MEGA SHARK VS. KOLOSSUS (2015)
Tagline: Nature's deadliest creature against man's deadliest weapon.
(Adventure, Action, Giant Sharks Will Eat Your Face Off!) [R]
Note: This wasn’t given an MPA rating, but it would likely have gotten a [R] due to profanity.
It is a simple beast admiral…and we are ringing the dinner bell.
This is the 4th movie in the MEGA SHARK series and to this point is also the last. I am not sure how much it cost to make compared to the others, but the fact that they had a giant “Attack On Titan” looking robot in this probably means it cost more than the others. It also seems to be either hated or considered the worst of the 4 by a lot of people. When this came out, THE ASYLUM was one of if not the most maligned low-budget studios out there. I am not even sure Full Moon Features gets this much flack. However, where there is hate, there are also fans. For me, this is actually the best of the 4 MEGA SHARK flicks not the worst. I am not really sure what the complaints were. If you know what THE ASYLUM does, you already know the cheese and bad effects are stacked to the roof on these films. They are simply meant to be enjoyable “shut off your brain” entertainment, not “deep thinking masterpieces”.
The plot line follows a new Megalodon or “Mega Shark” that is the result of Russians drilling for oil and exposing “red mercury” to the world. This wakes up a cold war Soviet Union giant robot called Kolossus that started out as an alternative energy experiment but turned into an unstoppable weapon. Kind of like your 1980s toaster. Yeah, do not screw with that thing. The Megalodon and Kolossus are headed for a face off intended or unintended. Can Dr. Alison Gray, Admiral Titus Jackson, and her team stop the madness that has the world and its economies at the brink of collapse?
Acting wise Illeana Douglas probably gets the most lines as Dr. Alison Gray. She’s got a mixed-bag resume, but there are some good films on the list including GHOST WORLD. Ernest Thomas (MALCOLM X) appears to have been asked to play Samuel L. Jackson in this movie only without cussing. I actually liked his role in this even though it’s duplicitous. We also get a decent dose of Amy Rider as Moira King and I liked her in this also. The caveat is that no one is going for the Oscars or anything like that. Then rounding out the notables we got Edward DeRuiter (ICE SHARKS) who does a decent job. Like a lot of people in this cast, he seems to have stopped acting. THE ASYLUM also noted that “Team Unicorn” was in this film from the TV Show “Team Unicorn” (which I didn’t know existed till today) and they are for about 5 seconds. Clare Grant who plays Clare in this would go on to do uncredited roles in everything from SHAZAM!, to GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS. Alison Haislip plays Ali and is still acting. She was actually the sideline host for the TV show BattleBots at one point. Milynn Sarley plays Milynn (noting a pattern here), she is most famous for GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 2. Then the final unicorn was Rileah Vanderbilt (HATCHET) and it looks like she’s moved on to other things aside from acting. Again – if you were a fan of their show it’s really hard to tell how they did in this because they get about 5 seconds of screen time.
When it comes to the effects I thought the Mega Shark looked pretty awesome in all the underwater shots. The parts where it comes out of the water are pretty goofy though. I also have to say that in a lot of these CGI-driven low-budget “big thing versus another big thing,” the fights are extremely lackluster. If you want to see awesome CGI Kaiju fights, go to the Legendary MONSTERVERSE for that, or maybe some other bigger budget stuff…but not this. The score is so so, but I liked the credits song.
Overall there are some lulls in this and definitely some unnecessary running around in dimly lit blue rooms for no reason, but I actually dug this thing in spite of its flaws. MEGA SHARK VS. KOLOSSUS gets a 4 out of 7.
GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF THE ASYLUM AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY.
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