Jaws 2 (A- or 3.5/4 stars)
Just when audiences thought it was safe to go back into the water, the appropriately titled 'Jaws 2' arrives without Steven Spielberg & carries with it a troubled production; not unlike its predecessor. 'Jaws 2' is nowhere near as good as Jaws - but then, that film is a masterpiece. In truth, while a lot of the Spielberg magic is gone here, what remains is still a highly entertaining film by any other standards. It has decent shark action, suspense, & a pretty intense climax, to boot.
Roy Scheider returns as Chief Brody, whose New England resort town of Amity is ready to bounce back from the hardships it encountered after becoming known as the site of vicious shark attacks. But at the same time that the Mayor (Murray Hamilton) is welcoming a real estate developer to Amity, 2 divers disappear & a couple of water skiers are consumed by a shark. The incidents are explained away as accidents, but Brody knows better by now, dipping his bullets with cyanide & forbidding his sons Mike & Sean (Mark Gruner, Marc Gilpin) to participate in a teen sailing excursion. The teens foolishly chalk up Brody's fears to trauma-induced paranoia. The race moves forward as planned ... but little do they know that a huge Great White trails them & wants to hungrily devour them 1 by 1.
I love that this film divides it's time so well btwn. Chief Brody & the teens who wind up sailing on the open seas. Chief Brody is given plenty of character building scenes that involve both his workplace & his family. As for the teens, the movie sets up Tina Wilcox (crowned Miss Amity Island in the opening scene & well performed by Jill Dusenberry) as the lead teen who she serves as a vehicle through which awful things are witnessed, including a water-skiing/boating incident & a dead orca whale that had an encounter with the Great White shark. I like the whole idea of us following this one teen (amid the rest), but the idea doesn't evolve or go anywhere, really. See, the script isn't the strongest, here; it's somewhat disjointed in how it brings the characters (Brody & the teens) together for the climax.
I DID like how the original film turned the hunter (shark) into the hunted, and yet in this film ... the last Act revolves around the shark stalking the teens who have become stranded in their sailboats in the middle of the sea. In other words, 'Jaws 2' is modeled like your typical slasher movie if you think about it. The idea is terrifying. For the most part, new director Jeannot Szwarc handles this very well; as the scenes are incredibly tense & dynamic. By crosscutting scenes among the teens, Chief Brody, & the officials' efforts to rescue them all, Szwarc works up enough dread & suspense to keep the adrenaline going.
While it's not as stylish or well-executed as Jaws, this film still delivers GREAT thrills at sea {I was petrified for the teens as they drifted along the ocean, hopeful that the shark would not return for the next victim}. Roy Scheider impressed me by delivering a fairly complex performance; becoming a ferocious, paranoid wreck as the shark attacks pile up {his lifeguard scene at the beach is riveting}. The production values are stellar (editing, sets, sound). And John Williams returns with a musical score that sounds similar to the original film, yet stands alone on its own, as well. In the wake of Jaws, this film is about as good as could be hoped for.
Roy Scheider returns as Chief Brody, whose New England resort town of Amity is ready to bounce back from the hardships it encountered after becoming known as the site of vicious shark attacks. But at the same time that the Mayor (Murray Hamilton) is welcoming a real estate developer to Amity, 2 divers disappear & a couple of water skiers are consumed by a shark. The incidents are explained away as accidents, but Brody knows better by now, dipping his bullets with cyanide & forbidding his sons Mike & Sean (Mark Gruner, Marc Gilpin) to participate in a teen sailing excursion. The teens foolishly chalk up Brody's fears to trauma-induced paranoia. The race moves forward as planned ... but little do they know that a huge Great White trails them & wants to hungrily devour them 1 by 1.
I love that this film divides it's time so well btwn. Chief Brody & the teens who wind up sailing on the open seas. Chief Brody is given plenty of character building scenes that involve both his workplace & his family. As for the teens, the movie sets up Tina Wilcox (crowned Miss Amity Island in the opening scene & well performed by Jill Dusenberry) as the lead teen who she serves as a vehicle through which awful things are witnessed, including a water-skiing/boating incident & a dead orca whale that had an encounter with the Great White shark. I like the whole idea of us following this one teen (amid the rest), but the idea doesn't evolve or go anywhere, really. See, the script isn't the strongest, here; it's somewhat disjointed in how it brings the characters (Brody & the teens) together for the climax.
I DID like how the original film turned the hunter (shark) into the hunted, and yet in this film ... the last Act revolves around the shark stalking the teens who have become stranded in their sailboats in the middle of the sea. In other words, 'Jaws 2' is modeled like your typical slasher movie if you think about it. The idea is terrifying. For the most part, new director Jeannot Szwarc handles this very well; as the scenes are incredibly tense & dynamic. By crosscutting scenes among the teens, Chief Brody, & the officials' efforts to rescue them all, Szwarc works up enough dread & suspense to keep the adrenaline going.
While it's not as stylish or well-executed as Jaws, this film still delivers GREAT thrills at sea {I was petrified for the teens as they drifted along the ocean, hopeful that the shark would not return for the next victim}. Roy Scheider impressed me by delivering a fairly complex performance; becoming a ferocious, paranoid wreck as the shark attacks pile up {his lifeguard scene at the beach is riveting}. The production values are stellar (editing, sets, sound). And John Williams returns with a musical score that sounds similar to the original film, yet stands alone on its own, as well. In the wake of Jaws, this film is about as good as could be hoped for.