As dumb as a box of rocks but better than average and very entertaining.
The Asylum are famed for excelling at making totally crap films but on the extremely rare occasion they knock one out that sneaks up on you and keeps you entertained. Mega Shark vs. Mecha Shark is such a beast, with its ludicrous premise and iffy CGI, but for some strange reason they forgot to tell the actors to just dial in their performances and also not to take the film seriously.
Instead, the main cast-members actually put on decent performances and even the CGI guys accidently done a better job than usual, but that’s not to say the job was great or anything; it was mostly effective with the occasional school project-type look The Asylum have mastered. For instance, when we saw the giant Mega Shark in the water from beneath, it looked very real indeed, but then we’d see a giant fin swimming along and the fakery was glaringly obvious and rather crappy.
- Mega Shark vs. Mecha Shark
- Directed by
Emile Edwin Smith - Cast
Kate Avery, Hannah Levien, Simon Barbaro - Release Date
28 January 2014 - Ed’s Grade: C
A Mega Shark has suddenly appeared and the huge megalodon is wreaking havoc in the oceans by destroying everything in its wake (pun intended), including historical landmarks such as the Great Egyptian Sphinx. It’s also causing a worldwide financial crises as shipping isn’t safe anymore, and world trading has almost ground to a halt.
As luck would have it, two scientists; husband and wife, have helped develop a shark-shaped submarine (with an amphibious trick up its fin) to counter the megalodon threat, as witnessed before in the previous two films in the series, and now get a chance to use their deadly Mecha Shark to try to stop Mega Shark before it reaches Sydney harbour. They of course have obstacles to overcome, like using their mechanical shark which isn’t quite finished and hasn’t yet been tested. The onboard computer becomes faulty too, and unless they can repair it, it may cause as much death and mayhem the megalodon.
*****
Nail-biting stuff! First-time director, Emile Edwin Smith, who is also a visual effects supervisor with almost forty titles to his name, has done a decent job with Mega Shark vs. Mecha Shark, and is better than a lot of the experienced directors drafted in by The Asylum, to helm their low-budget schlock, and it’s thanks to Smith this film was better than their usual efforts. Mega Shark vs. Mecha Shark is exactly what you want in your monster movies; giant explosions, cheap-looking effects and loads of fun to watch.
The lovely Elisabeth Röhm (Darkroom) played wife, Rosie, with Christopher Judge playing her husband, Jack. I haven’t seen Christopher Judge in anything since he played Teal’c in Stargate SG1, but perhaps he had that gold thing on his forehead surgically removed so he could snap up roles in The Asylum movies. If you enjoy B monster-movies then I recommend you give Mega Shark vs. Mecha Shark a try as was surprisingly enjoyable.
