Jaws 2

Rating:
Summary: Jaws Sequel
Review: When Jaws was released in 1975, it became an instant box office hit and grew into a cultural phenomenon. It was only a matter of time before the Universal released a sequel. Jaws 2 was released in 1978 and while it predictably did not live up to the original in terms of quality and box office success, taken on its own, it is a great film. Roy Scheider gives a stellar performance as Chief Martin Brody. Still disturbed by the events from the first movie, Chief Brody slowly unravels as the signs of another shark invading Amity start showing up. Again, the powers that be in Amity refuse to believe that they have a shark problem on their hands. Brody reaches a breaking point when he snaps on a crowded beach and starts shooting up the water when he thinks he sees a shark and is fired as a result of the incident. Mr. Scheider perfectly conveys the sense of a man who has finally been beaten by the system. Meanwhile, his two sons, Mike & Sean and a bunch of their friends are out day sailing when the shark hunts them down and starts attacking. There is a good deal of suspense in these scenes leading up to the climatic showdown between Brody and the shark. The sequel is definitely more violent and bloodier than the first one. Jaws 2 is not in the class of Jaws, which is one of the best movies ever made, but it is still a highly entertaining movie.

Rating:
Summary: An Underrated Film; Not "Godfather II" but Well-Made, Acted
Review: This film was the first sequel to the classic "Jaws" and so was inevitably compared to it. However, it is unfair to compare this to the original and not give it a chance on its own merits.

I was 11 when I saw "Jaws" and 14 when I saw "Jaws 2". I knew it had been made mostly because the original was so successful, but even at 14 I wanted to see it in part at least, for what it might have to offer. I was not disappointed. Granted, it was not directed by Spielberg, but I think Jeannot Swarc did a more than competent job.

Roy Scheider, Lorraine Gay and Murray Hamilton reprise their roles and give very good performances, as good as in the original film. I thought the shark effects were good. The shark does not look fake.

Maybe they show the shark a little more than Spielberg did, perhaps a bit too much, but the scenes where the shark attacks are well staged and convincing. The water-skiing scene is terrifying; makes you think about skiing on the ocean! Even the much debated helicopter scene. It was well staged and it's pretty scary. I don't think it's implausible with a shark that big, but that's all I will say about that.

I was not bothered by the focus being on Chief Brody's sons and their friends going out on sailboats during most of the movie's second half. What's wrong with that? There is a sort of rivalry between Murray Hamilton's son in the film, Larry Vaughn Jr, and Mike Brody that I thought was interesting and at least rings true. Larry is the rich mayor's son; Mike is the Chief of Police's son who has to work during the summer; both are young, good looking kids, interested in the same pretty girls. The scenes with the boats play into that.

Ok, so maybe Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw are not here, but remember that Shaw's character was killed; Dreyfuss probably had better things to do after winning his Oscar for "Goodbye Girl", or perhaps simply wasn't interested, but I'm thinking, maybe it would be too easy to just bring the Dreyfuss character back. I think it makes at least some sense that this time Brody is on his own. At least he has some idea of what he's dealing with.

As far as the "Jaws" movies that followed this one, all I can say is, if someone thinks "Jaws 2" isn't at least worth watching (and it is a lot more than just worth watching! ), you should see the other ones; (NOT!) both "Jaws III" and "Jaws 4" are awful (Michael Cane missed picking up his first Oscar in person because he was filming "Jaws 4". He was wasted in that film. He should have gone to the Oscars, finished the film, and fired his agent.). Fair warning.

This may not be the "greatest sequel ever made", but like "Damien: Omen II", it is a worthy sequel to a classic film; it has a good cast, good performances, it is well made, it is entertaining, and yes, scary.

As a film collector, I am more than happy to include this film in my library next to its classic predecessor.

Rating:
Summary: Doesn't Come Close to Original, but What Film Does?
Review: After the blockbuster, record breaking success of the original Jaws, it would seem any sequel would be doomed to failure. Well, this sequel made quite a bit of money for the studio, however critics bashed it left and right.
Let's look at the most obvious reason. Without Dreyfuss and Shaw, we are left with Schieder and a bunch of teenagers who are barely able to act (with the exception of Keith Gordon later of "Dressed to Kill").
Next: the story. The town is still not capable of believing Schieder's shark alert after the events of the first film? Also, there is a lot of unnecessary filler, like the dedication of the new hotel. The script also picks at Sheriff Brody, making him a drunk when he's under pressure.
The saving grace of the film is the abundance of effects. The director wisely realized that since his actors are weak, he must shift focus onto the shark, which is seen a lot more in part 2. The shark is scarred by a fire early on in the film. It's as if producers wanted us to know this is a different shark than the one used in the first film.
The film is basically geared toward a younger audience. There is less blood, less dialogue, and more action.
Jaws 2 can't touch the original, but it's far better than the countless imitations that followed.

Rating:
Summary: Not as good as the original, but still an excellent film
Review: When Jaws hit theaters in 1975, it was an instant success. It wasn't long before it became the highest-grossing motion picture of all time, being the first so exceeed the hundred million dollar mark (though this record was quickly outdone by Star Wars two years later.) With Jaws bringing in so much cash, it seemed only natural that a sequel be recorded. But how does the sequel measure up? Read on for my review of Jaws 2.

BASIC PLOT:
A few years have passed since the events of the first film. During a diving expedition to the wreckage of the Orca (Quint's boat from the first film), a shark attacks the divers. Police Chief Brody becomes convinced that another great white is lurking in the waters around Amity when he discovers a camera from the doomed diving expedition, a murdered whale, and the remains of a woman. In a foolish attempt to get rid of what he thinks is the shark, he is fired from his job as police chief. Meanwhile, his two sons sneak off with some friends to go sailing - unaware of the shark that is lurking in the water beneath them. It's not long before a series of events similar to those in the first film begin to take place - solid proof that history repeats itself.

FILM OPINIONS:
Sure, this isn't as good as the first Jaws film (that one was a MASTERPIECE), but it's still an excellent movie. If you liked the first one, I think you'll like this one too. One of the best things about this movie is that the shark actually looks better than it did in the first film, making most of the events here more believable (though, as another reviewer stated, the helicopter scene is hard to believe no matter what way you look at it.) I really missed Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw (they brought so much to the first film), but Roy Schieder's acting here is still top-notch.

DVD:
Don't be expecting a full-blown anniversary collector's edition DVD like what Universal did with the first movie. Extras are, sadly, virtually nonexistant here (other than the very basic DVD stuff.)

OVERALL:
Overall I feel this was a great follow-up to one of the greatest motion pictures of all time. Amazon said that "this film ushered in the age of the inferior sequel" and "was just a license to print money." Okay, maybe these things were true, but this sequel isn't THAT inferior. Final verdict? Check this movie out. You'll be glad you did.

Rating:
Summary: A B Movie, and a C sequel.
Review: Set four years after the Amity Beach shark attacks in Jaws one, Jaws 2 is a repeat of the original with a few different creative twists. This time around "Bruce" followed in the horror movie villains footsteps like Michael Myers and Leatherface and sought out teenagers for his main coarse. It is definately not as clever and well written as the original, but it is also not a complete and total film disaster. The new restoration is really good on the special edition DVD. If you are a fan of the franchise. If you hate sequals stay away.

Rating:
Summary: A Decent Sequel, Except For The Helicopter
Review: "Jaws 2" is an interesting sequel. At least it has Roy Scheider -once again playing the role of Chief Martin Brody -, and it has John Williams' familiar shark theme. The movie has its fine moments, especially the attack on the kids' catamarans and Brody's obssession with the shark. However, I find exaggerating the scene when the shark swims like a torpedo in order to attack a water skier. And what about the shark attacking on a helicopter? Oh, please!!! No way I could buy that.

However, the extras on this DVD are quite interesting. The behind-the-scenes featurette is fantastic at explaining what Director Jeannot Szwarc and crew went through while filming. I personally felt happy at watching John Williams as he explained the process of making the music for this film. And let's not forget the deleted scenes, which makes me wonder why they are not included in the final cut. All in all, this DVD is worth buying. Sometimes I'd love to see some of the viewers' faces at the helicopter scene.

Rating:
Summary: Equal greatness
Review: I am a fan of the "Jaws" series (with the exception of Jaws: The Revenge") and all I can say is "Jaws 2" deserves equal greatness with the original. Although it may not live up to the original (some people say so) it is still excellent to watch over and over again. I liked Chief Martin Brody (once again played by Roy Scheider) in this film because his acting is untouchable. Although this film lacks the greatness of director Steven Spielberg, director Jeannot Swarc did a great job as well. For those who are fans of the franchise, I recommend this to you. Those who hate sequels... I'll pass.

Rating:
Summary: A B Movie, and a C sequel.
Review: Set four years after the Amity Beach shark attacks in Jaws one, Jaws 2 is a repeat of the original with a few different creative twists. This time around "Bruce" followed in the horror movie villains footsteps like Michael Myers and Leatherface and sought out teenagers for his main coarse. It is definately not as clever and well written as the original, but it is also not a complete and total film disaster. The new restoration is really good on the special edition DVD. If you are a fan of the franchise. If you hate sequals stay away.

Rating:
Summary: No Masterpiece, But Still Worthwhile...
Review: To believe that any effort to make a 'Jaws' sequel could compare with the impact of Steven Spielberg's original was a doomed notion even in 1978: the original was and is a cinematic classic of the highest order (despite having spent much of the '90s in almost-infinite rerun on the Turner networks), so much so that no sequel would ever have been able to measure up to its legacy. What happened basically is this: Universal execs saw the budget and schedule for 'Jaws' balloon so badly because of all its production troubles that they told Spielberg he'd never work in Hollywood again, UNTIL the movie was released and broke every box-office record imaginable. As they are wont to do in the face of staggering profit, these moneymongers quickly turned keel and told Spielberg they were behind him 100 percent the whole time and they wanted to know when he was planning to start shooting 'Jaws 2'. Spielberg, being smart, said 'No thanks', so the execs decided to go ahead with 'Jaws 2' without him. BIG mistake.
Thankfully, though, producers Richard Zanuck and David Brown remained in charge of things, and got the highly-underrated director Jeannot Szwarc to try to pick up the pieces, even going so far as to re-enlist the incomparable John Williams to score the film. The end result is a sequel that is essentially the 'Jurassic Park 2' of its day - critically landblasted, commercially eschewed, yet despite its dramatic idiosyncracies and the impossibility of competing with the original film, proves to be an entertaining follow-up nonetheless.
Much of the original cast returns, save Richard Dreyfuss (who, like Spielberg, was smart enough to know when to pass) and Robert Shaw (who, apart from his character being killed in the original, had himself died of a heart attack in 1978). But Roy Scheider's return is the saving grace here, as now he's given new dimensions to his character: his growing spite toward his wife's boss, his desperation in trying to prove that a new shark has arrived despite a more skeptical public this time around (since sharks rarely attack the same place twice, you can't really blame them). The acting remains solid in 'Jaws 2' - Murray Hamilton's character is a refreshing surprise, still just as disbelieving yet he can't help but be a little sympathetic for Brody this time - and remains that way even during the straining final hour of the film when Szwarc has to resort to the all-out terror of having the teenage daysailers menaced by the monolithic maneater.
Then there's the whole aspect of the shark itself. Since there's only so many times you can have a different giant shark attack the same island, the movie stretches its premise to the maximum level of plausibility. The shark's feats this time around are, to say the least, improbable - outrunning a speedboat and being able to sink a mini-copter, in particular - but Szwarc captures them on film quite well, and their absurdity pales in comparison to what we get in the last two entries in the series. And Szwarc and screenwriters Carl Gottlieb (returning from the original) and Howard Sackler (who contributed to the original but turned down screen credit) send their shark out in a death scene that has much more panache than the 'shoot-the-scuba-tank-stuck-in-its-mouth' gag.
'Jaws 2' has its bland and silly moments, but if you loved the suspense of the original, then this entry in the series is about the only follow-up that you might find truly worth your time and money.

Rating:
Summary: Jaws 2 IS AWSOME!!!!!!
Review: Jaws 2 is an awsome movie I thought Jaws was Ok.Jaws 2 excellent,Jaws 3 OK.Jaws The Revenge Tottaly Tottaly BAD MOVIE! I liked Jaws 2 the best becuase it is more scarier then Jaws!The kids being attacked,girl horrorfied after her boyfriend was eaten,girl eaten and Sean Brody screams,shark electricutited,water skier and boat driver eaten.Some people saw it and said it's a bad sequal I thought it was EXCELLENT!