fawlty-esque persona to good effect and Kevin Kline is brilliant, as ever. But the whole is less than the sum of its parts. Maybe the director wasn't snappy enough? Still, it's all good fun - and on re-viewing seems rather better than the first time you saw it.

SimonJack Although it has the three main characters from "A Fish Called Wanda," this film sure isn't a sequel to that one. It's a whole new plot, and though not quite a funny as their first, the three stars still are quite hilarious here."Fierce Creatures" pokes a lot of fun at a lot of things – most, very subtly. The PG-13 rating is right on. I suspect whomever decides those things did so here because some children might be offended because they don't understand the treatment of animals. Actually, the film is quite adult in its humor with its subtle sexual innuendos. They are mostly very funny. Most young teens today probably wouldn't get them either. This movie clearly was made for adults, and it's a real hoot. I don't know any other comedy actor today who can play the naïve (almost) innocent guy of good intentions who turns out to be such a buffoon. John Cleese (as Rollo Lee) always nails such roles. Those, and his sardonic Basil Fawlty are great sources for tons of laughter. All the roles are played well here. Kevin Kline is very good in his double role. His Rod McCain seems overblown, but I suspect it's meant to be so, and is still quite funny. Some of the greatest humor is in the scenes where we see Jamie Lee Curtis as Willa Weston, and her look of fantasy with a smile on her face. They happen each time there are innuendos of Cleese's Rollo having various sexual trysts. One can imagine her thoughts. This is a very funny film that many people are sure to like. Here are some sample lines to whet one's appetite. The zoo staff is trying to convince Rollo, the new zoo manager, that their small animals are ferocious. Rollo wants to feature the ferocious and scary to draw more crowds. Sydney, played by Robert Lindsay, has a sign up warning people about the dangerous meerkats. Rollo tells him it's preposterous. Sydney, "Oh, you've never been attacked by one, sir." Rollo, "Nobody's been attacked by one. Or, rather, if they have they never noticed."Rollo, "Look, look. I have to be hard-nosed. All the time. I mean McCain demands it. All the time. You've gotta be tough, tough, tough. God knows why." Willa. "You mean Octopus is ruled by fear?" Rollo, "No. No. By terror."No other zoos will take their small animals. Rollo tells the staff they will have to dispose of them. They bring the animals to him to shoot. Pip, played by Cynthia Cleese, says, "You will make it quick, sir, won't you?" Rollo, "What? You mean I'm not allowed to torture them a bit first just for fun? " Pip, "You wouldn't do that?" Rollo, "I wasn't serious, you stupid girl." Later, the zoo staff are gathered and they hear shots. They find Rollo patting the dirt on top of several apparent graves. They think he shot the small animals. Until later when they discover he has them as pets in his apartment.If this were a Marx Brothers film (in place of the three leads), it would be called "A Day at the Zoo."

MartynGryphon Let's face it guys and gals, Animals are funny. So is John Cleese, Michael Palin, Kevin Kline and Jamie Lee Curtis.Fierce Creatures is not a sequel to the hilarious A Fish Called Wanda from 1988, it just a film that contains the same main actors playing entirely different characters.Cleese plays Rollo Lee a former Chinese policeman now Director of an English Zoo for a new parent company ingeniously named Octopus Inc. It is Octopus's policy to bring all businesses up to a rigid 20% profit margin or risk being closed down. Lee's philosophy is to get rid of all the sweet and cuddly animals and in his own words have 'a lethal weapon in every cage' Fierce Creatures only.Willa Weston starts work for Octopus only to find that the arm of the business she was to control has been sold off by Octopus's head man Rod McCain (Kevin Kline). She asks McCain if she can go to England and run the Zoo. What she doesn't count on is that the boss's embarrassing son Vince McCain (Kevin Kline) is going with her.Back in England the animal keepers are doing everything they can to convince that their animals are predatory killers in order to keep them at the zoo knowing that as placement in other zoo's are unlikely the animals face certain death.Willa's intention is to run the zoo well while still bringing the profit margin to the required standard but Vince's constant interference sees the chances dwindling with not only his embezzlement of funds but his tacky and degrading sponsorship deals.In A Fish Called Wanda, Michael Palin played Ken a guy who could hardly talk because of a debilitating stutter. In Fierce Creatures he plays Bugsy the Arachnid keeper who is an incessant talker the verbal contrast between the two characters is a bit of an in-joke but an hilarious one and I'm sure that this contrast was not lost on the audience.Like in A Fish Called Wanda Kevin Kline totally steals the show with his double role as Father & Son. Rod McCain is a tough confident Australian mogul so obviously based on Rupurt Murdoch it's untrue while his son is relatively unsuccessful an embassement to his father and has real issues when it comes to dealing with people.I found Fierce creatures very funny and in many ways far superior to 'Wanda'.Some great appearances by other wonderful actors such as Ronnie Corbett, Maria Aitken, (who played Cleese's Wife in Wanda), Billie Brown as Rod's sycophantic Assistant Neville, Carey (yummy) Lowell and Robert Lyndsay. Cleese's daughter Cynthia also appears as she did in Wanda playing the small Mammals keeper. For those devotees of British Children's TV of the 70's and 80's look out for Derek Griffiths too.Cleese once said that his two biggest regrets in his life were marrying his third wife and making fierce Creatures. I can say to Mr Cleese now that Fierce Creatures is nothing to be embarrassed about it's a great and funny movie and one he should be proud of.Another in joke is that the zoo is called Marwood Zoo, which incidentally, is Cleese's middle name.Enjoy!!!