JAWS 2 (1978)
Director: Jeannot Szwarc
Genre: Sharksploitation
THE MOVIE
Believe it or not, there was a time when it was not automatically assumed that a successful movie would have a string of sequels attached to it. Sure, by the 1970's there had been some successful movie series, like the James Bond movies, which themselves were based on the extensive novel and short story catalog of Ian Fleming . But with the success of the Planet of the Apes movies, producers became aware of the possibilities of creating original sequels to successful movies. The 70's saw sequels to many of the decades most iconic movies: The Godfather, part II, The Exorcist II: The Heretic, Damien: Omen II. Producers became okay with this Law of Diminishing Returns. If a movie like Rocky, for example, was a great film and a classic, it was ok for Rocky 2 to be merely a good movie, and Rocky 3 to be just okay, as long as they were profitable. So, it was only a matter of time before they sequelized the second biggest box-office hit of the decade: Steven Spielberg's Jaws.
Putting the elements together for the sequel was no easy task. Spielberg was busy with his own projects and uninterested and most of the actors from the first movie were playing hard to get. An interesting but discarded plan for the sequel was to make a prequel focusing on Robert Shaw's character, Quint, and the sinking of the USS Indianapolis. This could have been a really cool movie, as Quint was easily the most compelling character in Jaws, and his monologue about surviving the sinking, shark-infested ship was one of the highlights of the first movie. I'm sort of surprised that in a Hollywood that is now fixated on remakes and prequels of classic movies, that this movie is not somehow in development. This would be a great way to expand the Jaws series without doing an icky remake or another tired sequel.
Once the Indianapolis story was scrapped, the producers managed to lure back Roy Schieder for another outing on Amity Island, in the first of three sequels to the classic movie featuring the Brody family and their endless encounters with Great White Sharks. Jaws 2 is the best of these sequels and a decent movie in its own right, despite the absurdity of the premise of yet another shark terrorizing the town and the fact that Amity's political establishment is, yet again, unwilling to deal with the problem until its too late. This is a little unbelievable to me. The first movie's scenario-the vested economic interests of the town seek to deny or downplay the presence of the shark to avoid scarring away the vacationers-I could believe but while politicians may be slow to act, they are profoundly self-interested and rarely make the same mistake twice.
Jaws 2 also focuses more on the now-teenage son of Chief Brody and his friends, making this sequel feel a little bit like a slasher film at sea. Eventually the shark stalks this group of teens as they are stranded at sea on sailboats and the discredited and fired Brody comes to their rescue. Brody finds another improbable way to blow up a shark in the movie's finale. Jaws 2 also features probably the most famous movie tagline ever: "Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water..."
THE MONSTER/EFFECTS
Bruce returns! The shark is largely the same as the one from Jaws, with the exception of the fact that it gets burned halfway through the movie. As it attacks a small boat, a woman tries to fight it off by pouring gasoline on it, which would have been badass if she had had a lighter handy. Sadly, he plan went no further but the shark still got burned when the boat exploded (For Some Reason) and Bruce sports some mean-looking scars for the rest of the movie. 'Cause the only thing scarier than a shark, is an ugly shark.
There is also a chewed up Killer Whale that washes up on the beach, a victim of the shark. I'm not sure, but I think this might be a fun reference to the 1977 Jaws ripoff, Orca. I love a good movie diss. It's like Bruce and that whale are having a rapper war. Quint's boat from the first movie was also called the Orca. That dead whale works on so many levels.
MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT
Bruce takes down a helicopter! Okay, it is one of those floating helicopters so it is not as awesome as the scene from Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus but it is still kinda cool.
HOME VIDEO AVAILABILITY
Available on DVD and now streaming on Netflix.
THE TRAILER
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