‘Sharknado’ Should Be Listed Among the Best Shark Movies Ever, Right?

I was nearly 10 years old and headed on vacation with my family to Wildwood on the Jersey shore when the movie “Jaws” was released.

I spent the next week arguing with my parents that the hotel pool was way better than the ocean. It didn’t work and so I spent a miserable week playing on the scorching sand instead of the surf. I’m sure we all have our “Jaws” stories and our “I’m never swimming in the ocean again” periods of our lives.

“Jaws” is widely recognized and accepted as one of the best films of all time but also, by far, the best shark movie of all time. In fact, Vulture ranks the top shark movies other than “Jaws.” But what exactly is it about “Jaws” that makes it one of the few things critics and fans can agree on?

For me, the terror of the movie begins with the very first scene. That’s when Florida actress Susan Backlinie ― who by the way used to work as a mermaid at Weeki Wachee Springs State Park ― decided to go for a swim just before sunrise. You didn’t even need to see a shark to get scared out of your wits by the jarring way her body was pulled under the water time and again. Finally, the unseen shark then sends her speeding to her death. It might be one of the best ever starts to a movie.

So, when I decided to rank my top five shark movies of all-time, I knew “Jaws” would top the list. I did a little research and found some very cool and odd facts. The producers of the movie actually wanted to train a great white shark for the film. Luckily they were talked out of that preposterous idea before crew members started losing limbs. Apparently, the great Charlton Heston wanted the role of Sheriff Brody, but director Steven Spielberg felt he was too much of a star and cast Roy Scheider instead.

Other fun facts are that Robert Shaw (Quint) and Richard Dreyfuss (Hooper) had a contentious relationship during the filming and the fact that Fidel Castro was apparently a huge fan of the film.

So, without further ado, here are my favorite five shark movies in order. You are bound to disagree and I’d love to hear from you.

1. “Jaws,” 1975

As mentioned above, this movie is considered a classic in any genre and is considered the best shark film hands down. The movie was so good that the pitch for the movie “Alien” was supposedly given as “Jaws in Space.”

2. “Sharknado,” 2013

The premise is so ludicrous that my wife and I had to tune in to watch the SYFY Network original movie. Yep, in case you haven’t seen it, the title says it all. Imagine a water spout so powerful it is able to lift hundreds ― if not thousands ― of sharks from the ocean and deposit them in Los Angeles where the storm floods roads and releases the very angry and always hungry sharks just about everywhere.

This film is fun and hilarious and much better than I expected. I mean, what’s not to love about a movie where a tornado drops sharks off at a retirement home pool just in time to devour senior citizens doing water aerobics? It probably helps to have a few cocktails while watching.

3. “Shark Tale,” 2004

I’m a sucker for fun animated films and I always felt “Shark Tale” was funnier and edgier than its Disney counterpart “Finding Nemo.” “Shark Tale” features the witticisms of pre-slap Will Smith playing a wrasse that gets in trouble with the great white shark mob boss played by Robert DeNiro. But the best plot line has to do with a huge great white shark named Lenny who is a vegetarian! Lenny, played by the incredible Jack Black, steals the movie.

4. “Soul Surfer,” 2011

You won’t find this movie on everyone’s shark list because, well, really it’s a film about faith and resilience and the triumph of the human spirit. The film is based on the true story of surfer Bethany Hamilton and how she lost her left arm to a tiger shark attack in Hawaii.

The movie is inspiring, beautiful to look at, features a scary shark scene and awesome surfing sequences. But another factor that put this movie in my top five shark flicks is the fact that my daughter ― not someone to ever watch a movie more than once ― will sit and watch “Soul Surfer” whenever it’s on.

5. “Under Paris,” 2024

This Netflix original is brand-spanking new. When I first watched the trailer, I expected another “Sharknado”-type of film. After all, the premise is a shark who enters the Paris catacombs by way of the Seine.

But the movie, to its credit, takes itself seriously enough to make this work as a straight drama that slowly gets more scary and more wacky as it develops. A new species of shark has evolved due to climate change, pollution, and other ecological disasters. It threatens to wreak havoc in the oceans if allowed to escape the Seine. But the key is whether our protagonists can get this done before 1,000 swimmers participating in a triathlon enter the waters.

Honorable mentions

You might be wondering where movies like “Open Water,” “The Shallows,” and “The Reef” are on my list. While I did enjoy them, I found them to be too similar to each other. There you have it. Enjoy the summer and be wary of our sharp-toothed friends.

By the way, my parents did buy me a rad “Jaws” T-shirt to commemorate our vacation. I loved that shirt.

Source: Florida Today