User reviews

'SHARKNADO 4: THE 4TH AWAKENS': Two and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

The fourth installment in the popular Syfy network television film series (which began in 2013). This chapter was once again directed by Anthony C. Ferrante, and Thunder Levin once again wrote the screenplay (the duo performed the same duties on all three previous movies). Actors Ian Ziering and Tara Reid also reprise their starring roles (for the fourth time as well). Other returning cast members (from at least the previous installment) include David Hasselhoff and Ryan Newman; they're joined by newcomers Tommy Davidson, Gary Busey, Masiela Lusha, Cody Linley and Cheryl Tiegs. Cameos (this time around) include Stacey Dash, David Faustino, Dr. Drew Pinsky, Gilbert Gottfried, Steve Guttenberg, Lloyd Kaufman, Vince Neil, Wayne Newton and Al Roker (for his third time). The film has it's moments, but it's not as funny (or as cleverly bad) as the previous three installments.

The story takes place five years after the events of the third film; and there hasn't been a 'sharknado' in all of that time. Thanks to technical genius Aston Reynolds (Davidson), and his company's atmosphere stabilizers. Fin (Ziering) has been enjoying the peace and quiet, and he's now traveling to Las Vegas; for a family reunion. Unfortunately, he soon learns, that his break, from the sharknado action, is now over.

All of the 'SHARKNADO' films are laughably bad, which makes them also somewhat enjoyable. In my opinion the series reached it's peak in 2014 (with the first sequel). Now I think it's definitely running out of steam. This chapter is still mildly enjoyable, and it's also not really any worse than the other three chapters (how could it be). Fans of the series will probably still enjoy it.

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We witnessed the catastrophic third "Sharknado" attack last summer but, in TV-movie time, "It has been five years since the last Sharknado. Tech company Astro-X has used their revolutionary energy system to stabilize the atmosphere and prevent the formation of all tornadoes, using cheap, clean reactors dubbed Astro-Pods. The world has been peaceful and prosperous thanks to Astro-X's visionary founder Aston Reynolds, but now the future is about to be threatened once again…" This helpful prologue credit roll, looking like "Star Wars" (and sounding like "Superman") sets up the story. To celebrate five years of bliss, billionaire businessman Tommy Davidson (as Mr. Reynolds) opens a "Shark World" theme park in Las Vegas...

The inevitable happens. The Astro-X system fails and Vegas is hit with a "Sharknado". Yes, Virginia, there are sharks in Las Vegas. Sharks can attack anywhere, we are told. The monster storms do not have to be water-based. For example, the Vegas attack is sand-based. This looks like a job for Superman… or, rather, super-hero Ian Ziering (as Finlay "Fin" Allan Shepard), strange visitor from "Beverly Hills 90210" who came to Asylum with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. To save the world, we must summon Mr. Ziering from his small Kansas town and give him a chain-saw...

In another story-line, we find Ziering's deceased blonde squeeze Tara Reid (as April Wexler) really isn't dead. She's been life-preserved by crazed father Gary Busey (as Wilford). He's made Ms. Reid a "Bionic Woman". In a notable subplot, Ziering's older son Cody Linley (as Matt Shepard) gets married. It will be interesting to see if the bride Imani A. Hakim (as Gabrielle) appears in "Sharknado 5" (2017). Hmmm. She may only be shark bait. Other beautiful young women include Claudia Shepard and Masiela Lusha. You also get the handsome, legendary and talented "Hoff" (as Colonel David Hasselhoff)...

There are a lot of cameos by the once famous, somewhat famous and not so famous. Sadly, we don't see many of them actually eaten by sharks. Part of the "Sharknado" fun is seeing someone like Matt Lauer or Ann Coulter disappear into a shark's mouth. Among the latter, it looks like an abundance of the cast and crew's friends, relatives and total strangers were accommodated with screen time. If they continue, we will all be in a "Sharknado" movie. The soundtrack, by Quint, is always a plus. Their theme song sounds like "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue" by the Ramones. Series writer Thunder Levin gives them a fun script to start. Reynolds is good, but the "Sharknado" series is getting long in the tooth. If you've never seen a "Sharknado" before, this one might be fun.

**** Sharknado 4: The 4th Awakens (7/31/2016) Anthony C. Ferrante ~ Ian Ziering, Tara Reid, David Hasselhoff, Tommy Davidson

I've often considered Sharknado to be the worst movie franchise of all time and found myself delaying watching the 4th part and this right here is why.

I like Scyfy originals, I think they have a certain charm about them but the Sharknado movies are devoid of that and in it's place will it will stupidity, movie references and cameo appearances of z list celebrities on the downswing of their careers.

Once again 90 minutes of moronic scenes, ridiculous "action and humour that will appeal to nobody over the age of 9.

So far out of a potential 40pts they've acquired 4 from me and I just don't see the fifth and/or any subsequent sequels doing much better.

Just so very very dire.

The Good:

Kudos that the franchise has lasted this long

The "Hoff" is actually on form

The Bad:

It's a sharknado film

Pretty much everything

Tara Reid

Things I learnt from this movie:

If you are a company specialising in preventing sharknados it makes perfect sense to have a giant tank full of sharks outside

Male strippers can deflect sharks using nothing but their penis

Corey Taylor may be a flawless musician but his movie role choices suck

The pirate ship in Las Vegas is a real fully functional ship complete with real swords and working cannons

A 100ft by 50ft tank can hold hundreds if not thousands of fully grown sharks

The water from said tank is sufficient to flood a city and keep afloat an entire ship

Seth Rollins plans on super kicking a storm

It's a cownado!

What started out as a super cheesy movie with the first installment, just gradually went faster and faster downhill with each new movie added to the franchise. And this 4th movie sure is the icing on the cake so far - I bet it will be even worse if they continue to make these movies.

"Sharknado 4: The 4th Awakens" is now at the point where it stopped being fun, and it was actually somewhat of an embarrassment to witness. The previous movies had fun moments, especially because they were so over the top and so amazingly fake. But by now, it is just a re-run of previously used material, and it is wearing dangerously thin.

The story is essentially the same as in the previous three movies, so nothing much for innovation here. Don't get your hopes up.

The acting in "Sharknado 4: The 4th Awakens" was as to be expected, and if you have seen any of the previous three movies, then you know exactly what you are in for, especially since none of the people on the cast list has been particularly improving their acting talents.

The effects, well, let's just say that they were also as to be expected. Cheesy and often hilariously fake special effects. But then again, isn't that what the "Sharknado" movies are sort of pseudo famous for? But "Sharknado 4: The 4th Awakens" introduces a whole array of new terrible things, such a lightningnado, stonenado, firenado, and so on. Again, taking things too far out, to the point of embarrassment.

One thing that was working in favor for the movie was the subtle and blunt references to other movies. And if you are a movie fanatic, then you will find a lot of references throughout the course of "Sharknado 4: The 4th Awakens".

However, "Sharknado 4: The 4th Awakens" was the least entertaining of the current four movies in the franchise. And as such, then my verdict is that this movie scores a meager three out of ten stars.

Just like we'd come to expect from the series, SHARKNADO 4: THE 4TH AWAKENS is campy B-movie-esque fun. A ton of crappy CGI, tacky one-liners and over-the-top acting.

Watch it only after you've seen the other three installments, and only if you liked those. This one definitely caters for fans. No time is spent whatsoever introducing any of the characters—everything is taken for granted.

If you do like the series, you're up for all kinds of -nados this time, bouldernados, sandnados ... lots of deliberate play with its own themes, infused with self-aware irony. I enjoyed watching this, although as far as B-movies go, I don't like the fact that they're now making a "B-movie" for the sake of making B-movie... while also catering to a mainstream audience. Some of the genuineness of true B-movies is definitely lost.

This self-aware schlock, with the leads all playing their roles straight and earnest, is willing to jump the shark over and over if it's good for a laugh. Often, it succeeds.

There are a couple of stabs directed at Star Wars (and one on Star Trek). But riffing on something popular does not make your movie really good. On the other hand, I don't think anyone will ever accuse the Sharknado movies of being intellectual or really something with gravitas (no pun intended of course).

There are quite a few cameos and star appearances (one from a fellow actor from another beast Scy-Fi movie with different animals as beasts. Btw. that other movie worked way better for many different reasons. So while CGI still is not anywhere near current tech, I don't reckon this will break the movie for you, if otherwise you liked it. It is really low and has me still wondering how there are still more of these to come ... Part 5 is confirmed for 2017

Sharknado 4 (2016)

** (out of 4)

The fourth film in the series has a company creating a special shield that has prevented any future sharnados. Unfortuantly when Fin Shepard (Ian Ziering) is in Las Vegas the thing breaks down and soon more killer sharks are flying around.

You know, I remember when the original movie aired on SyFy and there wasn't a bit of hype. The film turned out to be a pretty good movie as far as creature features go but sadly it became a social media hit and the producers used this to promote the next three films. SHARKNADO 4 is pretty much the same thing we saw in the previous movies but this one here goes even further in the social media game by having countless cameos from famous and semi-famous people.

For the most part the film is mildly entertaining and especially the first twenty-minutes in Las Vegas. I thought the film managed to have some fast and fun action and there were some creative shark kills as well. The non-stop parading of cameos was a bit annoying but that was to be expected. The biggest problem with the remaining portion of the film is that there just wasn't anything fresh or original. Ziering and Tara Reid did a decent enough of a job but folks like David Hasselhoff and especially Gary Busey were just wasted.

As most of the readers of my reviews might have noticed, I am a guy with very mixed taste. Not only I watch theater releases and must-see movies but I also watch obscure movies that nobody would ever seek, movies that were popular for a while and then fell into oblivion, and very awful movies. I have a confession: despite my huge knowledge in bad movies I have never seen the previous SHARKNADO entries but watched this one in particular for completing the movies of a particular cast member. Now I can go to the review.

When the movie begins we are told that the Sharknado phenomenon has been stopped by an invention of the Astro-X that also managed to resurrect Colonel Shepard (David Hasseloff). His son Fin travels to Las Vegas for meeting the nephew when suddenly a tornado destroys a shark aquarium and causes a new sharknado that kills various Vegas people, and they gradually become bouldernados (made of boulders), oilnado (made of oil), a firenado (made of flames), a cownado (made of cows), a lightningado (made of lightings) and a nuclearnado after hitting a nuclear plant. April Wexler (Tara Reid), who was transformed in some sort of cyborg thanks to her dad (Gary Busey), goes with Colonel Shepard and the gang for stopping all the nados and freeing the people swallowed by sharks after they are all swallowed by a whale.

The plot, as crazy as might sound, was funny in some points and it didn't made me cringe for the fact that I was watching it. The acting was at times bland (especially by Reid and Steve Guttenberg) and at times ok (by Carrot Top, David Hasseloff, Gary Busey and the late Gilbert Gottfried). The CGI was decent, and the sharks especially were very adorable to look at (except when at the end they are cut open). What was annoying was the dialogue because at times it didn't even make sense, neither some of the actions of the characters.

So it's bad but not that much because it can actually entertain. Perfect watching for killing one and a half hour or for having some laugh at the ineptness of it.

FYI... 4 of the cast members of this (Tara Reid, Bo Derek, Carrot Top and Gary Busey) put me likes on my comments on their posts on Instagram since November 2022. Perhaps they read my review and thought I liked it just for them, who knows?

The Sharknado movies are famous for being so bad that they're actually good. This is no longer the case in the fourth one. While I enjoyed the first three, this one is simply so-bad-it's-just... bad.

After I watched this movie, I thought it was alright. A few days later, I was invited to watch it again with someone else. As I thought back, I realized that there was no reason for me to want to watch it again.

I assume that if you are going to watch this movie, you have seen the first three. Therefore, you may know what to expect in a movie of this franchise. The other three are poorly acted and cgi'd, but are very over the top and still fun. However, this was not fun or action-packed like the first three. The deaths were either bland or too over the top to be fun anymore. And this is from a franchise that makes its living off of being over the top. This movie also doesn't seem to have the guts that the other movies have, but I can't get too much into that without spoiling.

Overall, this is not a fun or pleasantly-ridiculous bad movie. It's just a bad movie.

Sharknado 4: The 4th Awakens seemingly had a different tone and atmosphere than the previous films of the series. And the reason for the backlash and criticism is that it is quite different. It isn't as good as the others but it's different in various ways and the writers and team should be applauded for trying something quite different. It's not great but still watchable.

This film felt less like a shark horror comedy and more like an action and superhero film. Enjoyed that this film takes place 5 years after the events of the third film where Tara Reid suffered serious injuries, and although they somewhat remade Tara Reid into a sort of terminator/superhero figure, it was over the top but different.

It moves at a quicker pace yet does feel a little rushed. It is more ridiculous with the inclusions of different type of tornadoes they have merged (we hear "Firenado, Lightningnado, Sandnado"). It is over the top, silly but we come to expect it by now. Overall it really is not that enjoyable, funny or fresh as the previous three but there is still some charm.

As a rewatch 04/30/23' opinions remain same. Some solid moments but overall not very enjoyable.

For this film, we go to Las Vegas. 'Sharknado 4' is the most ambitious entry in the series yet, with some daring stunts and visuals. While most of the visuals are still quite bad, some are actually bloody good. (Some visuals are done bad in such a funny way that they're excellent, and some are so cheaply done, they're highly effective!).

The film really surprised me with some incredible events. They pushed it to the limit on this one. There's not as much shark horror as before, and certainly more plot. There's a lot more action and adventure - and yes, even superhero action! I'm not sure I like April now being a superhero... The film is also getting more futuristic and technologically advanced.

You have to admire the series for its clever satire. We have Steve Guttenberg talking about a spider infestation (Lavalantula). They talk about "following the yellow brick road" (The Wizard of Oz). And "It wouldn't be Texas without a chainsaw massacre." (Texas Chainsaw Massacre, obviously). Then there's the vintage car called Christine. Also, look for clever reference to 'Baywatch', 'Pinocchio', 'Star Wars', 'Star Trek', 'Iron Man', 'Twister', 'The Sword in the Stone', 'Jaws', and many more. This is stuff cult classics are made of. I'm officially a fan of this series.

Screen legends Gary Busey and David Hasselhoff also make appearances. Off course, Ian Ziering is back with his famous chainsaw, and sexy as ever! He is looking mighty fine in those tight white pants...

Just like 'Sharknado 3', the ending reaches absurdity. In general, this was an exciting addition to the franchise... if you don't take it seriously. Then again, this entire series is not to be taken seriously.

Would I watch it again? Probably, yes.

It's been 5 years since the last Sharknado, Fin and his family are enjoying the tranquillity of Las Vegas, what could go wrong?! I'll tell you what... another Sharknado attack!

A re-re-re-re-hash of the other films, just in a different place, with different people, and different stunts and deaths.

More amusing than then last film in the series but getting a bit old now. There were some outright ludicrous moments in the film and some dodgy cameos. If you are working your way through the series rejoice because it's another 'no brainer' film you can stare at. If you are reading this with a view to watching your first Sharknado movie then rest assured that you won't need to watch the others before or after this.

7 out of 10.

Why would we ever want this to end? They can keep making Sharknado movies until the end of time, and I'll keep watching.

These movies are hilarious. They set out to be ridiculously bad, and they succeed spectacularly. And that makes them great. Honestly, how many movies do you see that are exactly what they're trying to be? Maybe one a year.

You know why Sharknado movies will always be good? Because they've totally abandoned all pretense. It's silly fun, for fun's sake. Grab a few beers and frickin' watch this.

Sharknado: 4th Awakens is a comedy science fiction horror film and is the fourth film in the Sharknado series.

Tells about a few years after the sharknado incident in the film before, fin shepard was invited to las vegas because of his services he could eradicate the sharknado, but Sharknado came back again, Fin Must save the whole family he could save everything ???

This film is very funny, silly and stupid but entertaining

The first two 'Sharknado' movies were not great and had a lot wrong with them, but they were guilty pleasure fun as long as not taken seriously. 'Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!' however was a let-down, it lacks the fun and charm of the first two as a result of being too self-aware and trying far too hard, really wanted to not take this seriously and view it as a guilty pleasure but it was just too amateurish and tired.

With 'Sharknado 4: The 4th Awakens', the amateurish-ness and fatigue are multiplied and highly indicative of that despite starting off in guilty pleasure fashion the novelty has worn off and well thin now. The previous film may have lacked charm, fun and energy, though the fun came in occasionally, but 'Sharknado 4: The 4th Awakens' is completely devoid of all three and has so many other things wrong too. Even when one tries to take it for what it's trying to be, which it manages to fail at.

Ian Ziering is likable and charismatic in the lead role, he plays it straight but still looks like he's having fun with the role. There is some nice scenery, an energetic and eerie music score and some of the references are fun and inspired, when they aren't being over obvious or dumb.

Very little else works. Tara Reid continues to be unspeakably awful, her facial expressions look so expressionless and very forced in the few times she tries, her line delivery is mechanical and she constantly looks ill at ease. The dizzying amount of cameos and the quality of them are nowhere near as entertaining as in the first two outings, not just the too deadpan approach but also that they're poorly written and feel too random and brief. Some also downright irritating, especially Jedward whose "annoying factor" from their joke act 'X Factor' days has not changed a bit. David Hasselhoff didn't seem comfortable and neither did Gary Busey.

Even for low-budget, 'Sharknado 4' is very shoddy stuff. The scenery is pretty good but the film is shot in a very rushed-looking and drab way, editing is sloppy as well as choppy and the shark special effects are typical dreadfully artificial Asylum/SyFy fare. Regarding the shark attacks and death scenes (none being good enough to even reach "reasonably fun" level), that the sharks have little personality let alone menace hurts them and even more so the unintentional silliness comes at the expense of thrills and suspense, which are nowhere in sight, and gets tiresome. The film is directed flatly, the energy and enthusiasm in the pacing is missing and there are too many cardboard characters that are difficult to give a toss about. The first two films had some great funny lines, but the script here contains nothing remotely amusing or memorable and instead feels stale and tiresomely cheesy.

'Sharknado 4' is even more of a pale retread than the third film, with very little maintaining interest and instead having numerous scenes leading nowhere It's further not helped by trying too hard being dopey fun and in the process taking itself too seriously at times that any life is sucked out, then including new ideas, like the different kinds of "nados", intended to be fresh but are just cheap and ridiculous.

Overall, a less than extravagant awakening and feels tired. 3/10 Bethany Cox

F*ck you Sharknado. This movie insults you, it's very existence is proof that a production company, a cable television channel, whatever shadowy Money investing in these movies- they all think you are stupid. Oh? You don't believe me? Did you see this movie? Yeah, it just insulted you. For like an hour and twenty-five minutes Sharknado: The Fourth Awakens, is insulting you, did you not f*cking notice? Are you cool with that? The people who made this movie assumed you were foolish enough to be satisfied with this meager film, the appropriate analogy would involve being served a sh*t sandwich by someone who genuinely thinks you deserve to eat a sh*t sandwich. Hey, dude, you DON'T deserve to have to eat a sh*t sandwich.

Honestly, why are they doing these movies still? Like, there's doing over the top for fun then there's just over the hill.