Sharknado 2: The Second One

Last updated
Sharknado 2: The Second One
Sharknado 2 poster.jpg
Release poster
Written by Thunder Levin
Directed by Anthony C. Ferrante
Starring
Theme music composerChristopher Cano
Chris Ridenhour
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Producer David Michael Latt
CinematographyBen Demaree
EditorsAna Florit
Vashi Nedomansky
Running time95 minutes
Production companies The Asylum
Syfy Films
Budget$2 million
Original release
Network Syfy
ReleaseJuly 30, 2014 (2014-07-30)
Related

Sharknado 2: The Second One is a 2014 American made-for-television film and a sequel to the 2013 television film Sharknado and the second installment in the Sharknado film series. It was directed by Anthony C. Ferrante, with Ian Ziering and Tara Reid reprising their roles from the first film. The film premiered on July 30, 2014, and was the highest-premiering film on the Syfy Channel. [1] [2]

Contents

In the film, Fin Shepard travels to New York with April Wexler and attempts to stop a group of sharknadoes that appear there.

The third film, Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! , was released on July 22, 2015.

Plot

Fin Shepard, and his former wife, April Wexler, are traveling to New York City to promote How to Survive a Sharknado and Other Unnatural Disasters, a book April has written about the Los Angeles sharknado. As the plane comes in for a landing through a storm, it is battered by airborne sharks, losing an engine. Sharks enter the plane, killing passengers and the crew, including both pilots. While Fin lands the plane, April's hand is severed while she attempts to shoot a shark with an air marshal's handgun.

Fin's sister, Ellen Brody, is sightseeing in New York with her family. Her husband, Martin, a childhood friend of Fin's, takes their son, Vaughn, to a Mets game at Citi Field along with Martin's and Fin's friends Skye and Brian. Ellen takes their daughter, Mora, to the Statue of Liberty, where she meets with her friends, Polly and Chrissie, who tell her about Fin's recent appearance.

At the airport, Fin tries to warn the crowd of the impending storm, only for no one to take him seriously. After leaving April to the hospital for surgery, Fin is able to contact Ellen, and tells her to get to the Bales Tower Hotel on Manhattan as soon as possible. He agrees to retrieve Martin and Vaughn from the ball game, hiring a cabbie, Ben, in the process. At Citi Field, Skye surprises Fin with a kiss, but Fin explains that he and April are back together. The game is cancelled because of the storm, but when sharks start falling from the sky and killing people, Fin and his group improvise weapons to fight them and go to the subway.

On the ferry ride back to Manhattan, a shark kills Chrissie. The remaining three women flee from the severed head of the Statue of Liberty. Meanwhile, the subway tunnels flood, sending sharks to break into the train's rear cabin and kill Brian. Ben, who anticipated Fin's escape, takes Fin and the others to shops in search of weapons and items to make explosives. When the taxi is caught in a flood, Fin forms a rope swing to take Skye, Vaughn, and Martin to safety. When Ben is killed in his attempt and the rope falls away, Fin uses the top of the sharks as stepping stones to reach the others.

Two sharknadoes are converging into a more powerful storm directly above the hotel. Fin and Skye head to the roof to try to bomb the sharknadoes. Polly is flattened by a whale shark, but Ellen and Mora reach the hotel, and reunite with Martin and Vaughn. Fin and Skye sling bombs into the tornadoes, but as the storm system is too cold; only a few sharks are knocked down, and they are forced to flee down a fire exit stairwell. They meet the Brodys, who were fleeing up the stairwell that is flooding with sharks. They break down a door to escape the stairwell and leave the building.

April flees the hospital, taking a fire truck to meet Fin and the others. At the Empire State Building, a third tornado is expected to merge with the other two. Fin plans to detonate a tank of Freon at the top of the building by connecting it to the structure's lightning rod to halt the storm. He rallies a crowd of New Yorkers, including the mayor and his task force, to battle the sharks. As he and Skye implement the plan, April, who has affixed a circular saw to her stump, arrives and saves Fin from a falling shark. Skye sacrifices herself to help connect the cables; the Freon explosion throws them in the air where sharks rip Skye in half. While in the twister, Fin grabs onto and rides a great white shark using chains, eventually impaling it on the building's antenna. He reunites with April and finds her lost arm in one of the fallen sharks, using the handgun to kill another one. He then takes the wedding ring from April's severed hand and uses it to propose remarriage, and she accepts.

Cast

Ian Ziering, Vivica A. Fox and Dante Palminteri prepare to jump the sharks Sharknado 2 Action Scene.jpg
Ian Ziering, Vivica A. Fox and Dante Palminteri prepare to jump the sharks

Principal cast

Supporting cast

  • Courtney Baxter as Mora Brody, Martin and Ellen's daughter
  • Dante Palminteri as Vaughn Brody, Martin and Ellen's son
  • Judd Hirsch as Ben, a taxi driver [3]

Many of the cameo appearances made nods to previous roles the guests had played. Robert Hays was previously a pilot in Airplane! ; Judd Hirsch was a cab driver in Taxi , Daymond John is a panelist on Shark Tank , Jared Fogle was a longtime spokesman for Subway restaurants, and Billy Ray Cyrus was a doctor in Doc . [3] [9]

Wil Wheaton had an uncredited cameo as an airline passenger along with his real life wife Anne. [3] Jason John Beebe also makes an appearance in the film. [10]

Lauer and Roker appeared as themselves, hosting The Today Show ; Abrams appeared as an anchor for The Weather Channel. Both of those properties, like Syfy, are owned by Comcast. [7] In contrast, Michael Gelman, Strahan and Ripa all reprised their roles from Live with Kelly and Michael in the film; that show is not a Comcast property, instead directly competing with The Today Show.

There are multiple in-jokes about Jaws (1975). Polly (Peggy Scott) was Mr. Brody's secretary, Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) was the chief, Ellen (Lorraine Gary) was his wife, Vaughn (Murray Hamilton) was the mayor's last name, Quint (Robert Shaw) was the shark hunter, and Chrissy (Susan Backlinie) was the name of the first victim.

Reception

Promoters of Sharknado 2 at San Diego Comic-Con in 2013 Sharknado2 comic-con.jpg
Promoters of Sharknado 2 at San Diego Comic-Con in 2013

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 61% rating based on 31 critics; the consensus states: "The schlock factor for Sharknado 2: The Second One is not as entertaining as its predecessor's, though fans of the brand will likely enjoy it." [11] On Metacritic, the film has a rating of 50 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [12]

Brian Lowry of Variety said the CGI sharks looked terrible. [13] Neil Genzlinger of The New York Times said that it seems nothing more than dumb fun. [14] Verne Gay of Newsday said the film doesn't take itself as seriously as the original. He also said the film is not as good as the first. [15]

Don Kaplan of the New York Daily News said the film was "a slightly better, more watchable movie than its predecessor." [16] Caroline Framke of The A.V. Club gave the film an 'A', stating the "over-hyped sequel has zero business being this much fun". [17]

Broadcast

The sequel was broadcast on SyFy on July 30, 2014. In the UK, Australia and other countries, it was broadcast just minutes behind the US premiere, in most cases on each country's respective SyFy channel. Upon airing, the film was watched by 3.9 million viewers, with 1.6 million in the 18–49 demographic. [2]

Fathom Events released the film for one night in theaters across the United States on August 21, 2014. [18]

Tie-in merchandise

Two pieces of tie-in merchandise were released to coincide with the release of Sharknado 2. Sharknado: The Video Game , an endless runner video game, was released on July 20, 2014 to mostly negative reviews. [19] [20] A comedic survival guide entitled How to Survive a Sharknado and Other Unnatural Disasters (the book that Tara Reid's character was to promote in the film) was released through Three Rivers Press on July 8, 2014. [21] [22] [23] [24]

Sequels

July 2014 SyFy announced that there would be a Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! premiering 22 July 2015 [25] taking place in Washington, D.C., [26] [27] and Orlando, FL. [28]

Archie Comics also released a story about Archie Andrews encountering a Sharknado leading up to the third film. [29]

It aired on the promised date, followed by Lavalantula , which debuted July 25, 2015, the Saturday after Sharknado 3's Wednesday premiere. [30] Lavalantula featured Sharknado's protagonist in a cameo wearing a white T-shirt with crossed chainsaws. This indicates that it takes place in a shared universe. As he says he has "shark problems right now", this may indicate that the events of Lavalantula take place just before or concurrently with Sharknado 3.

Sharknado: The 4th Awakens was confirmed to follow upon Sharknado 3's premiere. [31]

Sharknado 5: Global Swarming was confirmed in October 2016, and was released on August 6, 2017. [32]

The Last Sharknado: It's About Time was confirmed in February 2018 to follow upon Sharknado 5's premiere. [33]

Trivia

The film was broadcast on Tele 5 as part of the programme format SchleFaZ in season 2. The sequels where also presented in this format.

Notes

  1. ↑ Thomas Vitale is the Executive Vice President of Programming & Original Movies for Syfy. He and his family cameo at the Mets game
  2. ↑ Petunia is a stuffed animal possum who has regular cameo appearances in the Sharknado series. [8]

Related Research Articles

<i>Jaws</i> (film) 1975 thriller film by Steven Spielberg

Jaws is a 1975 American thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg, based on the 1974 novel by Peter Benchley. It stars Roy Scheider as police chief Martin Brody, who, with the help of a marine biologist and a professional shark hunter, hunts a man-eating great white shark that attacks beachgoers at a summer resort town. Murray Hamilton plays the mayor, and Lorraine Gary portrays Brody's wife. The screenplay is credited to Benchley, who wrote the first drafts, and actor-writer Carl Gottlieb, who rewrote the script during principal photography.

<i>Jaws 2</i> 1978 American horror film by Jeannot Szwarc

Jaws 2 is a 1978 American horror thriller film directed by Jeannot Szwarc and co-written by Carl Gottlieb. It is the sequel to Steven Spielberg's Jaws (1975), and the second installment in the Jaws franchise. The film stars Roy Scheider as Police Chief Martin Brody, with Lorraine Gary and Murray Hamilton reprising their respective roles as Martin's wife Ellen Brody and mayor Larry Vaughn. It also stars Joseph Mascolo, Jeffrey Kramer, Collin Wilcox, Ann Dusenberry, Mark Gruner, Susan French, Barry Coe, Donna Wilkes, Gary Springer, and Keith Gordon in his first feature film role. The plot concerns Chief Brody suspecting another great white shark is terrorizing the fictional seaside resort of Amity Island, following a series of incidents and disappearances, and his suspicions are eventually proven true.

<i>Jaws: The Revenge</i> 1987 film by Joseph Sargent

Jaws: The Revenge is a 1987 American horror film produced and directed by Joseph Sargent. The fourth and final film in the Jaws franchise, it stars Lorraine Gary, who came out of retirement to reprise her role from the first two films, along with new cast members Lance Guest, Mario Van Peebles, Karen Young and Michael Caine. Acting as a sequel to Jaws 2, the film focuses on a now-widowed Ellen Brody (Gary) and her conviction that a great white shark is seeking revenge on her family, particularly when it kills her youngest son, and follows her to the Bahamas.

<i>Fantastic Four</i> (2005 film) 2005 film by Tim Story

Fantastic Four is a 2005 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. It was directed by Tim Story, and released by 20th Century Fox. The film stars Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Julian McMahon, and Kerry Washington. The film follows the origins of the titular team as they learn to come to terms with their newfound abilities following their exposure to cosmic rays.

Kellita Smith is an American actress, model and comedian. She is best known for her role as Wanda McCullough, Bernie Mac's wife on the FOX sitcom The Bernie Mac Show.

The Asylum is an American independent film production and distribution company based in Burbank, California. The company is known for producing low-budget, direct-to-video films, in particular mockbusters, which capitalize on the popularity of major studio films with similar titles and premises. The Asylum's business model revolves around producing as many low-budget films as quickly as possible, which earn around $150,000 to $250,000 in profit. Since the company produces dozens of films every year, this model generates millions of dollars, and the company claims to have never lost money on a film. The Asylum spends around 4-6 months making a film, and since the company is not affiliated with any industry guilds other than SAG-AFTRA, this means their employees will sometimes work upwards of 22 hours a day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Whitney (actress)</span> American actress (born 1998)

Ryan Whitney is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Ginger Falcone in Disney XD's Zeke and Luther, Allison in The Thundermans, Cindy Collins in Zoom and Emily Hobbs in See Dad Run.

<i>Jaws</i> (novel) 1974 novel by Peter Benchley

Jaws is a novel by American writer Peter Benchley, published in 1974. It tells the story of a large great white shark that preys upon a small Long Island resort town and the three men who attempt to kill it. The novel grew out of Benchley's interest in shark attacks after he read about the exploits of Frank Mundus, a shark fisherman from Montauk, New York, in 1964. Doubleday commissioned him to write the novel in 1971, a period when Benchley worked as a freelance journalist.

<i>Jaws</i> (franchise) American film franchise

Jaws is an American media franchise series that started with the 1975 film of the same name that expanded into three sequels, a theme park ride, and other tie-in merchandise, based on a 1974 novel Jaws. The main subject of the saga is a great white shark and its attacks on people in specific areas of the United States and The Bahamas. The Brody family is featured in all of the films as the primary antithesis to the shark. The 1975 film was based on the novel written by Peter Benchley, which itself was inspired by the Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916. Benchley adapted his novel, along with help from Carl Gottlieb and Howard Sackler, into the film, which was directed by Steven Spielberg. Although Gottlieb went on to pen two of the three sequels, neither Benchley nor Spielberg returned to the film series in any capacity.

<i>Sharknado</i> 2013 film by Anthony C. Ferrante

Sharknado is a 2013 American made-for-television science fiction comedy disaster film directed by Anthony C. Ferrante. It tells about a waterspout that lifts sharks out of the ocean and deposits them in Los Angeles. It is the first installment in the Sharknado film series. The movie first aired on the Syfy channel on July 11, 2013, and stars Tara Reid, Ian Ziering, and John Heard. It was also given a one-night-only special midnight theatrical screening via Regal Cinemas and Fathom Events, where it earned $200,000 from 200 screenings. The over-the-top premise and theatrics of the film quickly earned it a cult following.

<i>Sharknado: The Video Game</i> 2014 video game

Sharknado: The Video Game is a 2014 endless running video game developed by Other Ocean Interactive and published by Majesco Entertainment. The game is based on the 2014 film Sharknado 2: The Second One.

<i>Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!</i> 2015 film by Anthony C. Ferrante

Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! is a 2015 American made-for-television science fiction action comedy disaster film and the third installment in the Sharknado film series, following Sharknado and Sharknado 2: The Second One. The film was directed by Anthony C. Ferrante with Ian Ziering, Tara Reid, Cassie Scerbo, and Mark McGrath reprising their roles from the previous installments. Also joining the cast are David Hasselhoff, Bo Derek, Ryan Newman, and Jack Griffo.

<i>Sharknado</i> (film series) American film series

Sharknado is an American six-film made-for-television science fiction action comedy horror disaster film series released by Syfy between 2013 and 2020. It has since been expanded into video games and comics, including a spin-off film, Sharknado: Heart of Sharkness, that was released in 2015. The first two films received mixed to positive reviews from critics, while the others received negative reviews.

<i>Sharknado: The 4th Awakens</i> 2016 film by Anthony C. Ferrante

Sharknado: The 4th Awakens is a 2016 American made-for-television science fiction action comedy disaster film and the fourth installment in the Sharknado film series, following Sharknado, Sharknado 2: The Second One, and Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!. The film was directed by Anthony C. Ferrante with Ian Ziering, Tara Reid, David Hasselhoff and Ryan Newman reprising their roles from the previous installments. New people joining the cast in the film include Tommy Davidson, Masiela Lusha, Imani Hakim, Cheryl Tiegs and Gary Busey. In the film, Fin Shepard and his allies, five years after the last sharknado, contend with a group of sharknado variants, such as a "cownado" and a "lightningnado".

<i>Lavalantula</i> American 2015 science fiction horror thriller film

Lavalantula is an American 2015 science fiction comedy horror thriller television film that takes place after a series of volcanic eruptions in Los Angeles unleashes a swarm of gigantic, lava-breathing tarantulas from which the film draws its title. It was directed by Mike Mendez and stars Steve Guttenberg, Nia Peeples and Patrick Renna. Ian Ziering appears as Fin Shepard, tying the film into the Sharknado universe. It premiered on Syfy on July 25, 2015.

<i>Sharknado 5: Global Swarming</i> 2017 film by Anthony C. Ferrante

Sharknado 5: Global Swarming is a 2017 American made-for-television science fiction comedy disaster film and the fifth installment in the Sharknado film series, following Sharknado, Sharknado 2: The Second One, Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!, and Sharknado: The 4th Awakens.

<i>The Last Sharknado: Its About Time</i> 2018 film by Anthony C. Ferrante

The Last Sharknado: It's About Time is a 2018 American made-for-television science fiction comedy disaster film and the sixth and final installment in the Sharknado film series. The film was directed by Anthony C. Ferrante with Ian Ziering, Tara Reid and Cassie Scerbo reprising their roles from the previous installments. In the film, Fin and his gang use time travel in order to prevent sharknadoes from ever happening.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fin Shepard</span> Fictional lead character of the Sharknado film series

Fin Shepard is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Sharknado film series. He is a former surfer and shark hunter, who is played by Ian Ziering in all the films. He is a positive hero, protecting his family and the rest of the world from the evil sharks and hurricanes that bring sharks from the sea to land.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thunder Levin</span> American screenwriter and director (born 20th century

Thunder Levin is an American screenwriter and director, known for writing the first four Sharknado television films. Levin's work was largely responsible for the resurgence of sharksploitation films.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Ng, Philiana (March 7, 2014). "'Sharknado 2' Premiere Date and Cameos Set". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  2. 1 2 Pennington, Gail (July 31, 2014). "'Sharknado 2' smashes ratings records". St. Louis Post Dispatch . Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Packle, Lori (July 30, 2014). "Warning: 'Sharknado 2′ pool of celebrity cameos runs deep". Chicago Sun-Times . Archived from the original on 2015-07-26. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  4. ↑ Murray, Benjamin (March 31, 2014). "'Sharknado 2: The Second One' Is Coming This July". Liberty Voice. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  5. ↑ Ryan Cormier (31 July 2014). "Local actor survives 'Sharknado 2'". www.delawareonline.com.
  6. ↑ movie credits
  7. 1 2 Oldenburg, Ann (April 2, 2014). "Matt Lauer, Al Roker land 'Sharknado 2' cameos". USA Today .
  8. ↑ "Ben Demaree DP – Sharknado 2: Behind the ScenesPetunia, a..." – via Facebook.
  9. ↑ "The 11 Craziest Moments From Sharknado 2". E! Online. 30 July 2014.
  10. ↑ Chris Savage (15 March 2017). "Adam R. Steigert Wrestles with a Werewolf as 'Fang' Goes into Production". Horror-Movies.ca. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  11. ↑ "Sharknado 2: The Second One". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  12. ↑ "Sharknado 2: The Second One Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  13. ↑ Lowry, Brian (July 28, 2014). "TV Review: 'Sharknado 2! The Second One'". Variety . Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  14. ↑ Genzlinger, Neil (July 29, 2014). "Jaws Open, Monster Storm Hits East Coast". The New York Times . Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  15. ↑ Gay, Verne (July 29, 2014). "'Sharknado 2: The Second One' is not as good as the first one (sorry)". Newsday. Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  16. ↑ Kaplan, Don (July 15, 2014). "'Sharknado 2: The Second One': TV review". The New York Daily News . Retrieved July 30, 2014.
  17. ↑ Framke, Caroline (July 31, 2014). "Sharknado 2: The Second One: This over-hyped sequel has zero business being this much fun". The A.V. Club. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
  18. ↑ Gilman, Greg (August 5, 2014). "'Sharknado 2' heading to theaters for one night only". Baltimore Sun . Archived from the original on August 14, 2014.
  19. ↑ Block, Alex Ben (July 8, 2014). "'Sharknado' Video Game Arriving With Syfy Sequel". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Sharknado:TVG". Metacritic. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  21. ↑ Charles, Ron (July 28, 2014). "'How to Survive a Sharknado'". Washington Post . Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  22. ↑ Lieberman, Mark (July 22, 2015). "'How to Survive a Sharknado' offers apocalypse advice". USA Today . Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  23. ↑ DesJardins, Jordan (30 July 2014). "Book Review: 'How to Survive a Sharknado'". ScienceFiction.com. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  24. ↑ Busis, Elizabeth (July 21, 2014). "Learn 'How to Survive a Sharknado' in this useful excerpt". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  25. ↑ "Sharknado 3 Officially Titled; Release Info Announced". Dread Central. 18 March 2015.
  26. ↑ Dvorkin, Ashley (July 30, 2014). "'Sharknado 2' star Ian Ziering: 'Sharknado 3' is a go!". Fox News Channel .
  27. ↑ Campbell, Chuck (September 13, 2014). "Report: Syfy to take aim at D.C. with next 'Sharknado'". WCPO-TV . Retrieved July 25, 2015. The Syfy channel has announced it will roll out a "Sharknado 3" in 2015
  28. ↑ "Sharknado 3 is filming in Orlando". WFOR-TV CBS Miami. February 19, 2015. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  29. ↑ Marnell, Blair (July 21, 2015). "First Look: Archie vs. Sharknado # 1". Crave Online. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  30. ↑ Lavalantula Promo – July 25 on Space. 15 July 2015 – via YouTube.
  31. ↑ "Sharknado 4 confirmed by Syfy as third film premieres". BBC News . July 23, 2014. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  32. ↑ Gilyadov, Alex (April 7, 2017). "Syfy Sets Summer Premiere Dates for Sharknado 5, Dark Matter, Killjoys, Wynonna Earp and More". IGN . Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  33. ↑ Pedersen, Erik (May 10, 2018). "Syfy Sets Summer Premiere Dates For 'Wynonna Earp', 'Killjoys' & Final 'Sharknado'". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved May 11, 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.