Imagine Dragons Drop Most Las Vegas Video, Ever, for “Sharks”

By Scott Roeben, on June 24 2022
4 min read 5 comments
Las Vegas

Vegas-born Imagine Dragons have outdone themselves this time.

The group’s new single, “Sharks,” contains wall-to-wall Vegas and climaxes with the group’s lead singer, Dan Reynolds, surfing the fountains at Bellagio.

Let’s bite into this sweet new music video from Imagine Dragons!

Yeah, we probably should’ve said “spoiler alert.”

“Sharks” starts with a hero shot of Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders, and just gets more Vegas from there.

We’re finally getting some return for our taxpayer dollars!

The video jumps right into a casino and it appears the Imagine Dragons crew are pulling off some type of “Ocean’s Eleven”-type heist.

Which has always sort of bothered us. “Ocean’s Eleven” included Danny Ocean, which doesn’t track. The 11 included himself? So, the movie really should’ve been called “Ocean’s 10.” And don’t get us started on why Brad Pitt’s character removed his SWAT team mask in full view of all those casino cameras.

Moving on!

“Ocean’s Three.” Or possibly two.

One of the guys poses as a barista to drug a casino security guard (do not actually do this, it’s just a music video), then there’s a diversion in the casino, where an accomplice tosses her chips into the air, causing chaos. If this sounds familiar, that’s because it’s a nod to “Casino.” The chip thrower in “Casino,” of course, was Sharon Stone.

How deep does your Vegas knowledge go? Note the guy looking directly into the camera, a violation of the first rule of movie acting. Who else did that? Ali Pirouzkar, who played the high roller in the Sharon Stone scene in “Casino.”

Reynolds slips into Bellagio’s back-of-house and dons a name tag we’re sure has some significance we’re missing rather than just being a dick joke.

Yeah, we watched this video far too man times.

Then Dan Reynolds, sorry, Dick Dark, rides in an umbrella boat at “O” for some reason.

Bellagio: “Yes, you can surf on our fountains, but you have to plug our Cirque show. Deal?”

Reynolds roams around aimlessly backstage at “O” for a bit, and gets into an elevator. We’re pretty sure the clowns are in on it.

The clowns from “O” are Leonid and Valery. That will win you a bar bet someday.

It’s at this juncture where we realize we haven’t shared the video yet, so let’s do that.


 

After his random Cirque umbrella ride, Dan Reynolds then moves through some laser beams, an obvious homage to possibly one of the greatest sequences in cinematic history, Catherine Zeta Jones doing the same in “Entrapment.” Or maybe the scene was inspired by “Oceans Twelve,” a movie so terrible it can be used (wait for it) as a shark repellant.

Catherine Zeta-Jones was in “Ocean’s Twelve.” Ah, the circularity of the universe.

Then Reynolds (or his character) cruises through Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay. Well, that’s where the aquarium really is. For the purposes of the “Sharks” video, the aquarium is supposed to be under the Bellagio fountains. For some reason. Let’s not get bogged down in plot inconsistencies or we’ll miss out on the fun.

Baby sharks, still in their eggs, can sense danger even before being born.

A little on the nose, but you can’t do a song called “Sharks” without some sharks.

We were disappointed Reynolds didn’t do the slide through the shark tank at Golden Nugget, but we can’t have everything.

Reynolds makes his way into the bowels of the aquarium where he sees a “Do Not Pull” sign.

Same sign used in seminaries, we understand.

He immediately pulls the lever, of course.

How would one release all the sharks in a shark aquarium if there weren’t a lever to do so? Um, hello.

This mysterious act of sabotage is quickly followed by some kick-ass drone flying over the Las Vegas Strip. We don’t know who the drone pilot was, but Drew Kirsch directed the “Sharks” video, so props.

Whee, or whatever the kids are saying now.

The camera takes us from the top of the Eiffel Tower and swoops across the street to the Bellagio fountains where Reynolds is, naturally, surfing.

Today we learned there are motorized surfboards.

But he’s not just surfing the Bellagio fountains. He’s surfing the shark-infested waters of the Bellagio fountains!

Finally, a way to keep boneheads from jumping into the Bellagio fountains.

See, when Reynolds pulled the lever at Mandalay Bay’s aquarium, it released sharks into the Bellagio fountains.

Look, it doesn’t make any less sense than Bellagio, Mirage and MGM Grand sharing a vault, so just go with it.

The “Sharks” video is a fun mash-up, part heist, part hijinks, part whimsy and a metric hell-ton of Las Vegas.

Reynolds says “Sharks” has a “dark narrative,” as it asserts “the world is filled with sharks.”

He says the song is self-reflection, asking, “But how can you judge, because how many times have you been a shark?”

To keep the upbeat tone going, he says, “Death happens, and the world is filled with selfish people, but is there a way to kind of almost laugh at that, because it is inevitable?”

Speak for yourself, Dan Reynolds. Bloggers are immortal.

Props to the CGI folks, too. That’s a lot of sharks.

Of “Sharks,” Reynolds says, “I love the juxtaposition on songs that are dark, but also maybe a little funny, ironic or self-aware.”

We are a big fan of juxtaposition, humor, irony and self-awareness, so “Sharks” checks all the boxes.

Calling out hypocrisy is a winning theme, too.

The more you listen, the catchier “Sharks” is, and the Vegas-rich video is a big bonus.

“Sharks” is officially now among our favorite Las Vegas videos of all time, along with I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For from U2, The Man from The Killers, Heartless from The Weeknd, Waking Up in Vegas from Katy Perry, 24K Magic from Bruno Mars and On My Mind from Ellie Goulding.

Yes, there are many more. We have to get back to watching a dude surfing the Bellagio fountains.

Thanks for making Las Vegas look as cool as it is, Imagine Dragons. Now, put the sharks back.