Sharknado 2: The Second One

Like a lot of junk food, Sharknado might taste good while you’re eating it--but even with Cheetos you have to know when to take your hand out of the bowl.

Set now in New York, instead of Los Angeles, it is just more of the insane same--insaner, if anything--in a slightly nicer suit. As with John Heard, the ringer in the first installment, the picture manages to bring everyone in it down to its level. Or close enough.

Kind of hilarious. Kind of silly. Mostly a game of spot-the-cameo players and teasing about what moment a certain chainsaw will come in contact with certain bodies.

Sharknado 2 doesn’t need any jokes about jumping the shark. It knows you’re going to make one and it beats you to it, literally.

Technically, Sharknado 2 is pretty much just as sloppy as the first film, with scenes that supposedly take place during a storm filled with streams of natural sunlight, but the amateurish quality is part of the franchise’s charm.

If you're in the Sharknado fan club, you'll probably like the sequel. If not, you'll probably ignore it and watch something else. In either case, enjoy.

Sharknado 2 intends to be nothing more than dumb fun, and it succeeds well enough at that. But it also leaves you regretting that the Sharknado team (Anthony C. Ferrante again directed from a script by Thunder Levin) didn’t reach for camp greatness.

The overall effect isn’t quite intoxicating, and it might be better if you’re intoxicated in one form or another. Still, Sharknado 2: The Second One is part of a continuing pop culture chain of events that doubles as a rags-to-riches success story for a likable rag-tag director.

Sharknado 2 drags for a large chunk after [the opening sequence] and, honestly, doesn’t have enough insane action to really say it completely works as B-movie escapism.

The good news is that The Second One often is worse (in a good way) and does boast at least one viral YouTube clip, starring the head of the Statue of Liberty. (Poor Lady Liberty.) But The Second One is also more predictable, silly and self-conscious of the legacy.... For "Sharknado" fans: B- For viewers with highly refined tastes--or any taste--and sharks: F+

While it isn’t as much of a surprise as the first Sharknado, this one manages to up the ante and take advantage of its pop culture standing.

Aside from a few clever moments (like an homage to “The Twilight Zone’s” “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” episode; or the challenge of finding appropriate weapons, thanks to New York’s gun--and hardware--laws), the creatives haven’t managed to bridge the gap between blood-spurting exploitation and winking genre parody.

Usually, follow-ups to goofy films like the first "Sharknado" suffer because the makers are too conscious of the original. In this case, though, they just don't seem to give a shark.

The dialogue is intentinonally bad. The CGI work is intentionally cheap. The plot is intentionally ludicrous. The shock tactics are intentionally schlocky. And all this bad adds up to one monstrously good time, particularly if experienced with a rowdy and ready group of friends.

Sharknado 2 is a rousing upgrade from middling shlock to high-quality schlock. [25 Jul/1 Aug 2014, p.108]