CREDIT: THE ASYLUM
Sharknado 2 caused a big splash when it premiered July 30th, 2014.

Sharknado 2: The Second One (2014)

Unless you have been in solitary confinement over the past year (which studies show only 28 per cent of the readers of this column have been), you have heard of the Sharknado phenomenon. In July of 2013, Sharknado premiered on the ScyFy network in the U.S., and took social media by storm.

The love story starred Ian Zeiring (Beverly Hills, 90210) and Tara Reid (American Pie) as a divorced pair brought together during a major weather catastrophe. Namely, a sharknado, which is exactly what it sounds like.

Flash forward one year, and cinephiles were blessed once again with the premiere of Sharknado 2: The Second One. This remarkable film is a rare sequel that blows the original out of the water, much like a shark being lifted up by a tornado.

The opening moments are simply epic. Fin (Zeiring) and April (Reid) are on a plane to New York. We learn that April has penned a book about their previous sharknado exploits in California.

The flight takes a turn for the worse when another sharknado occurs, causing sharks to be propelled into the plane, decapitating a flight attendant (Kelly Osbourne), and forcing Fin to safely land the aircraft.

I know what you are thinking — do the creators of this film really expect us to buy Tara Reid playing a character that could write a book? Clearly this is escapist entertainment, so don't give little issues like that too much thought.

Having landed in The Big Apple relatively in one piece, Fin must meet up with his sister, her husband (Sugar Ray frontman Mark McGrath) and their children, and warn them of the impending disaster.

This leads to an incredible instance at a New York Mets game, where Fin arrives shortly before sharks came raining down on the field. It is amazing to think that up until 1947, African American players weren't even permitted to grace a major league diamond, and here we are are less than seven decades later and sharks are all over Citi Field.

Needless to say, this was the only exciting baseball moment I have witnessed since Joe Carter hit his World Series winning homerun back in 1993.

The next hour of this film are filled with chaos and cameos galore. Luminaries such as Andy Dick, Al Roker, Matt Lauer, Billy Ray Cyrus, pro wrestler Kurt Angle, Kelly Ripa and FUBU founder/Shark Tank judge Daymond John all stop in and join the fun. This is not only an outstanding motion picture; it is also a casting call for future installments of Celebrity Apprentice.

Sharknado 2: The Second One is a fun and thrilling ride from start to finish. From the opening moments on the plane, to perhaps the most romantic moment in movie history at the very end, Sharknado 2 left this viewer and millions more counting down the days until the already announced premiere of Sharknado 3.

It is too early to know what to expect, but I see Carrot Top, Mr. T, Vanilla Ice and a mother load of sharks in the forecast.