We can’t get our fill of sharks
These over-the-top scenes say a mouthful.
Rainn Wilson had an audacious idea for filmmakers when he joined the cast of “The Meg,” the movie featuring a giant prehistoric megalodon shark wreaking havoc on humans.
“I said, ‘You have to have a scene where the shark jumps out of the water and bites a helicopter,’ “Wilson says. “And they said, ‘Nope, it’s been done.’ I was like, ‘No way!’ “
Yes way. Sharks in movies are truly primo predators who have nailed classic movie scenes so over the top they would make Arnold Schwarzenegger blush.
As “The Meg” swims in theaters among box office leaders, here are our favorite shark screen moments:
5. A shark sinks a nuclear submarine with its nose in ‘The Meg’ (and that’s just the first scene)
From the film’s first moments, Jason Statham’s deep-sea diver Jonas Taylor knows he’s got the mother of all killer sharks on his hands. Rescuing the crew of a mysteriously disabled nuclear sub, Taylor finds the vessel is under attack by a powerful force that leaves noseshaped indentations in the steel hull.
Yes, our 75-foot megalodon shark makes his introduction in grand style, head-butting and sinking a nuclear sub with brute force. Babe, you got style.
4. Shark eats helicopter in ‘Jaws 2’
Shark movies were a pretty new concept in 1978. So you can understand why a Harbor Patrol helicopter pilot in “Jaws 2” would make the fatal mistake of landing his bird in infested waters to save a crew of stranded sailboaters stalked by a deadly shark.
The beast barely even had to jump to scuttle this poorly-thought-out rescue plan. (Was the pilot really going to drag a bunch of sailboats to shore?)
The rescued boaters’ applause turns into screams as the shark bites into the landing gear. It gnaws on the bird until it’s pulled into the water, sending bits of propeller everywhere. A confirmed helicopter shark kill.
3. Jaws gets revenge sinking Michael Caine’s plane
A shark sinking a plane piloted by Sir Michael Caine? Get the bloody hell out of here! In 1987’s “Jaws: The Revenge,” Caine’s pilot Hoagie tries to save stranded boater Ellen Brody (Lorraine Gary), widow of “Jaws” Police Chief Martin Brody, after she’s hunted all the way to the Caribbean by a hacked-off great white.
As Hoagie lands on water perfectly for the rescue, he’s warned that the shark will be attracted to the plane’s electromagnetic impulses.
But he still is shocked, giving a classic curse when the great white rears its head and clamps (or mounts) the floating plane. Another vehicle meant to fly goes to a watery death.
Caine insists he has never watched the film. Hard to blame him. There’s enough to worry in air travel without visualizing a shark-sinking.
2. Shark cuts Samuel L. Jackson speech short by eating him
No one cuts off Samuel L. Jackson when he’s giving a movie speech. In 1999’s “Deep Blue Sea,” Jackson’s Russell Franklin gives rousing words to a demoralized crew under attack by deadly, hyper-intelligent sharks.
As the inspirational music swells, a shark finds its opening, jumps through a hole in the vessel and pulls Franklin into the water. End of story.
It’s Wilson’s favorite shark screen moment, “They don’t give a (damn) about inspirational speeches, even from Samuel L. Jackson,” he says.
1. Shark pirate-boards the Orca boat in ‘Jaws’
The top thriller moment goes to the movie that started all the water fear: Steven Spielberg’s 1975 classic “Jaws.” The hunted great white brings down the Orca, the boat sent out to bring back its carcass.
In the climactic attack, the shark leaps onto the crippled vessel and starts snapping those teeth until hardened seaman Quint (Robert Shaw) slides screaming across the slippery deck into the creature’s mouth.