Review of Jaws 2 (1978) by Syd D — 01 Oct 2017

Brody kills a great white shark that was terrorizing his quaint beach community and all's well that ends well. Right? No! A few years after the events of the 1975 classic "Jaws", there's another shark to cause havoc again.

This time, a mysterious boating accident whitnessed by beach goers and a beached Orca with a large bite wash up on the shore which prompts Chief Brody (Roy Scheider) to believe the town has another shark problem. Again, the law makers in town are oblivious to the problem and after a false alarm on the beach, Brody is fired as police chief. A bunch of local teens head off for a day of sailing and are repeatedly attacked by the shark. Once again, Brody saves the day and all's well that ends well...

The problem with this sequel is that it's painfully weak and slow. After a promising first act including a well filmed chase with the shark and a water skier, the story comes to a dead stop and doesn't pick up until the forth act leaving with a slow, boring middle. Everything that worked with the first film doesn't really apply to this one. We already know what the shark looks like so they repeatedly show it and it looks even more fake and a bit absurd. After half its face is badly burned, it looks like the "Phantom of the Opera" or, shall we say "Phanton of the Sea". There aren't any new, interesting characters this time around either, just a group of screaming and annoying teens. Yes there are more shark attacks but they don't add anything to the plot, they're basically just to up the ante of the first film. Also, the finale isn't as exciting as the first. Basically, an inferior retread of a classic.