(Doesn't really contain spoilers, IMO, but some may think so ... hence the warning)
What a rotten piece of garbage this film was - so much so, I felt the need to jump on and write a review here.
The first SHARKNADO was fun, an entertaining B-movie (Big-Time!) because it took itself seriously - one of the markings of a good B-movie. It roughly set up the few main characters, the situation, let all hell break loose, and even with the mediocre acting and slightly worse special effects (seriously, does ANYONE expect decent special effects from a SyFy Channel production?) you could totally get into the campiness, sit back and have fun and enjoy the ride.
None of that exists with this dreck, the 89th film I've seen so far this year and by far the worst. Anchored by one of the most horribly-written scripts ever (seriously, this writer should be banned from Hollywood for life), this sequel takes NOTHING seriously and knows it. Even from the opening plane sequence, the entire film is forcefully always winking at you from its depths, as if to say, "This is crap, and we know it - but ain't it fun?" It's not even trying to take itself seriously, or be in any way "common-sensical" - and that's exactly what was so great about the first one; even with the outrageous, ridiculous goings-on in SHARKNADO, the film treated itself as if it could all happen in real life. It rooted an absurd premise in the real world.
But the world of SHARKNADO 2 involves things like a hole in the wall of a 747, plummeting toward earth, that does NOT immediately suck out a flight attendant who is standing in the middle of the aisle, not even so much as holding onto a seat (instead, a shark flying at her down the aisle gets her) ... yet, minutes later, another character is hanging on for dear life, about to be sucked out of the plane ... while a man lies on the floor next to her, NOT being pulled from the plane, and - worse yet - TOSSES A GUN at her, which lands on the floor of the plane below her, and just sits there, yet again the air pressure loss of the rapidly descending plane picking and choosing who or what it takes!
Not insane enough? How about a major character who loses their hand to a shark, is rushed to a hospital for emergency surgery ... and mere hours later is fully dressed and running around NYC driving a stolen ambulance, trying to help stop the devastation?
If that's not enough, you have the head of the Statue of Liberty rolling non-stop around Manhattan like a bowling ball ... or hordes of New Yorkers pulling machetes and chainsaws and knives and axes from their cars to shark hunt (yeah, I know, it's supposed to be funny, a comment on the preparedness of anything on the part of tough NYC residents - but one of the city's biggest fans, I felt it was pretty easy to see the insult through the humor).
And, a true sign of any truly awful film, cameo after cameo of out-of- work actors or "celebrities" (Jared, from Subway? REALLY?), jammed anywhere into the film the director could find room - effectively throwing you out of the story with, yet again, the film openly winking at your with its "Do you see this; do you SEE this?!?" mentality.
And all of THIS doesn't even take into account the amount of third-rate plastic surgery on display here, by not only most of the female actors, but even Mark McGrath (who should never attempt acting again while he still draws breath) looks like his face is plasticized. Enough of the actors in this film look like they've been to Joan Rivers' plastic surgeon, it's both distracting and a bit scary.
Bad acting, an unforgivable script, sub-par special effects (yes, even for SyFy Channel), extreme closeups used to hide the fact they didn't have the budget to show the real action, sharks that kill by landing on you instead of biting (a major theme, here), a total defiance of the laws of gravity (not to mention common sense), and more stuff I'd think about if I didn't have a headache by now all, add up to make SHARKNADO 2: THE SECOND ONE a smug, pretentious, self-inflated, trite, and absolutely dull-beyond-belief 85 minutes that I not only had to force myself to sit through (hoping SOMETHING good would happen, because I loved the first one so much) ... but remain, even now, absolutely mad at myself for having even watched.
What a rotten piece of garbage this film was - so much so, I felt the need to jump on and write a review here.
The first SHARKNADO was fun, an entertaining B-movie (Big-Time!) because it took itself seriously - one of the markings of a good B-movie. It roughly set up the few main characters, the situation, let all hell break loose, and even with the mediocre acting and slightly worse special effects (seriously, does ANYONE expect decent special effects from a SyFy Channel production?) you could totally get into the campiness, sit back and have fun and enjoy the ride.
None of that exists with this dreck, the 89th film I've seen so far this year and by far the worst. Anchored by one of the most horribly-written scripts ever (seriously, this writer should be banned from Hollywood for life), this sequel takes NOTHING seriously and knows it. Even from the opening plane sequence, the entire film is forcefully always winking at you from its depths, as if to say, "This is crap, and we know it - but ain't it fun?" It's not even trying to take itself seriously, or be in any way "common-sensical" - and that's exactly what was so great about the first one; even with the outrageous, ridiculous goings-on in SHARKNADO, the film treated itself as if it could all happen in real life. It rooted an absurd premise in the real world.
But the world of SHARKNADO 2 involves things like a hole in the wall of a 747, plummeting toward earth, that does NOT immediately suck out a flight attendant who is standing in the middle of the aisle, not even so much as holding onto a seat (instead, a shark flying at her down the aisle gets her) ... yet, minutes later, another character is hanging on for dear life, about to be sucked out of the plane ... while a man lies on the floor next to her, NOT being pulled from the plane, and - worse yet - TOSSES A GUN at her, which lands on the floor of the plane below her, and just sits there, yet again the air pressure loss of the rapidly descending plane picking and choosing who or what it takes!
Not insane enough? How about a major character who loses their hand to a shark, is rushed to a hospital for emergency surgery ... and mere hours later is fully dressed and running around NYC driving a stolen ambulance, trying to help stop the devastation?
If that's not enough, you have the head of the Statue of Liberty rolling non-stop around Manhattan like a bowling ball ... or hordes of New Yorkers pulling machetes and chainsaws and knives and axes from their cars to shark hunt (yeah, I know, it's supposed to be funny, a comment on the preparedness of anything on the part of tough NYC residents - but one of the city's biggest fans, I felt it was pretty easy to see the insult through the humor).
And, a true sign of any truly awful film, cameo after cameo of out-of- work actors or "celebrities" (Jared, from Subway? REALLY?), jammed anywhere into the film the director could find room - effectively throwing you out of the story with, yet again, the film openly winking at your with its "Do you see this; do you SEE this?!?" mentality.
And all of THIS doesn't even take into account the amount of third-rate plastic surgery on display here, by not only most of the female actors, but even Mark McGrath (who should never attempt acting again while he still draws breath) looks like his face is plasticized. Enough of the actors in this film look like they've been to Joan Rivers' plastic surgeon, it's both distracting and a bit scary.
Bad acting, an unforgivable script, sub-par special effects (yes, even for SyFy Channel), extreme closeups used to hide the fact they didn't have the budget to show the real action, sharks that kill by landing on you instead of biting (a major theme, here), a total defiance of the laws of gravity (not to mention common sense), and more stuff I'd think about if I didn't have a headache by now all, add up to make SHARKNADO 2: THE SECOND ONE a smug, pretentious, self-inflated, trite, and absolutely dull-beyond-belief 85 minutes that I not only had to force myself to sit through (hoping SOMETHING good would happen, because I loved the first one so much) ... but remain, even now, absolutely mad at myself for having even watched.