Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! Blu-ray Movie Review

!!!!!!!!

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 7, 2015

The Sharknado films never have been, and never will be, concerned with story specifics. Sure there's a loose-thread "save the day from destruction" plot that takes the characters into whacky situations -- the one in Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! will be seen as either astronomically stupid or universally brilliant, hint, hint -- but at the end of the day it's about flooding the screen with nonsense that never really pays off beyond the immediate hype. All people care about is seeing bad storm and shark effects leaving streaks of bad digital blood all over the screen. There are some core character threads that run through the series and plenty of cameos to discover, but the series has made its mark by way of its name and by way of the absurdity that is sharks in tornados tearing up the town and the people who stand in the way. And The Asylum just got lucky with this one. It caught on where movies like Mega Shark vs. Mecha Shark and 2-Headed Shark Attack failed. Why? Who knows. But it's a moneymaker for sure and, it seems, the bad TV movie equivalent of the Super Bowl given what is now the annual hype machine. Milk it, boys. Milk it.

That looks familiar...but somehow different. I just can't put my finger on it.

It's happening again! Hero Fin Shepard (Ian Ziering) has been summoned to the White House to meet with the President (Mark Cuban) and the Vice President (Ann Coulter) but, as is prone to happen, a Sharknado forms right above the nation's capital! He grabs his green energy-powered golden chainsaw -- recently awarded to him at a fancy dinner -- and carves him some shark meat! And the president is no slouch, either, tossing a hand grenade right in a shark's mouth! Go Mavericks! Meanwhile, the entire east coast is in danger, as is Fin's family, including his pregnant wife April (Tara Reid) and his daughter Claudia (Ryan Newman)! They're stuck at Universal Studios Orlando while Fin is desperately trying to reach them from D.C.! Fin happens to run into an old friend in Nova (Cassie Scerbo) who helps him get to Florida! But things are so bad, Fin must turn to his own blood -- his father and former NASA astronaut Gilbert (David Hasselhoff) -- to save the day!

Ah, The Asylum. The Blu-ray community miss ya. They miss things like a Toyota logo that's taped over in one shot and clearly visible in the next. They miss the obviously fake guns. They even miss a White House that, even following an establishing street side shot from Pennsylvania Avenue that shows it looking like it's seen everyday on the news, appears to have undergone an instant magic wand renovation and taken on a bunch of red brick. Yup, The Asylum is back on Blu-ray, and so too is the cruddy, careless filmmaking. But unlike past entires -- movies that were just flat out bad (really, Alien Origin doesn't get enough love as "worst movie of all time. Manos? Ha! Exclamation mark!) -- there's a charm to Sharknado 3, a very tangible sense of gross over-the-top antics that make things like a magically transforming White House not make sense, but fit into the universe. This movie -- this series -- feels like something a bunch of really spoiled and really rich kids might make over the summer, provided they could rally names like Ian Ziering, David Hasselhoff, and countless cameos to their cause. While it's still Asylum at its core -- goofy mistakes galore, rushed and low grade special effects -- the series at least understands that it's nothing but camp of the highest order and plays to the absurdity. There's no better example of "wink and a nod filmmaking" out there, and kudos to the Sharknado team for embracing it.

Sharknado 3, then, offers just a whole lot more of the same but does feel larger, which is what sequels should accomplish at their most basic, fundamental level. The film expands its reach -- quite literally -- not only by way of plot but by way of the massive number of cameos and recognizable faces and names strewn throughout the film. Tim Russ of Star Trek: Voyager fame gets in on the fun. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Conservative political pundit Ann Coulter play the President and Vice President. WWE Superstar Chris Jericho has a few scenes. Magicians Penn and Teller enjoy some screen time. Bo Derek, Lou Ferrigno, and Christopher Judge show up. Current and former professional athletes like the NBA's Rick Fox and NASCAR's Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano get in on the fun. But all the names in the world can't help the movie if it doesn't know exactly how to push the right buttons and, at the very least, keep the audience hungry for more. Characters surf down waterlogged stairs on portraits of past presidents, a shark lands in Lincoln's lap at the memorial, a shark is impaled in a picture that resembles the famous snapshot from Iwo Jima, and D.C. is wrecked real good by a bunch of shoddy special effects. Yeah, it's all nonsense and ridiculousness of the highest order, but it's creative stupidity and exactly the kind of things the series needs to keep it fresh. One can only wonder what The Asylum has in store for Sharknado 4, but a few things are certain: it will try and top 3 in every way possible, the effects will stink, and fans will gobble it up. Oh, and don't forget to #vote on April's fate! Exclamation marks!!!!!

Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! bites onto Blu-ray with a good quality 1080p transfer that's rather standard for Asylum/lower end TV productions. The digital photography leaves the image looking flat but not overtly glossy. It's a rather bleak, cold, gray- and blue-dominant image, particularly early on, thanks not only to the monochromatic stormy skies but a fairly heavy adherence to gray backgrounds and modestly colored attire. Red dresses, the U.S. flag, amusement park rides and backgrounds, and a few other bits offer some splashes of color, but the image is primarily satisfied to show a dreary dominant picture. Details are excellent, mostly, with close-ups revealing satisfying skin textures. The space suits seen in the third act offer some excellent texturing on seams, pads, and patches. Basic image clarity is strong and sharpness is consistent throughout the film, save for some fuzzy visual effects. Banding and noise are low priority concerns. Aliasing, macroblocking, and other issues are practically nonexistent. Fans should thoroughly enjoy this transfer given the film's modest photography and style.

Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! blows onto Blu-ray with an aggressive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. "Aggressive" here doesn't equate to "accurate." The track's biggest moments amount to little more than a swirl of deep, ribcage-rattling sound effects that offer some general definition but (rightly) settle on potency and volume as the most necessary ingredients to suck the audience into the various bits of storm and shark chaos and all of the collapsing structures, smashes, and other violent ends that pile up throughout the movie. Other effects like gunfire and revving chainsaws are likewise potent but not really full-on realistic. Music plays constantly, often underneath the action but delivering a steady stream of decently defined notes around the entire stage. Dialogue is well prioritized and articulates well with firm center placement. The track is more entertaining and less exacting, and it fits the movie like a glove. (Wouldn't an O.J.-gets-eaten cameo be really awesome in Sharknado 4? Wonder if the Nevada Department of Corrections would allow a film crew inside?)

Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! contains plenty of extra goodies.

• Audio Commentary: Director Anthony C. Ferrante, Writer Thunder Levin, and the visual effects team, including Supervisor Glenn Campbell, offer a cheerful and insightful track that offers a surprisingly deep and entertaining look into the world of lower budget filmmaking. This is a must-listen and well worth the price of admission.
• Lights, Camera, Sharks: The Making of Sharknado 3 (1080p, 12:43): A brief, multipurpose overview that includes cast interviews, clips from the film, and footage from the set.
• Feeding Frenzy: An Exclusive Look at the Sharknado Documentary (1080p, 1:45): Some clips from a seemingly honest look back at the series.
• Shark Tails: Alternate Endings (1080p, 3:23): Director Anthony C. Ferrante introduces a couple of different, and unfinished, endings.
• Growing Pains: The Evolution of Sharknado VFX (1080i, 4:41): A look at VFX quality given the limited time and budget available to the artists.
• Gag Reel (1080p, 4:47).
• Bite Marks: Famous Faces in Sharknado 3! (1080i, 5:16): A brief look at some of the familiar faces who pop up throughout the movie.
• Archie vs. Sharknado (1080i, 5:46): A brief examination of a unique crossover comic.
• A Stormy Romance: A Sharknado Love Story (1080i, 5:17): A look at the importance of the core story threads shared between Fin and April.
• Making of the Soundtrack (1080i, 8:26): Soundtrack Artist Robbie Rist joins Director Anthony C. Ferrante for a discussion of the film's soundtrack. Music Supervisor Rachel Anderson Lebron and Soundtrack Artist Eddie Cole also share some thoughts.
• Shark Chum: Extended Scenes (1080p, 14:25): Director Anthony C. Ferrante introduces some cut and extended sequences that didn't make it into the final film.
• The Asylum VFX: Before & After (1080p, 2:10): Comparative scenes showcasing visuals in various stages of completion.
• The Asylum Trailers (1080p): Sharknado 3 (1:45), Feeding Frenzy, 3 Headed Shark Attack, MegaShark vs. Kolossus, Flight WWII, San Andreas Quake, Road Wars, and Avengers Grimm. Sadly, none of these beyond, obviously, Sharknado 3 are available on Blu-ray.

Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Sharknado movies are sort of like the cinema equivalent of a piñata. They're popular. Everyone gathers around to ooh and aah and anticipate the big explosion and flood of treats. People take turns gleefully beating the hell (no!) out of it, and eventually out spills a bunch of bland candy that nobody really wants (why the hell [no!] don't those things ever have the good stuff?...Twix, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Kit Kats, and M&Ms being this reviewer's personal favorites). It's instant gratification of the worst kind and more about the anticipation and participation than the end result. These movies are the same thing. They've become an event, everyone knows they'll disappoint, but the fun comes from the process rather than the real value on what's inside. So long as the filmmakers remember that (and they will...there's no way in hell [no!] The Asylum is going to change one thing in its big franchise), these films will continue to entertain in the loosest, but maybe most enjoyable, sense of the term. The Asylum's Blu-ray release (it's a hell [no!] of a shame those words aren't written all that often anymore) of Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! does deliver a rock-solid package, featuring strong video and audio to go along with the supplemental equivalent of that piñata candy: a whole bunch of filler. Recommended for the next movie party night.