When a beacon from a U.S. spy satellite falls to Earth somewhere in Australia, the CIA finds itself with the unenviable task of recovering it before it can fall into the wrong hands and shift the axis of power in the world… which means finding which one of hundreds of crocodiles has swallowed it.
Meanwhile, Steve Irwin has been hired to relocate a crocodile that has taken up residence near a cattle farm, never realizing that it has swallowed the beacon that the CIA is trying to find. Together with their faithful documentary team, the Irwins try to evade a group of strangely persistent poachers, while remaining oblivious to the fact that they are actually at the center of a spy thriller.
The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course (2002) is a spin-off film of Crocodile Hunter featuring Steve and Terri Irwin doing their thing while a family-friendly action movie happens in the background. It was distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and directed by John Stainton, who was also involved with many of Irwin’s nature documentaries.
Crikey! Aren’t these tropes gorgeous?
- Admiring the Abomination: Steve captures multiple dangerous animals (a King Brown snake, a crocodile, and a bird-eating spider) chatting to the camera all the while about their deadly features (a King Brown snake has necrotizing venom, a crocodile can break bone simply by whipping its head, and a bird-eating spider has large fangs and potent venom). He also regularly gushes about how "gorgeous" the animals are.
- As Himself: Not only do the Irwins play themselves, but all the crocodiles in the film were wild-caught by Steve Irwin himself. In fact, Steve just plays himself as if he's just filming another episode of his show and completely oblivious to the fact he's in a spy thriller.
- Danger Takes a Backseat: After chasing the Irwins for miles, with one of them falling off their truck, and being dumped in a croc-infested river, one of the agents declares nothing could shock him. Then they turn around to see that Brozzie's pack of Angry Guard Dogs are sitting in the backseat.
- Dead Hat Shot: A variant; Brozzie finds a tag marked "Daisy", indicating that the crocodile has killed and eaten another of her cows. She takes a second to mourn before trying to shoot the croc.
- Faint in Shock: After discovering that her rifle won't work thanks to being in the water, Brozzie faints at the thought of facing down the problem crocodile without it. Luckily, the croc just retreats into the river.
- The Film of the Series: Of Crocodile Hunter.
- Grail in the Garbage: Steve finds the beacon in the poop the crocodile excreted out of stress from the journey. He thinks it's some kind of top-like thing that someone carelessly junked where the croc could swallow it.
- Improvised Weapon: When one of the agents keeps hanging onto a rope attached to the truck, Steve pulls out the capturing bag and uses one of the venomous snakes to convince him to let go.
- Logo Joke: The lion in the MGM logo is replaced by a crocodile, who does the roar. The trailer featured a discussion of the original lion in the logo, which is then replaced by a crocodile.
- MacGuffin: The top-secret beacon that the CIA is trying to recover.
- Misplaced Wildlife: Bird-eating spiders live in South America, not Australia. There is a spider of similar size in Australia, but it is called the whistling spider.
- Mockumentary: The Irwins are filming an in-universe documentary about the relocation of the crocodile that, unbeknownst to them, has swallowed a satellite beacon.
- Never Smile at a Crocodile: Since this is a Crocodile Hunter movie, the crocodiles featured are exactly as dangerous as they are in real life, with no exaggeration for the sake of drama. This doesn't lessen the scary factor much, given how dangerous real crocodiles are. The Irwins themselves say that a crocodile could break bones just by swinging its head and that it could capsize the boat they're using to hunt it. Add its snappy jaws and surprising amount of power, and the viewer will wonder how no one died before they managed to catch it.
- Outside-Genre Foe: The Irwins and the spies both run into this. The Irwins have no idea they've ended up in a spy thriller and the agents have no clue they've wandered into a Crocodile Hunter episode.
- Poor Communication Kills: The CIA assumes the Irwins want to keep the beacon, and the Irwins think the agents are poachers after the crocodile they're relocating. In reality, Steve doesn't even know what the beacon is and would have been happy to let the agents have it if they didn't upset the crocodile further.
- Trigger-Happy: Brozzie's solution to anything, especially crocodiles, usually involves her rifle.
- "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: A short sequence of clips after the main film tells us what happened afterwards:
- The US army got the beacon back, and Steve was none the wiser about what it was.
- The crocodile ended up taking to his new territory and finding some female crocodiles.
- The rancher, Brozzie, started doing volunteer work for the Fish and Fauna Department.
- The two agents who unsuccessfully chased the Irwins got pressed into work at the zoo.
- Wrong Assumption: When the agents find the Irwins' truck, one of them picks up the container on the seat, thinking it's takeout. He learns otherwise when he releases the bird-eating spider.
