My History With the Film:
2010’s Piranha 3D was some of the most fun I ever had watching a 3D movie. It was a fun film that made good use of the 3D. A couple years later, a sequel was released and from the trailers you could tell it wasn’t quite as high of quality as the first film.
It took me eight years, but I finally watched Piranha 3DD.
What The Film Is About (Non-Spoiler):
A small town and water park are attacked my killer piranhas.
Things I Liked About It:
-I was surprised by the cast when I watched this. I didn’t see Piranha 3DD until 2020 and had no idea who all was in it. Danielle Panabaker (Maddy) known for her role in The Flash and Friday the 13th (2019). Matt Bush (Barry) is recognizable from The Goldbergs. Katrina Bowden (Shelby) is one of my favorites, she was in Tucker and Dale vs. Evil. David Koechner (Chet) is always fantastic and there are appearances by David Hasselhoff, Christopher Lloyd, and Ving Rhames. This is a cast of people who I really enjoy watching and that probably made this film more palatable for me.
-I knew what to expect in Piranha 3DD having seen the first film, and I got exactly that. More nudity, more gore, and a weaker script. Still, it’s a fun movie that doesn’t intentionally try to be a bad film like Sharknado and I respect that. That’s not to say it’s a good film however.
-Similar to the first film, there is an epic finale that really is a lot of fun to watch.
-I’m not a big fan of celebrity cameo parts, but the David Hasslehoff stuff wasn’t too bad.
Things I Did Not Like About It:
-The movie runs a little long, especially since it’s so short on actual plot. There is just too much dead time between action moments and it made this film a chore to get through.
-One character, Kyle is just so annoying I almost wanted to turn the film off.
-The CGI was very hit and miss in this film. I think I would have preferred to see less piranha and more blood if the CGI was going to look so bad in spots.
-95% of it’s box office take was made overseas.
-At the height of it’s US release it was only playing in 75 theaters nationwide.
-A Chihuahua was used for the piranha growls.
Rating:
You go into a movie like Piranha 3DD knowing what you are getting. The first Piranha was a fun movie with some great gore, lots of over-the-top use of 3D, and beautiful women. Piranha 3DD is more of the same, with a less talented director, a weaker script, and lower budget. I enjoyed it, but you have to know what you are going into.
Piranha 3DD reminds me a lot of all those low budget teen comedies released straight to DVD that featured tons of adult humor. They were certainly not very memorable but they were a fun way to spend ninety minutes. Piranha 3DD is very much the same. If you are looking for something a bit higher class and definitely a better film, then watch the first film Piranha 3D Alexandra Aja directed in 2010.
I rate Piranha 3DD a two out of five and say skip it.