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Cast: Eric Roberts, Hector Jimenez
It is known as S-11, a diabolical hybrid of shark and octopus created by genetic scientist Nathan Sands (Oscar®-nominee Eric Roberts of THE EXPENDABLES and THE DARK KNIGHT) as the U.S. Navy's next super-weapon. But when its control implants are damaged during a training experiment, the beast escapes to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for a taste of sun, sand, bikini babes, jet-skiers, spring breakers and beyond. Now a hotshot mercenary, an investigative reporter, and Sand's biomechanical engineer daughter must stop a creature like none ever witnessed before: It has superior intelligence. It attacks without warning. And it likes to snack on bungee jumpers.
I can start with my usual rant about those people that watch the Syfy Channel's movies only to complain after about bad effects, wooden acting and just about anything else you can think of but my ranting too is becoming somewhat old so instead I will just talk about the film instead. All it takes is just one look at the art-work for "Sharktopus" to know that it is going to be bad, intentionally bad that is. It never hurts when the director and his or her cast doesn't take the film serious either which instead makes the film more of a parody which is exactly what you get here. "Sharktopus" is a total cheese fest from it's bad dialogue all the way down to it's cast that obviously knows how ridiculous this all is but they do a terrific job playing along. When I rate this film I do so knowing that it is for a Syfy film and not some big Hollywood production, that said the film looks good production wise and there is some nice eye-candy including the beautiful sandy beaches and bikini clad women running around the entire time. The creature effects are what you expect here not terrible but not good either but in the end they get the job done. The creature itself is something to behold, half shark, half octopus, this is a man-eating machine that can even walk on land to get it's prey if it has to. I thought the film had a great pace to it, it didn't waste alot of time on dialogue or drama and instead it moves quickly from one action scene to the next. The cast for the most part did a great job playing along, Eric Roberts probably called of phoned in his performance but there is no denying his star power even when he delivers some of the film's cheesy dialogue. The bottom line here is if you take the film for what it is instead of what you might want it to be then you're going to have as much fun watching it as I did.
There's nothing scary about this creature but the film is highly entertaining, I found myself laughing out loud several times during the film and I always had a smile on my face. Before I close this review out I have to give everyone a heads up, keep an eye out for a cameo of the Master himself, Roger Corman because it is simply hilarious. Do yourself a favor and don't take the film seriously, the filmmakers didn't so there's no reason you should either. If you enjoyed the remake of "Piranha" then I think you are going to enjoy "Sharktopus" as well
Available on both DVD and Blu-ray, both come with Special Features that include:
Audio Commentary with Producers Roger Corman and Julie Corman
Trailer
You can order the DVD HERE and the Blu-ray HERE.
Released byAnchor Bay Entertainment
*** 1/2 Out Of *****