A somewhat entertaining yet ultimately disappointing sequel to the mighty Steven Spielberg film, this flick is carried under the strength of Roy Scheider… and little else.4 years after the devastating killing of a shark, Amity Police Chief Martin Brody (Scheider) suddenly believes that theres another shark in the water after two scuba divers are killed in an expedition and later a skiing girl also appears missing while her mother blows up her boat, and finally a killer whale (!) ends up stranded on the beach with a big bite. Major Vaughn (Murray Hamilton) wants to hear none of this again since he’s trying to rid Amity Island from its shark-tarnished image. Brody’s sons as well as Vaughn’s son embark with friends on a raft trip only fall prey of the shark, and it’s up to Brody to rescue them.
So what happened here? Well to start off, it’s evidently clear that the film was just a cash-in to once again scare a couple of bucks into the box office. Why do I say it? Because it’s just simply not about the shark anymore; in the original Jaws, the shark dominated the film not because it went out and ate people, but because how all the cinematic elements preluded his attack. We didn’t know what the fuck was out there, we only saw the camera’s view of the shark and thanks to this we felt his carnivorous personality and his relentless sense of kill. Here, it’s just handled as a mere plot device out to only devour some people and show some blood and guts. There’s a fair share of suspense but only because we’re waiting for the evident “shark victim.” The plot is by-the-numbers, the majority of the kids are total assholes and deserve to be eaten by the shark, and the shark looks fierce but ultimately more animalistic and more dumb than its predecessor.The only reason to watch this film is Roy Scheider since he gives quite an intense performance as you can see the guy’s paranoia shows on his face. But other than that is just your now-average shark movie, and nothing else. 2.5-5
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