...SHOCKINGLY....! - Bosley Crowther Yes, he literally came back from the grave to review this film, a film that may have as profound effect on cinema as Citizen Kane and Birth of a Nation.
Fresh from its triumphs and medal-gathering showings in the prestigious Albanian Uighur Memorial Film Festival and the the Kazakhstani Kinema Klassic, Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus makes its US debut in the coveted series, SyFy Original Movies. In a departure from the gritty realism of his former opuses, Unauthorized Brady Bunch: The Final Days and La Cucaracha, director Jack Perez may have found his true oeuvre in this stunning and touching exploration of the heretofore suppressed but, often violent, cephalopod/carcharodon cultural clash.
Make no mistake, however, powerful as it may be, this is not just a delineation of the physical and psychological devastation of the tragedy of interspecies misunderstanding and prejudice. Much like the recent Julie and Julia, the film parallels the conflict (love/hate relationship) between the two species with the professional and romantic struggles of the people hoping to bring about peaceful resolution and their own personal happiness.
Deborah (My X-Girlfriend's Wedding Reception) Gibson shines as the spunky, eccentrically brilliant, but vulnerable marine biologist. She puts both her career and her heart on the line to save the world and a love she thought could never eclipse her love of the sea. Clearly she brings to mind a young, irrepressible Katherine Hepburn in Bringing Up Baby. Speaking of hearts, multitudes of them will throb at the screen presence of Vic (The Vampiric Puppet Lamentation) Chao as the love interest and crusading oceanologist. Not to strain comparisons, but his performance here can only confirm his undeniable charm as the "Asian Cary Grant." Fine supporting work is provided by Sean Lawlor as the formerly hard-drinking Irish professor who is a wise and knowledgeable mentor to Gibson's character. Lorenzo Lamas continues to enhance the shining path he now blazes in the under appreciated art of character acting. To say his turn as a maliciously stupid and obtuse government agent creates a whole new perspective on stereotypes would be an understatement.
Special effects, you say? You will believe a shark can fly and that the Golden Gate Bridge is destroyed (again)! Underwater action and authentic digital depiction of air and naval craft make Roland Emmerich epics seem pale by comparison.
The real story is the historically accurate and the emotionally investing irreconcilability of Mega Shark and the Giant Octopus. I'll take no chances on revealing anything you should only see in the context of the film (See "The Making of Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus" only after enjoying the movie itself.). Needless to say, Mega Shark reaches heights in his performance that rival any complex, if psychotic, Tarantino character. He should be a cinch for an Oscar nomination for a character the likes of which you may never have seen in a movie: evil, sardonic, ironic, mannered, absurd.
One hesitates to offer any negative criticism of a future classic film but, sadly, it must be said that Giant Octopus plainly phones this one in. No more flaccid and lifeless characterization has been seen on the screen since that of the multi-tentacled nemesis of the great Bela Lugosi in the regrettable Ed Wood's Bride of the Monster.
That said, you must see this one before the American Film Institute immortalizes it officially. Catch it in reruns or at your local RedBox!
Fresh from its triumphs and medal-gathering showings in the prestigious Albanian Uighur Memorial Film Festival and the the Kazakhstani Kinema Klassic, Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus makes its US debut in the coveted series, SyFy Original Movies. In a departure from the gritty realism of his former opuses, Unauthorized Brady Bunch: The Final Days and La Cucaracha, director Jack Perez may have found his true oeuvre in this stunning and touching exploration of the heretofore suppressed but, often violent, cephalopod/carcharodon cultural clash.
Make no mistake, however, powerful as it may be, this is not just a delineation of the physical and psychological devastation of the tragedy of interspecies misunderstanding and prejudice. Much like the recent Julie and Julia, the film parallels the conflict (love/hate relationship) between the two species with the professional and romantic struggles of the people hoping to bring about peaceful resolution and their own personal happiness.
Deborah (My X-Girlfriend's Wedding Reception) Gibson shines as the spunky, eccentrically brilliant, but vulnerable marine biologist. She puts both her career and her heart on the line to save the world and a love she thought could never eclipse her love of the sea. Clearly she brings to mind a young, irrepressible Katherine Hepburn in Bringing Up Baby. Speaking of hearts, multitudes of them will throb at the screen presence of Vic (The Vampiric Puppet Lamentation) Chao as the love interest and crusading oceanologist. Not to strain comparisons, but his performance here can only confirm his undeniable charm as the "Asian Cary Grant." Fine supporting work is provided by Sean Lawlor as the formerly hard-drinking Irish professor who is a wise and knowledgeable mentor to Gibson's character. Lorenzo Lamas continues to enhance the shining path he now blazes in the under appreciated art of character acting. To say his turn as a maliciously stupid and obtuse government agent creates a whole new perspective on stereotypes would be an understatement.
Special effects, you say? You will believe a shark can fly and that the Golden Gate Bridge is destroyed (again)! Underwater action and authentic digital depiction of air and naval craft make Roland Emmerich epics seem pale by comparison.
The real story is the historically accurate and the emotionally investing irreconcilability of Mega Shark and the Giant Octopus. I'll take no chances on revealing anything you should only see in the context of the film (See "The Making of Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus" only after enjoying the movie itself.). Needless to say, Mega Shark reaches heights in his performance that rival any complex, if psychotic, Tarantino character. He should be a cinch for an Oscar nomination for a character the likes of which you may never have seen in a movie: evil, sardonic, ironic, mannered, absurd.
One hesitates to offer any negative criticism of a future classic film but, sadly, it must be said that Giant Octopus plainly phones this one in. No more flaccid and lifeless characterization has been seen on the screen since that of the multi-tentacled nemesis of the great Bela Lugosi in the regrettable Ed Wood's Bride of the Monster.
That said, you must see this one before the American Film Institute immortalizes it officially. Catch it in reruns or at your local RedBox!