“I think the shark just went nuclear.” —Nigel Putnam
Today’s quick review: Mega Shark Versus Crocosaurus. While working on an acoustics experiment, Dr. Terry McCormick (Jaleel White) accidentally enrages a megalodon, an enormous prehistoric shark believed to have been killed in a previous encounter. Meanwhile, hunter Nigel Putnam (Gary Stretch) captures a giant crocodile in the Congo. The two creatures collide when the megalodon attacks the ship Nigel is using to transport his prize.
Mega Shark Versus Crocosaurus is a budget sci-fi action movie and the sequel to Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus. The movie follows McCormick and Putnam as they help Special Agent Hutchinson (Sarah Lieving) and Admiral Calvin (Robert Picardo) hunt down the two creatures and find a way to kill them. Mega Shark Versus Crocosaurus features bottom-of-the-barrel CGI and almost no plot, making it a movie that will only appeal to a very specific audience.
Mega Shark Versus Crocosaurus shows its low budget in countless ways. The special effects for the creatures are extremely limited, and the movie has to resort to indirect camera work and offscreen exposition for a lot of its action. The scenes have a rushed, disjointed quality to them as the movie tries out and discards different ideas. The bulk of the movie consists of skirmishes with the shark and crocodile that are never fully resolved.
To the extent that Mega Shark Versus Crocosaurus has appeal, it comes from its willingness to try out any idea that crosses its path, no matter how absurd. Characters furiously argue pseudoscience, ships and submarines are destroyed every few minutes, and the shark and crocodile take their fight halfway across the globe. For a certain audience, this flavor of low-budget excess will be charming. But for most viewers, it will simply fall flat.
For a more comical budget shark movie from the same studio, try Sharknado. For a budget action movie about a big game hunter trying to transport deadly prey, try Primal. For a budget monster movie with similar CGI and a heavier fantasy element, try Dragon Wars: D-War. For a thriller about a giant snake that has a fuller plot and a better sense of dread, try Anaconda. For a giant monster battle with a better budget, try Rampage.
[2.4 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1705773/). I give it a 3.5 for a flimsy story and rock-bottom production values.