Run time: 90mins Certificate: 15
Director: Anthony C. Ferrante
Cast: Ian Ziering, Tara Reid, Vivica A. Fox.
Release Date: 30 July, 2014 (TV)
It blows.
Its terrible. That much is sure. But is it of the ‘so bad its good’ variety? To a degree the answer is yes, but Sharknado 2 is a confused film. Many of its gags scream of self awareness and can even be chuckle worthy, but at the same time other characters seem to be taking events all too seriously. On the light hearted side, films made bad purposefully have been done far better before (see Black Dynamite) and even when viewing it as a serious endeavour its B-movie predecessors (film giants such as Spiders 1 and 2, Octopus and Snakes on a Train) out do it in the aforementioned ‘so bad its good’ area. Its hardly a compliment, but after watching Spiders I would be quoting its laughable dialogue and describing its awful effects for days to come, whereas I’ll probably forget what happened in Sharknado 2 in no time (except for the memorable faces). Its a rare case of a film not being bad enough to be good, just stopping short of going full circle. Despite it coming up short, the tongue in cheek side of it will no doubt provide entertainment for fans of the genre. You won’t be forcing your friends to endure it afterwards but there’s sure to be something for everyone to enjoy in the first viewing.
The usual B-movie offenders are all here. Unsurprisingly the budget effects don’t impress, but its the laziness with which they are executed that really brings the action down. Apart from a handful of deaths most are nabbed by the flash of a shark flying across the screen accompanied by some comical blood splatter. For a film about a tornado made of sharks, a sequel no less, you’d imagine they would have ran with the idea a little more. Instead the sharks seem to act merely as glorified debris, in fact much of the film would transpire in the same way if the sharks were replaced by park benches. The ‘natural’ side of this disaster is just as well utilised, the tornado failing to create enough wind to blow our heroes hair around and its flood waters rising with hilarious inconsistency. I could go on but you get the picture.
Fin (our unlucky Sharknado survivor) and his extended family, the bland group who crash at every turn in driving the film, represent Sharknado’s more serious angle. There’s always room for a serious group adventuring alongside some comic relief, but when Fin and his family are on screen alongside a cast member who appears to appreciate what type of film they’re in the result is muddled in tone. As a result you’ll often find yourself becoming bored of the bland protagonists (Ian Ziering et al) and wishing for more of the self aware players who are clearly having more fun (generally a famous face). One thing our main players can rest easy in however is the fact that Tara Reid has taken it upon herself to make everyone else appear excellent in comparison. Somehow failing to register the correct expression for every line of dialogue she utters she throws in a performance less believable than the Sharknado itself.
Amidst all the bad however are the aforementioned cameos who are clearly having fun with the material. The likes of Andy Dick, Kelly Osbourne and Wil Wheaton attempt to wow viewers with their faces alone and fail miserably, but elsewhere the more elaborate cameos hit the mark. Judah Friedlander, Judd Hirsch and Richard Kind are all clearly having fun and had me wishing they were leading the whole ordeal despite the limited material their given to work with. Elsewhere Sharknado even displays some meta-intelligence with its subtle nods to its lesser known actors, though whether these are intentional or not is hard to discern. For instance I got a kick out of seeing D.C. Douglas, the famed voice behind Resident Evil’s Wesker, attacked by an alligator in the sewers à la Resident Evil 2. Topping all of these however is Robert Hays’ (Airplane!) turn as yet another unfortunate pilot, his “I’ve had worse (flights)” quip sure to bring a smile to any fans face.
Verdict
Sharknado is an unashamedly bad film. Whether its due to the unusual amount of fame thats gone to its head or just bad writing, the serious core cast and self aware cameos never come together in all the absurdity. But at the end of the day who expected anything more? After all its meant to be bad. Watch it with a group of friends and you’ll enjoy laughing at it, just try not to blink or you’ll miss yourself laughing with it.
Hits
+Plenty of cameos hit the mark.
Misses
–Everything else.
Overall Rating
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