ANIMALS, IRWINS SAVE FILM FROM TOOTHLESS PLOT.

Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Critic

``THE CROCODILE HUNTER: Collision Course'' couldn't be more aptly named. The movie uneasily combines the kind of wacky animal adventures seen on Steve Irwin's popular Animal Planet television series with a fictional spy story in which the Crocodile Hunter is barely involved. The two segments finally meet - and only tenuously - at the movie's end.

In one sense, the creative thinking is sound. Let Irwin and his affable wife, Terri, do what they do best - show us the critters. And as long as the Irwins and the animals are front and center, the movie is agreeable enough and will likely please audiences (particularly youngsters weaned on ``The Croc Files'') looking to see their favorite wildlife warrior on a screen that's bigger than their television set.

Basically, there are two movies here. One follows competing groups of spies trying to track down the black box of a fallen intelligence satellite that contains ``enough documentation to change the power structure of the whole modern world.'' The black box resides in the stomach of a huge crocodile that has been dining on the livestock of a feisty Queensland cattle rancher (Magda Szubanski).

The movie will meander along with this witless story line, and then one of the fictional characters will say something like ``there's nothing here to worry about.'' Cut to Irwin, manically shouting, ``This is the bird-eating spider!'' Snap - you've entered the crazy animal world of the Crocodile Hunter. And eventually he, too, will meet that hungry crocodile that everyone's after.

The fictional component of the movie is shot in cinemascope; Irwin's segments are on a traditional 1:85 screen ratio. Thus, every time the movie switches to the Irwins, the image on the screen narrows with black bands at either end. The effect is a bit disconcerting. One woman asked me afterward if the Crocodile Hunter footage was simply leftovers from the TV show. It's not, but I doubt she'll be the only one asking that question.

John Stainton, who has directed all of the episodes of ``The Crocodile Hunter'' and its various spin-offs, has said that he ``wanted the other players in the movie to be like cardboard cut-out characters so the audience had no other focus but on Steve and Terri.''

Mission accomplished. But that means ``The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course'' is only enjoyable when the Irwins are on the screen, which is about half the time. These Aussies have enough presence to carry an entire movie. Maybe next time they'll be given the chance.

THE CROCODILE HUNTER: COLLISION COURSE - Two and one half stars

(Rated PG: for action violence/peril, mild language)

Starring: Steve and Terri Irwin.

Director: John Stainton.

Running time: 1 hr. 30 min.

Playing: Wide release.

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

Steve Irwin, popular host of Animal Planet's series ``The Crocodile Hunter,'' hits the big screen.