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I don’t know the genesis of this project, but it seems kinda foolproof:  take some monsters, add some adjectives to make sure that no-one misses the point, then cast a couple of famous names to attract anyone who is still undecided. Then take advantage of the recent advances in CGI to create a series of crazy set pieces wihout having to break the bank. Perfect Saturday night TV.

And it surely is a formula, as this movie has been followed by similar exercises following the template slavishly.  The only problem is that monster movie territory, which used to be the exclusive preserve of Bert I. Gordon, Jack Arnold and the like, has been invaded  in recent years by ‘serious’ film-makers like Spielberg (War of the Worlds) and major studios (Godzilla), not to mention overseas rivals (The Host).

As a result,  things like bad continuity, slack pacing, amateur acting and shaky effects – the things we used to forgive in B-movies in exchange for crazy ideas and an endearing enthusiasm for ignoring logic – are no longer acceptable, because we can get all these positives in our blockbusters without any of the negatives.

So is Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus any good? Well, not on any logical scale. Some of the acting is Ed Wood standard, the continuity is no better (check out Debbie Gibson’s nail polish in the early scenes on the submarine – whose hands are those?) and the effects are often crudely outlined against the backgrounds. But am I going to be hard on  any movie which has the nerve to attempt a scene where a plane is attacked by a shark? Or the scene in the still above? Of course not. It’s hardly art, and it could have looked a lot better with a massive budget, but the cast keep a straight face and the makers deliver on the promise of the title, so I’ll take it.

Mild Peril Rating:

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Tags: TVM