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Friday, November 14, 2014

Sharknado 2: The Second One Blu-ray Review

Reviewed by Allie Schembra
In this new Shark-tastic adventure, stars Ian Ziering (“Beverly Hills, 90210”) and Tara Reid (American Pie) reprise their roles from the original, now iconic disaster film Sharknado. Joining the cast is Vivica A. Fox (Kill Bill, Volume 1), platinum recording artist Mark McGrath, comedian Judah Friedlander (“30 Rock”) and a huge collection of celebrities making must-see cameo appearances, including Kelly Osbourne, Perez Hilton, Billy Ray Cyrus, Al Roker, Matt Lauer, Andy Dick and more! Directed by Anthony C. Ferrante (Sharknado), the terrifying and hilarious sequel to Syfy’s smash hit film once again matches heroes against sharks who are swept up into deadly storms to form lethal “Sharknadoes.” This time, terror hits the Big Apple and no one is safe! When a Category 7 hurricane pummels New York, the surging floodwaters bring thousands of sharks. To make matters worse, tornadoes soon dot the horizon. As Sharknadoes tear through the city, no vehicle, building, or national monument is safe.

Film (2 1/2 out of 5 stars)
Oh my gosh… it gets worse!  In another awesomely bad Sharknado movie, Fin (Ian Ziering) and April (Tara Reid) are traveling back to New York City to visit with family while April attends a book signings for her new book How to Survive a Sharknado.  Of course things don’t go as planned and Fin notices a storm outside of the window of the plane.  When sharks begin pummeling the plane, Fin has to make an emergency landing at JFK.  Once on the ground, it only gets worse, when April is rushed to the hospital and Fin is dispatched by his sister, Ellen, to Citi Field, where her husband and son are watching a Mets game with some friends.

When Fin arrives at the park, he convinces his brother-in-law and former best friend, Martin, his nephew Vaughn, Skye, his former girlfriend, and others to leave the stadium.  It’s too late though as sharks drop from the sky and overtakes the stadium.  Fin and the others barely make it out and to the subway, where they make their way to the hotel, where they are to meet Ellen and Mora, Fin’s niece.
Ellen and Mora are making their way back to Manhattan from the Statue of Liberty with a few of Ellen’s childhood friends when the Sharknado hits.  

They get on the ferry, but can’t quite make it back without some help.  After taking refuge in a garbage truck, they use bicycles to get to the hotel.  Meanwhile, Fin, Martin, Vaughn and Skye are coming up with a plan to blow up the Sharknados and save New York City.  But can they do it without damaging the city, or becoming victims themselves?

As a SyFy Channel bad monster movie addict, I loved this film in a way that not many people would appreciate.  I loved the first one and was excited when I heard there was going to be a second.  It was so awesomely bad that I can’t help but love it.  Ian Ziering was good as Fin and it looked like he had fun with the character.  Tara Reid, as terrible of an actress as she is, was just as bad in this as she was in the first… only this time, they tried to make her a badass.  Vivica A. Fox – what can I say?  I am not a fan and spent the film waiting for her to become a Sharknado victim.  It’s a fun movie that you obviously can’t take seriously and if you suspend reality and just watch it for the terribleness that it is, you will enjoy.
Video (3 1/2 out of 5 stars)
The widescreen presentation and Blu-ray transfer of Sharknado: The Second One was good.  The picture was better than when I watched it on television.  It was clear, and colors were correct.  There’s a lot of blood and it wasn’t too red, and looked a little more realistic than blood normally does in movies of this caliber.  The Sharknados were sharp and not blurry when shown on screen.  It was much better to watch on the Blu-ray than on television.
Audio (3 out of 5 stars)
Sharknado: The Second One is presented in English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and the audio is clear.  While the script isn’t that great and the acting not much better, the dialogue was intelligible and no volume adjustment was needed.
Extras (3 1/2 out of 5 stars)
The special feature section was good with behind-the-scenes features, deleted scenes, bloopers, and more.  I enjoyed the features more than I thought I would.
  • The Making of Sharknado 2Behind the scenes of Sharknado 2 with cast and crew interviews.  This was interesting as it talked about what a phenomenon the first film was and how they managed to make NYC come to life in the second one.  It was interesting.
  • Chomp: The Evolution of Sharknado 2 Visual Effects – Another behind-the-scenes look at the film, this time focused on the visual effects of the film.  It was interesting to see how the film makers used the green screen and other effects.  Includes interviews with the visual effects crew.
  • Shark Chum: From the Cutting Room Floor – Deleted scenes from the film.  All good choices to leave out.
  • Cameos: I Can’t Believe They Got… -- a quick rundown on every celebrity they got to make cameos.  It includes a discussion with the casting staff and other crew members, along with some behind-the-scenes looks at those cameo scenes.
  • Gag Reel – Bloopers from on the set of Sharknado 2:  The Second One.  These were pretty funny and I enjoyed watching this feature.
  • The Asylum Trailers – The previews from the beginning of the disc.
  • Under the Audio Tab
    • Audio Commentary with Ian Ziering and Tara Reid
    • Filmmakers Commentary

Summary (3 out of 5 stars)
I love SyFy Channel movies.  They are so terrible that a viewer can’t help but watch and wonder how movies like these even get made.  You have to think that the actors who sign on to be in these films must be either A) really hard up and needing the work, or B) see the humor in these films and want to do it for the fun of it.. while getting paid, of course.  Sharknado 2: The Second One must be a film where the actors chose option B.  Because I don’t see how you’d make a second one if you took yourself seriously in the first one.  This is definitely a film I will add to my collection and will watch again.  For awesomely bad movie junkies, I recommend this for multiple viewings.

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