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#263 - Sharknado 2: The Second One
Anthony C. Ferrante, 2014
Following the events of the first film, the hero of the first film flies to New York only for another freak tornado full of sharks to strike.
As far as movies that bank their whole existence and appeal on being feature-length punchlines go, Sharknado was definitely one of the least objectionable. The fact that its creators (working with the infamous Asylum production company) knew they were making a deliberately so-bad-it's-good movie does neuter the comedic nature to a considerable extent, but it was still sufficiently entertaining that it didn't end up being hate-worthy. Of course, the memetic absurdity of both the film's premise and its execution proved popular enough with audiences to guarantee a follow-up (and with the kind of budget this film would have, that would not have been surprising anyway). Of course, as I have noted before, I do take issue with sequels to intentional comedies because they often struggle to capture that same lightning a second time around (and it's not like Sharknado was that funny in the first place), and unfortunately Sharknado 2: The Second One still falls prey to that particular pitfall.
After an extended sequence aboard a turbulent plane ride that pays questionable homage to both The Twilight Zone and Airplane! (right down to having Robert Hays play the plane's pilot and make a reference to choosing between fish and chicken for dinner- that probably says a lot about the film's character-based humour), Sharknado 2 launches into a fairly straightforward rehash of the original but with more characters and plotlines to fill out its extremely brief running time. Due to the first film's notoriety, there are now celebrity cameos a-plenty, whether playing bit parts or playing themselves, though it's debatable as to whether or not they actually work. Instead, they just remind one that self-awareness is not always an adequate substitute for actual entertainment value. The effects are still as (deliberately) woeful as ever, but even the escalation of the action doesn't do much to create any particularly favourable impressions or spectacles (except maybe during the climax, but even then...). Sharknado 2 is about what you'd expect from a sequel to a one-joke movie. It may ramp up the carnage and throw in a lot of famous faces, but it's still ultimately the same as its predecessor and, though that film had its moments, it barely had enough to make a semi-amusing feature - this film can't even match up to that. I can hardly wait to see what Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! will bring us later this year.
Anthony C. Ferrante, 2014
Following the events of the first film, the hero of the first film flies to New York only for another freak tornado full of sharks to strike.
As far as movies that bank their whole existence and appeal on being feature-length punchlines go, Sharknado was definitely one of the least objectionable. The fact that its creators (working with the infamous Asylum production company) knew they were making a deliberately so-bad-it's-good movie does neuter the comedic nature to a considerable extent, but it was still sufficiently entertaining that it didn't end up being hate-worthy. Of course, the memetic absurdity of both the film's premise and its execution proved popular enough with audiences to guarantee a follow-up (and with the kind of budget this film would have, that would not have been surprising anyway). Of course, as I have noted before, I do take issue with sequels to intentional comedies because they often struggle to capture that same lightning a second time around (and it's not like Sharknado was that funny in the first place), and unfortunately Sharknado 2: The Second One still falls prey to that particular pitfall.
After an extended sequence aboard a turbulent plane ride that pays questionable homage to both The Twilight Zone and Airplane! (right down to having Robert Hays play the plane's pilot and make a reference to choosing between fish and chicken for dinner- that probably says a lot about the film's character-based humour), Sharknado 2 launches into a fairly straightforward rehash of the original but with more characters and plotlines to fill out its extremely brief running time. Due to the first film's notoriety, there are now celebrity cameos a-plenty, whether playing bit parts or playing themselves, though it's debatable as to whether or not they actually work. Instead, they just remind one that self-awareness is not always an adequate substitute for actual entertainment value. The effects are still as (deliberately) woeful as ever, but even the escalation of the action doesn't do much to create any particularly favourable impressions or spectacles (except maybe during the climax, but even then...). Sharknado 2 is about what you'd expect from a sequel to a one-joke movie. It may ramp up the carnage and throw in a lot of famous faces, but it's still ultimately the same as its predecessor and, though that film had its moments, it barely had enough to make a semi-amusing feature - this film can't even match up to that. I can hardly wait to see what Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! will bring us later this year.