Review of Jaws 3-D (1983) by Mike S — 30 Aug 2009

When one looks at the JAWS franchise, one has to look at it in two parts. There's the good, Roy Scheider-led half of the series that is a perfectly solid duo of films. Then there's the other half, which JAWS 3 was the first part of, that was so horrendously awful that it brought about the end of a once proud franchise.

Like the film that followed it, there are very few redeeming qualities in JAWS 3. Even though it was originally filmed in 3D, the effects in this turkey are flat-out awful, with the effects in the film's climax being some of the most laughably bad special effects that have ever been put on screen. Add to that the fact that the shark appears to change size throughout the film, and is at times so big that it's more like an extinct relative of the great white shark, and it's really hard to take this film seriously.

The one notable thing about this film is that it features a young Dennis Quaid, who does give a lot of effort in this film, so he must be commended for that. It would be easy, and perhaps expected, for someone to find that they're working with some of the worst material that can be given to an actor and then decide to phone it in. Quaid doesn't do that here, so congratulations are in order for him. The rest of the cast is mediocre, at the absolute best.

As a continuation of the story of JAWS and JAWS 2, JAWS 3 is an absolute failure. Taking the film out of Amity (or even just the Northeast) and putting it in SeaWorld is just laughable. A shark wouldn't even be able to make it into SeaWorld, as its located in Orlando, with no access to either the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico. Also, the idea alone of putting the shark in an enclosed environment like SeaWorld is just lazy, as the ideas for how to put the shark attacks together more or less falls into place without much effort.

What JAWS 3 does have going in its favor, however, is that it's not JAWS 4 - THE REVENGE. At least JAWS 3 respects its audience enough to not have the shark stand on its tail and roar, or have it form a grudge against a family and stalk them halfway across the globe seeking revenge. Thankfully, JAWS 3 has a bit more respect for its audience than that, which helps it earn a 20% rating instead of 10%.