So, its been a while since I put a post on here and I figured it was high time I did another and this one and it will be a new one that is on the sequel to the acclaimed thriller, Jaws, which is of course Jaws 2. The sequels of course compared to the original have never been given the best of receptions by audiences or critics, but how does Jaws 2 hold up compared to the original? Well, lets find out!
And the usual warning is coming...
PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!
STORY
So, the film is set four years after the events of the original on Amity Island and begins with the deaths of two scuba divers at the hands of a great white shark, with one of the divers camera having taken pictures of the shark. Later on, the shark strikes again as it kills a water skier and the boat driver tries to use gas tank and flare to kill the shark but instead, her boat explodes and shark is left with burn marks on its face.
Not long after this, Police Chief Brody (Roy Scheider) is called to the scene of where a whale carcass is found dead on the beach with huge bite marks all over it suggesting the great white killed it. Brody then approaches the town mayor, Larry Vaughan (Murray Hamiton from the first film) and tells him they may have another shark problem, which Vaughan dismisses. However after driving on the beach, Brody takes a look in the waters and sees some debris and finds the burnt remains of the driver.
Brody the following day takes stand in an observation tower while watching over the beaches and causes a panic when he mistakes a school of bluefish as the shark and he shoots at it, leaving him humiliated in front of the public and Vaughan and the other town officials. Brody afterward has the film developed that shows images of the shark, which he takes to Vaughan and the other council members, however refuse to listen to him or accept the pictures look like a shark. The council then decide to vote him out as the police chief.
The following day, early in the morning, Brody eldest son, Mike (Mark Gruner) who has been grounded from going out in his boat, disobeys Brody and sneaks out but is forced to take his young brother, Sean (Marc Gilpin) along too as they go to meet with some other Mike's teenage sailing friends. As Mike, Sean and the other teenagers all go out sailing on their boats however, its not long before the great white shark catches their scent and turns toward them as its next prey....
THOUGHTS
There is not much doubt that Jaws 2 is hands down the best of the Jaws sequels, as the following two sequels are simply awful by comparison. However that doesn't exactly give Jaws 2 a pass on its own because even though its head and shoulders over its sequels, its still a pretty disappointingly average film compared to the original. And despite the welcome return of Brody's character and to an extent his wife Ellen and the town mayor Vaughan, the new characters are all pretty bland and uninteresting and in the second half of the film, we are subjected to some infuriating scenes of screeching teenagers that really drag the film down as much as shark tries drag them all down with them! And if wasn't for the really annoying inclusion of the teenager sailors, this might actually have been a pretty good film but hey ho instead its a very average one.
PERFORMANCES (Warning: this section may contain spoilers!)
As for the performances, well they definitely are a bit of a mixed bag overall but there are still some decent ones.
Starting with Roy Scheider, who is easily the best actor in the cast and makes a welcome return to the film as Chief Brody and believe this film what have been alot worse without him!
And Scheider does have some decent scenes worth mentioning such as the one where Brody meets with Vaughan and says to him how they might have another shark problem. So, in the scene Brody says to Vaughan "I think we may have another shark problem" and Vaughan asks "You serious?" and Brody says "You bet I'm serious!". And as Brody tells Vaughan about the boating incident involving the water skier and driver both killed and Brody frustrated says to Vaughan "Larry, for Christ's sake, I not only have this attack but I have two water skiers..." and Vaughan tries to calm and says "Boating accident, a tragedy but just a boating accident. There are deaths in these waters, are they all shark victims?" and Brody says "Maybe they are". Vaughan however angrily says "Bullshit!" and Brody angrily says "Bullshit?! Is it bullshit that I've got a whale on the beach with a bite out of it THIS big??!". And as Brody says to Vaughan "So, we're not gonna do anything about it?" Vaughan then says to Brody "Martin, don't push it this time. Well...I better get back to work" and Brody frustrated "Well you just remember this conversation, Larry. You just REMEMBER it!!" and he storms out.
Then there is the scene where Brody has a meeting with Vaughan and the other council members and he shows them the pictures of the shark, which the council members refuse to accept it as an actual shark in the images. So, in the scene Brody warns the members " But I'm telling you, and I'm telling everybody at this table that that's a shark! And I know what a shark looks like, because I've seen one up close. And you'd better do something about this one, because I don't intend to go through that hell again!!".
WARNING: BIG SPOILER COMING UP RELATING TO THE FINALE!
And last of all is the climactic (or anti-climactic if you like!) scene where Brody arrives to rescue the stranded teenagers who scream in warning at Brody as the shark nears him, as he furiously hits a paddle bat against a power line he dredged up using his hook cables to tow the teen's makeshift sailboat, to get the shark's attention. So, as Brody finally gets the shark's attention and it heads toward him, he sits up in his dinghy boat and holds onto the power cable and taunts the shark "Alright ya big bastard! I got something for you now!!That's it! Attaboy! Come on!". So, as the shark nears Brody, Brody shouts at the shark "Right over here! Open wide! SAY AAHH!!!" and Brody falls back as the shark bites deep into the power line and is electrocuted to death much to the horror but then relief of the teenagers and Brody. And at the very end of the film, Brody finally reaches his younger son, Sean and says to him "And YOU..." and Sean makes an excuse "They made me come along" and Brody just laughs and says "Sure they did!".
Lorraine Gray also reprises her role well enough as Ellen Brody, Brody's wife, who shares anxieties over the shark problem and later as wee Brody head out to sea to rescue the teenagers.
And I will mention just one of Lorraine's scenes, which is the one where Ellen has an argument with one of the council members, Len after Brody goes out after the teens and his sons. So, in the scene Len pleads with her "Ellen, I'm sorry. I was only looking out for everyone's interests" and Ellen cuts him off and says "I don't give a damn what you were thinking. All I know is that a boy is dead and that my son and husband is still out there!".
Murray Hamilton is also pretty good in his reprising role as the Mayor of Amity, Larry Vaughan, who refuses as usual to listen to Brody's fears about a shark problem. Hamilton's involvement in the film however had tragic circumstances around it as his wife was dying of cancer around that time.
And I will mention one of Murray's scenes, which is the one where Brody meets with him and tells him they might have another shark problem. And in the scene, Brody meets with Vaughan and says "I think we may have another shark problem" and Vaughan looks at him and asks "You serious?" and Brody says "You bet I'm serious". And as the two men argue, Brody says to Vaughan "Larry, for Christ's sakes, I've not only go this case but I've got two water skiers..." and Vaughan says "A boating accident, it was a tragedy. No shark, no fin, it was just a boating accident! We have a lot of deaths that turn up in these waters, are they all shark victims??". Brody paces around and says "Maybe they are" but Larry dismisses it and says scornfully "Bullshit!" and Brody says "Bullshit?! Is it bullshit that I've got a whale on a beach with a bite in it THIS big??!". Vaughan then says "What am I an ass?! I called the experts and nothing they saw is proof of anything!". Brody angry and frustrated asks "So, were not gonna do anything about it?" and Vaughan calmly says to him "Martin...don't push it this time".
Jeffrey Kramer also does not too bad in returning to his role of Brody's deputy, Hendricks and he has a slightly bigger part this time round than before. However I will just mention of his scenes and its the one where Hendricks and a boat skipper, Red are out searching for anything resembling the shark. And Red complains about how long they've been out and says "How long do we have to stay out here?" and Hendricks says "Until we find something!" and Red says "I'm cold and bored!" and Hendricks says "YOU'RE bored?!". However they soon come along something, which turns out to be a power line, which they dredge up using their cable tow and Red says "Oh shit! Drop it! Its a power line" and Hendricks says "Terrific!" and Red says "Let me untangle so we don't have a blackout on the island" and Hendricks says "Well, let's get out of here before we DO find something!".
Joseph Mascolo is also OK in his role as Len Peterson, one of the sleazy town officials, who flirts with Ellen and also has it in for Brody as he kicks up a fuss about the shark crisis, which Len refuses to listen to.
And I will mention only one of his scenes, which is the one where Brody meets with Vaughan and the other council members to show them shark pics, which they refuse to accept as a shark. So, in the scene Len says to Brody about the pictures "Brody, this is nothing, seaweed, mud, something on the lens..." and Brody says "Len my ass!" and Len angrily fires back "You're damn right its your ass!". Len then angrily tells Brody "Look, Brody, you started a panic on a public beach, you shot up the damn place, God knows who could have been injured?! Now, what if somebody decided to sue us, did you ever THINK about that?! It could ruin us!". Vaughan then ties to reason with Brody "Oh, Martin..." and Len says "Oh come on, Larry. There's no point, its obvious he's made up his mind!".
As for the teenager cast well I won't get too involved when it comes to them all, so I will only mention a few of them.
Starting with Mike Gruner as Michael "Mikey" Brody, Brody's eldest son, who goes out on a boating trip with his other friends along with his younger brother Sean and he does OK with his limited role. And his most notable moments are when he tries to sneak out to go boating and Sean stops him and threatens to call out to their parents and he reluctantly takes Sean with him. And later as Mikey is injured and taken to safety by one of the teenager sailors and meets up with Brody, Brody asks him "Where is Sean?" and Mikey says "He's still out there" and Brody says "WHAT??" and Mikey says "He wanted to come!".
Gary Springer is probably the best of the teenage cast as Andy, who has some of the better dialogue of the film and has one pretty good scene where Andy tries to persuade a traumatized Sean to join the others on their makeshift boat (from what's left of their boats from the shark attack). And in the scene Andy calls out to Sean "SEAN!! Come on SEAN!! Goddamn it, Sean, I'm gonna break your ass, you hear??!!"" and he throws out a rope him "I'm gonna throw you out this rope and you damn well better catch it!!" and he throws it out and Sean reluctantly grabs it and Andy shouts and says "Right tie it around the fin! Tie it tight!" and they slowly pull the capsized boat he is on over and Sean jumps over to them, one of the teenagers falls but gets out with help. Andy then hugs Sean and says "Its alright buddy. We thought we lost you" and he gives Sean a kiss on the cheek.
Marc Gilpin does OK in his role as Sean, Brody's youngest son, who goes out on the fateful boating trip with his brother Mikey and they soon encounter the shark. And Marc's most notable scene is when we see Sean catch Mikey sneaking out to go sailing and Sean quietly asks him "Where you are you going?" and Mikey says "Just out" and Sean asks "Are you going sailing?" and Mikey cagey, says "Maybe" and Sean says "Take me with you" and Mikey says "No" but Sean raises his voice "Michael...!" and MIkey sushes him and says "OK OK! Don't make a sound and follow me".
And last of all and LEAST of all is Donna Wilkes, who is the weakest link in the cast and plays perhaps THE single most annoying character in 1970's cinema, Jackie Peters, a cocky teenage girl, who is soon reduced to a screaming hysterical mess during the shark attack. In fact she is SO annoying in this film, I just wish the shark had eaten her first but nope they decided to let her live! God knows why though!!!
And apart from her incessant and deeply annoying screaming, Donna does have one scene of note before all the screeching which is where she first meets with Mikey in a bar with the other teenagers. And Jackie asks him "Are you coming out with us tomorrow?" and Mikey says "I can't I'm grounded" and Jackie asks him "Do you always do what your parents tell you to?" and Mikey a bit irritated and defiant says "no" and Jackie smiles and says "Good, I'll see you tomorrow at 8!". And the rest of her performance is pretty much "NO!!!! NO!!!! AGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!" Uggghhh! Shut up already!!!
DIRECTOR
Finally moving onto the director, Jeannot Szwarc, who does a reasonable job with the film but at the same time its not like he is Steven Spielberg here! Szwarc reputedly was also difficult to work with as he and Roy Scheider often argued with one another on set and this even lead to a full blown fight between them at one point. Regardless of that though, Szwarc's pacing of the film is pretty decent for the most part even if it is slow to begin with and he does allow for some suspense here and there with the scene where Mikey is grabbed out the water just in time before the shark can eat him is perhaps the most effective scene in the film suspense wise. So, Szwarc for any of his faults, does acquit himself fairly well here all things considered.
MUSIC
As for the music score, thankfully we are treated to another fine score from the master composer, John Williams and while its not in the class of the original score, it still stands head and shoulders over many other film scores and it even stands over the film itself! In fact there are times where Williams score does help save the film as its great for building up any kind of suspense that is lacking (which it quite often is!). So, for me Williams score here is indeed Jaws 2's single best asset.
FLAWS (Warning: this section may contain spoilers but then you might not care lol!)
As for flaws...yes Jaws 2 has some worth a mention!
For starters, I think the film's biggest downfall is the lack of interesting characters this time round with the exception of Brody, Vaughan and maybe Ellen Brody, the rest of the characters range from pretty uninspiring to deeply annoying. And I think the biggest failing overall for sure here is basing the film around a bunch of teenagers who go out sailing and squabble and scream at each other, which makes for a pretty tedious time as well as some cringe inducing dialogue here and there.
Another issue is to do with how once again the shark seems to have almost a human vendetta of sorts this time round as it knows a helicopter rescue pilot must be a threat to its success of eating the teenagers, so it bites through the rubberised grips of the helicopter causing it to drown! I mean would a shark even contemplate such a behavioral act in reality??? No chance lol! So, yeah its totally ridiculous to say the least.
Another problem is to do with the idea of Brody thinking he can shoot the shark with poison bullets and it would be enough to kill it and we see him shoot the water in one scene at what turns out to be just a school of bluefish. However in reality there is no way the bullets would be able to do any damage underwater because bullets loose their impact as soon as they hit water, they are reduced to like skimming pebbles in the water. So, there is no way Brody could even have effectively injured the shark even if he HAD hit it in that scene!
Then we have the issue of the re-used formula of the disbelieving town mayor and his council member cronies, who think Brody is at it. However they should know full well last time Brody wasn't kidding and it was a serious problem yet THIS time despite four deaths having occurred in the first 30 minutes of the film or so, the council members still don't give a crap enough to take it seriously. I mean come on, its like they won't do anything about it until they see the head of someone on the beach! Jeez!!
I also think the scene near the end where Brody tricks the shark into being electrified by the power line is pretty silly of course but not only that, Brody doesn't appear to be at a safe enough distance for him not to be caught in the face by all wild flying sparks everywhere while the shark is getting fried! So, yeah, Brody manages to avoid getting injured during all this, which given the short distance between him and the shark, its pretty daft.
And last of all is of course the character of Jackie...oh my GOD!!! THIS girl is hands down the most ANNOYING character as I already said before, in the history of 1970's cinema! I mean she is already pretty annoying when she enters the film because she acts all cocky and full of herself but once the shark attack begins, she launches into sheer hysteria and does epic levels of screeching, which demands you to tear your ears off just to avoid listening to it!!! In fact I only wish the shark had eaten her first but I guess the director we needed a focal point for the teens terror and hysteria and Jackie was it. But by God, she is totally annoying beyond all reason in this film and she herself drags it down. If only she was eaten in the film, I would have ranked this film much higher than it is, but hey ho!
Anyway that's it for the flaws.
SUM UP
So, to sum up, Jaws 2 is a decidedly very average movie overall, which is a disappointment compared to the brilliance of the original but at the same time, it still stands head and shoulders above its dreadful sequels. However, its not without merit entirely as it does feature pretty decent performances by Roy Scheider and Murray Hamilton both of whom make a welcome return in their roles and it would have been much worse without Scheider no doubt. The film also has a pretty good score by John Williams, which is suitably atmospheric and comprises of new themes as well as the familiar "dun dun dun dun!" one. However, the teenagers are what really let this film down as they scream and squabble with one another it makes Jaws 2 become tedious pretty fast and by God, Jackie is the WORST character in 70's movie history, PERIOD.
That aside though Jaws 2, despite its flaws, its worth a revisit now and then and if you can put up with the screaming teenagers, it does have some redeeming qualities even if it doesn't come close to the original it still came closer than its crappy sequels did!
So, I will rate Jaws 2:
6 out of 10
So, that's it for now and I will be back soon with another review.
So, until then its bye for now!
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