20140402: SciFi Review--Mega shark vs Mecha shark

Mega Shark vs. Mecha Shark

1. Fundamentals, reception.
1. American live action feature length film, 2014, unrated, 85 minutes, SciFi.
2. IMDB: 4.1/10.0 from 244 audience ratings.
3. Rotten Tomatoes: 'No Reviews yet...' and 'No score yet.'
4. Netflix: 2.6/5.0 from 1,710 audience ratings.
5. Directed by: Emile Edwin Smith.
6. Starring: Christopher Judge as Jack Turner, Elisabeth Roehm as Rosie Gray, Matt Lagan as Admiral Engleberg, Hannah Levian as Sandy, Paul Anderson (voice) as Nero, Deborah Gibson as Emma MacNeil.


2. Setup and Plot
1. Jack Turner and Rosie Gray are a couple who are proofing a submarine/AI system that is shaped like a shark.  That is the Mecha Shark.  The AI is 'Nemo,' a voice-only character.


2. The world is in a tizzy about rampant megalodons; those would be the Mega Sharks.  So, there is at least one Mega Shark that is headed to Australia, to an ancestral mating ground.  Great.


3. In the midst of all this macro-disaster, there is a little girl looking to stay hidden from her mother.  This is some joke that the screenwriter apparently thought was funny.  Guess again.  That somehow snags Rosie's efforts.


4. The Mecha Shark has an amphibious mode.  Nero gets lost in cyberspace, and the shark becomes just as big a problem as Mega Shark.


5. Will Mecha Shark stop reaping destruction in Australia?  Will the Mega Shark get put down?  Will Elisabeth and Christopher get into some better movies and stay out of this sort of nonsense?


3. Conclusions
1. One line summary: Just as flipping bad as it looks.
2. One star of five.


4. Scores
1. Cinematography: 5/10 There are some nice aerials and shots of US naval vessels.  The CGI is hit or miss, mostly miss.


2. Sound: 2/10 Mostly not a factor, but the background music is truly poor.


3. Acting: 4/10 I liked Elisabeth Roehm in American Hustle and Law and Order.  I liked Christopher Judge in Stargate SG1.  Debbie Gibson was her usual bubbly self.  Past those three, we had performances that are beneath amateurish.  Even the veterans must have had a tough time not barfing at the bad dialog.


4. Screenplay: 2/10 Poor dialog.  The script has about 15 minutes of story spread over 85 minutes.