Mega Shark vs. Mecha Shark
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Mega Shark vs. Mecha Shark is an American giant monster film produced by The Asylum, and the third entry in the studio's Mega Shark series. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the United States on January 28, 2014.
Plot
An iceberg towed to Alexandria to prevent a drought cracks open, releasing a new Mega Shark. With a single swing of his tail, he sends the boat towing the iceberg flying into the Great Sphinx of Giza, decapitating it. As financial markets panic and shipping lanes shut down, the United Nations begins developing a giant mechanical shark to stop it. Husband-and-wife team Dr. Jack Turner and Dr. Rosie Grey test a prototype off the coast of Hawaii. Two giant squids constrict the Mecha Mk 1, Rosie electrifies the hull to repel them. Admiral Engleberg brings them to a facility in Pearl Harbor, where the full-sized Mecha Shark has just been completed. Jack is relieved that the machine is armed with non-nuclear missiles, but stunned that the U.N. plans to send it into battle without fully testing it.
Dr. Emma MacNeil, a veteran of the first Mega Shark attack, contacts Engleberg to inform him that the Megalodon, searching for a mate, will remain highly aggressive. The USS Virginia soon spots the monster in the South China Sea, and the USS Charles Davis, towing Mecha Shark, moves to intercept it. Rosie is eager to pilot it, though the AI developed for the Mk 1, Nero, has not been installed yet. She takes Mecha Shark with a tracking device before the Virginia fires on it. He bats one of the torpedoes away with his tail, redirecting it into the submarine and sinking it. then tackles Mecha Shark, damaging its sensors. After Mega Shark withdraws, Jack convinces Engleberg to let him install Nero.
Mega Shark destroys an oil platform off the coast of Australia, causing an ecological crisis. At the helm of Mecha Shark again, Rosie releases chum into the water to lure him into a rematch. With the oil spill getting worse, however, she breaks off her attack to seal the pipeline. Mega Shark tries to snatch an airliner out of the sky, but Mecha Shark intercepts him in midair. As they grapple, the tracking device falls off. Mega Shark bats a torpedo into one of the ships in the carrier group, leaving Rosie stunned. She hastily fires another torpedo without locking on, triggering a landslide which knocks the Mecha Shark to the ocean floor. The impact knocks Rosie unconscious, but Nero manages to surface the machine. Mega Shark turns his attention to an aircraft carrier, lured by its high-frequency emitters, and sinks it with a belly flop. Jack and Engleberg reluctantly turned over control of Mecha Shark to Nero after extracting Rosie.
Rosie regains consciousness after dreaming about her late daughter, while Mega Shark easily bests Nero. Rosie and Jack visit MacNeil in New Zealand, where she reveals that Mega Shark is following a warm current of water which originated in the Mediterranean, putting him on a path towards Sydney. Upon entering the harbor, the monster sinks a frigate, then engages Mecha Shark once more, dropping the Sydney Harbour Tunnel on top of it. Meanwhile, Rosie chases a young girl into the city, trying to reunite her with her mother. A damaged Mecha Shark enters drone mode, overriding Nero, before Mega Shark tosses it into the Sydney Opera House. Jack races to it in the Mecha Mk 1 and reunites with Rosie. After Engleberg's killswitch fails, Mecha Shark activates its amphibious mode, causing it to sprout treads. As onlookers and soldiers gather, including the lost child, it misidentifies them as threats and charges forward. Jack and Rosie drive the girl back to her mother. MacNeil calls them, suggesting that they lure the rampaging mech back towards Mega Shark to destroy it. To that end, Rosie jumps inside Mecha Shark’s mouth to activate its high-frequency emitter.
Engleberg fires madly into the water as Mega Shark sinks his ship. An air strike knocks Mecha Shark into the water, allowing Jack to join Rosie with the Mech Mk 1. He restores Nero's control over Mecha Shark and ejects her from the machine. Mega Shark devours Engleberg, then bites down on Mecha Shark as it self-destructs, seemingly killing him. However, Jack reveals that he saved a backup of Nero on a flash drive. He and Rosie kiss before heading back towards the city to deal with the aftermath of the battle.
Staff
Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.
- Directed by Emile Edwin Smith
- Written by H. Perry Horton and Jose Prendes
- Produced by David Michael Latt
- Executive producer David Rimawi
- Music by Isaac Sprintis
- Cinematography by Alexander Yellen
- Edited by Rob Pallatina
- Production design by Vincent Albo
- Assistant directing by Glenn Miller
- Visual effects supervisor Emile Edwin Smith
Cast
Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.
- Christopher Judge as Dr. Jack Turner
- Elisabeth Rohm as Dr. Rosie Grey
- Matt Lagan as Admiral Engleberg
- Paul B. Anderson as Nero (voice)
- Debbie Gibson as Dr. Emma MacNeil
- Fiona Hardingham as Mom
- Hannah Levien as Sandy
- Emma Rose Maloney as Stacy
- Steve Hanks as Captain Reynolds
- Simon Barbado as Hogan
- Phillip Andre Botello as Raul
- Marshall Dunn as Heath
- Colin Flynn as Chet
- David Salsa as Davis
- Robert Sisko as Captain Thrace
- Alain Gerard as Pollack
- Benjamin Ballarin as Soldier #1
- Phil Beidron as French news reporter
- Luca Bello as Flight officer
- Andrew Bongiorno as Captain Perkins
- Beejan Land as Roy
- Lance Buckner as Captain Zane
- Janet Cao as Chinese news reporter
- Vince Cusimano as Co-Pilot
- Delaine Fischer as Sailor
- Cameron Gordon as Air Traffic Control
- Brett Lorenzini as Soldier #2
- Kathryn Methorst as Sergeant Brooks
- David O'Donnell as Cummings
- Jill Hagara as U.S. news reporter
- Sylvia Panacione as Italian news reporter
- Natalie Pellegrini as British news reporter
- Jordan R. Jackson as Soldier #3
- Todd Jones as Fighter pilot
- Bill Voorhees as Captain Hanson
- Billy Walker as Transport driver
- Matt Wool as Deck officer
- Rob Daniels as Mecha Shark victim (uncredited)
Appearances
Monsters |
Weapons, vehicles, and races
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Development
The Asylum began planning a third Mega Shark movie shortly before the release of Sharknado in July 2013. Its unexpected success convinced Jose Prendes to write the script.[1] The producers had already picked Mega Shark's next opponent; in Prendes's words, "They had unwittingly created this Godzilla-like series and the only way to go was metal."[2] They also stipulated that the monster needed to destroy the Great Sphinx of Giza, though the statue is far inland.[1] Prendes wrote nine drafts over the course of two months.
Production
According to Prendes, "I think [Mega Shark vs. Mecha Shark] had 15 days of principal photography, and then it might have had a couple days of reshoots."[1] Filming locations included Marina del Rey, Dockweiler Beach, a waste treatment plant, and the museum ship SS Lane Victory, all in the Los Angeles area.[3] Rob Daniels, creator of the Mega Sharkmas Facebook page, won an Asylum contest to "die a bloody death onscreen" in the film.[4][5]
Gallery
- Main article: Mega Shark vs. Mecha Shark/Gallery.
Reception
Mega Shark vs. Mecha Shark has a 2.6/10 rating on IMDb, the second-highest of the series.
Video releases
The Asylum Blu-ray/DVD (2014)
- Region: A/1 (Blu-ray) and 1 (DVD)
- Discs: 1
- Audio: English (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 on Blu-ray)
- Subtitles: None
- Special features: Audio commentary by Emile Smith, Jose Prendes, and Christopher Judge; behind-the-scenes featurette (7 minutes); and blooper reel (2 minutes)
Sequels
The Asylum released a fourth entry in the series, Mega Shark vs. Kolossus, in 2015.
Videos
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Trivia
- The Asylum reused Mecha Shark's CG model for a scene in its 2018 film The Last Sharknado: It's About Time.
- Matt Lagan returned to the Mega Shark series after playing a slain destroyer captain in Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus. To reference this role, director Emile Edwin Smith added a line for Admiral Engleberg to mention his brother was killed by the Mega Shark.[3]
- Newspapers reporting on the new Mega Shark reuses two stills from Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus of the first monster attacking an airliner and the Golden Gate Bridge.
- The masthead for The Boston Global includes the URL for The Asylum's website.
- One headline in The Boston Global, "Family rescued from snowstorm in the Middle East", references Emile Edwin Smith's next film, Age of Ice.
- Screenwriter Jose Prendes named an aircraft carrier after his favorite actor, James Stewart.[3]
References
This is a list of references for Mega Shark vs. Mecha Shark. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
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