Describing your movie as ‘the ultimate bite-sized b-movie blockbuster of epic proportions’ might be a little far-fetched, but with a title like Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus, you know this is the kind of film that just wants to have fun.
While watching with a small group of friends, I mentioned Debbie Gibson’s name (the film’s lead) and only those over 40 knew who she was, while those under 30 had no idea. Anyhow, this sometime pop star plays a marine biologist (attired in flimsy vest and beach shorts) who witnesses the unleashing of two giant behemoths from a glacier.
With the help of a nerdy Japanese scientist (who she sort of falls for) and an annoying government guy (yes, its Lorenzo Lamas, but again only us over-40s cared), our brave former pop-moppet tries to lure the two beasts into a battle to the death beneath the sea. Cue: some outrageous CGI set pieces.
And it’s the set pieces that will have you whooping with delight. The highlight must be the fin-tastic megaladon (aka the giant shark) leaping 30,000 feet in the air to catch a plane between its teeth, or the giant squid – sorry octopus – swatting submarines as if they were annoying flies.
Of course, there’s also a nod to the master of the monster movie genre, Ray Harryhausen, with a great scene (albeit short) in which San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge get a big bite taken out of it by megaladon.
So forget the plot and watch the fun unfold as these two CGI monsters of the deep battle it out for your viewing pleasure. Not since Bert I Gordon’s hilariously bad 1970s monster movies The Food of the Gods and Empire of the Ants have I enjoyed myself so much.
Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus opens at the Apollo Cinema Piccadilly Circus on 7 August and is released on DVD on 10 August. http://youtube.com/v/Fa7ck5mcd1o
