Immediately after Sharknado originally aired on the SyFy network, my zombie mentor urged me to see it. On one hand, he was right about the zombie thing long before The Walking Dead hit the airwaves. On the other hand, I didn’t have cable; life is short; and my various queues are enormous. Prioritizing Sharknado seemed silly. I never dismissed the movie, but I also would not make it happen. If it was supposed to happen, it would be easy, and it actually was. It came to my attention that the first five movies of six Sharknado movies could be streamed on Netflix so I added them to my queue. Then I watched The Meg, which did not hit the spot. I decided to rewatch Jaws, which was great….of course. (Spielberg killed a kid.) Sharknado just seemed thematically right, but two weeks earlier, I noticed that it was going to expire on New Year’s Day. I realized it was now or never, but I did not do what I normally do—schedule it with my other commitments. It did not rise to that level of concern. On December 30, 2018, it suddenly became very urgent to accomplish a task that I had planned to do in February: reorganize my unread bookshelves. This franchise is the perfect multitasking tool.

Sharknado 2: The Second One is the best movie in the Sharknado franchise. It unfolds in Manhattan. After the success of the first movie, it is obvious that everyone wants a bite at appearing in this franchise, but this installment is the only one that nails casting and expands the scope of the original to enhance it instead of at the expense of its core attraction, Fin Shepard played by Ian Zierling. Teaming Mark McGrath with Zierling really worked, and I’m disappointed that we never get to see them as a shark-fighting duo again because they had real buddy chemistry. McGrath has an everyman quality that makes him relatable in such a fantastic setting. The Batman and Robin references were plausible. Going back to the Shepard family origins and introducing his sister’s family worked for me plus it added four more characters to the mythology without feeling flimsy and extraneous.

I know that I’m biased because I’m a born and bred New Yorker, but setting Sharknado 2: The Second One in New York makes it goofier, well-meaning, all inclusive patriotic than jingoistic. It is like the Sony take on Spider-Man. They may not be satisfying movies, but they’re surprisingly uplifting. Robert Klein plays the Mayor complete with an inspirational speech from Shepard with his trusty chain saw. Setting scenes in the sewers and subway stations were brilliant, especially since it alludes to urban legends and other creature feature movies such as Alligator, which is actually set in Chicago. Also because it is set in New York, you get a lot of TV personalities like Al Roker, which make it simultaneously feel more real and ridiculous (except Matt Lauer, but I hated him before it was cool since PM Magazine, so I’m not going to hold it against the movie for not being as discerning as I was when I was an infant).

By adding Vivica A. Fox and Judd Hirsch, Sharknado 2: The Second One feels like a spoof of great movies such as Independence Day, Airplane, The Natural, The Avengers and TV shows such as The Twilight Zone: Nightmare at 20,000 Feet. It unofficially feels like they just picked up where they left off, especially Hirsch, who always drives a cab. Fox gets to wield a slingshot and a sword. Hirsch gets to say, “You don’t want to go to Jersey,” which is so New York and true! No one ever wants to go to NJ! They play their characters so earnestly it manages to elevate the movie a skosh.

There are some neat self-deprecating cameos from Shark Tank’s Daymond John and Perez Hilton, but some don’t age so well—I’m looking at you, Jared Fogle. If you do dirt, you should really keep a low profile. Still looking at you, Matt Lauer! Biz Markie and Pepa of Salt N Pepa try their hand at acting. Tara Reid is largely limited to the bookends of Sharknado 2: The Second One, which is the best way to utilize her talents. There is so much family, and no one tries to visit her at the hospital. Still by reinventing her character and embracing the women kick ass ethos of the Sharknado franchise, Reid’s character began to find her footing in this installment.

Sharknado 2: The Second One is definitely my favorite one in the franchise to date. It manages to balance the ridiculous and the real in a fun way without feeling insulting or basic. It is a masterful B-movie that jumps the shark without being groan-worthy. Bravo!