Actors: Ian Ziering, Tara Reid, Mark McGrath, Vivica A. Fox
Directors: Anthony C. Ferrante
Rated: Unrated
Studio: Asylum Home Entertainment
Release Date: October 7, 2014
Run Time: 95 minutes
Film: 4 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3.5 out of 5 stars
When I first heard about the film “Sharknado”, I knew it would be fun but probably terrible. Surprisingly, it was actually quite decent and it made history. The film became an instant pop culture sensation immediately spawning a second one (aptly titled as well). “Sharknado 2: The Second One” improves on the first film so much and really is a fun and exciting film. It is jam packed with over 25 celebrity cameos crammed in. Ian Ziering and Tara Reid return to their roles from the original, along with Vivica A. Fox and platinum recording artist Mark McGrath joining up. The visual effects are improved as well. The kills are fun and very creative. You can just tell that these guys had a blast making this film and I had a blast watching it. Can’t wait for next July for “Sharknado 3”.
Here is the crazy list of notated celebrity cameos that popped up in this film: Kelly Osbourne, Robert Hays from Airplane!, Rachel True from The Craft, Star Trek: The Next Generation star Wil Wheaton, Comedian and famous Twitterer Kelly Oxford, Andy Dick, The Naked Cowboy, Al Roker and Matt Lauer, Salt-N-Pepa’s Sandy “Pepa” Denton, The Weather Channel’s Stephanie Abrams, “Scream Queen” Tiffany Shepis, 30 Rock’s Judah Friedlander, Taxi’s Judd Hirsch, Subway’s Jared Fogel, The Howard Stern Show’s Benjy Bronk, Biz Markie, Downtown Julie Brown, Billy Ray Cyrus, Daymond John from Shark Tank, Perez Hilton, Richard Kind, Stand-up comedian Robert Klein, Pro wrestler Kurt Angle, Live With Kelly & Michael co-hosts Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan and producer Michael Gelman
With a film like “Sharknado 2: The Second One”, do you really need to know the premise? Absolutely not but it is still funny to see what they come up with when they try and explain this. So here it is: “When a Category 7 hurricane pummels New York, the surging flood waters 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.” “Sharknado 2: The Second One” delivers a impressive Blu-ray presentation for an Asylum release. The 1080p transfer works well with the visual effects and shows off the sights of NYC quite well. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is also a winner as well, especially with the action packed 10 minute opening scene.
“Sharknado 2: The Second One” comes stocked with some great special features, which comes with much more than usual Asylum releases. There is a fantastic audio commentary track with Director Anthony C. Ferrante, who is joined by Actors Tara Reid and Ian Ziering. It is entertaining and a great way to revisit the film. There is also a second commentary track with Anthony C. Ferrante, Writer Thunder Levin, Editor Ana Florit, and Visual Effects Supervisor Emile Smith. It is also fun and a bit more technical.
“The Making of Sharknado 2” dives into the behind-the-scenes for the film ranging from the franchise to the characters to shooting in NYC. “Chomp: The Evolution of Sharknado 2 Visual Effects” focuses on the digital effects shots in the film. “Shark Chum: From the Cutting Room Floor” include over eight minutes of deleted scenes, which includes some solid content. “Cameos: I Can’t Believe They Got…” looks into all the famous faces that this film got. Lastly there is a Gag Reel and additional Asylum trailers included.
