Jaws 2 (1978) - Review

Director: Jeannot Szwarc

Cast: Roy Scheider, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton, Jeffrey Kramer

Country: United States

Rating: PG

Run Time: 116 min

When cinema fans discuss their favorite slasher/horror films, such as Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, or Halloween, they can't help but bring up the entire series as well. There's something fun about discussing both the ups and the downs of a franchise, especially one that stems from such stellar first entries. However, I don't think I have ever heard anyone bring up the Jaws sequels whilst also discussing the original. It's as if they don't exist. Even Universal Pictures, the studio who put out all four films, pretends they don't exist. Whenever the tour guide at Universal Studios brings up Jaws, they rarely ever mention the sequels. It's funny, because every entry in the series was financially successful, especially the second one. I guess their critical revilement more or less buried them into non-existence within both the studio's and public's consciousness, who view them more as an embarrassment and a blemish on the sanctity of the golden idol that is Jaws. Jaws was a such an unstoppable monster that it somehow swallowed up all of its sequels from existence. Now that's impressive.

Jaws 2 is a mostly forgotten sequel, which is surprising considering the film's massive box office take in 1978. It seems that the only thing people seem to remember about the film is its great tagline, "Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water..." Anyways, French director Jeannot Szwarc took over the reigns of the series from Steven Spielberg, a daunting challenge if there ever was one. Nevertheless, Szwarc did his best, and crafted a mostly solid sequel that gave audiences more of the shark attack action and principal players that made Jaws so great. 

Talk about a jab at Orca the Killer Whale.

Unfortunately, the sequel features about half as much content as Jaws, and is somehow still as long. Remember how exciting and terrific the final hour of action was in Jaws? Of course you do, everyone does. Remember how exciting and terrific the final hour of action was in Jaws 2? Of course you don't, because that sucker drags on forever, like an anchor hooked on the ground for miles and miles. Jaws 2 explores some extremely interesting material in its first half, that of an obsessive Chief Brody, but drowns in its second half where its flimsy script and half hearted direction results in nothing more than a sub-standard shark attack film. Than again, I'd much rather take a sub-standard shark attack film with a score by John Williams and performances by Roy Scheider, Lorraine Gary, and Murray Hamilton over any other shark attack film out there.

Jaws 2 proves that the heart and soul of the Jaws franchise is the Brody family, to whom the sequel thankfully takes the time to reintroduce in the first act. Jaws 2 picks up a few years after Jaws, with Chief Brody still standing as the Chief of Police in Amity. When a shark starts killing people in Amity again, Brody becomes obsessed with stopping it once and for all. However, his obsession scares the citizens of Amity to the point where he is fired from his job. When his son Michael goes out at sea with his teenage friends, they come in contact with the shark and radio Brody for help, thereby leading to another showdown between man and shark, Jaws style.

In a world where many horror sequels either follow an entirely different group of characters (A Nightmare on Elm Street II: Freddy's Revenge) or drastically shift their tone (Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part II), Jaws 2 is nearly a best case scenario from both a storytelling and creative stand point. Although not every character or filmmaker returned (both Drefyus and Spielberg's absences are felt throughout), most of the creative team did return, along with many of the extremely memorable actors and characters from the first film. Most notable is Roy Scheider, who returned only to fulfill a contractual agreement to Universal Pictures, and composer John Williams, who supplied one of the key factors to Jaws' success. With both the original film's star and composer back on board (strangely the same situation as Halloween II), Jaws 2 could've been a stellar sequel. Unfortunately, Szwarc's decision to aim for blockbuster action over searing tension, along with a lackluster script that retreads the plot of the original, hinders the film from ever taking off like Spielberg's blockbuster predecessor. All in all though, Jaws 2 gives you the exciting shark kills and human peril that you would want from a Jaws sequel, just not as skillfully as Jaws obviously.

Chief Brody: one of the all time great badasses of action cinema.

For an actor who only returned to fulfill a contractual agreement, Scheider gives a stellar performance once again as Chief Brody, everybody's favorite shark slaying police chief. The reason Scheider comes off so well in the picture is because his character is put through the ringer and depicted as an obsessive person who will do anything to protect Amity from danger once again. The greatest success of Jaws 2 is this character dynamic that makes for an extremely interesting first half of a film. All of the scenes focused on Brody's shark obsession come out the greatest, such as the stellar scene in which Brody thinks he sees a shark in the water, and than proceeds to shoot into the water as horrified beach-goers watch on. I know that I've been on a roll with the Halloween connections, but one could also compare Brody in Jaws 2 to Loomis, Michael Myer's therapist and hunter, from the Halloween series. It's a shame that the sequel couldn't see through this obsession story to the end in a satisfying matter, but it's nice to have a taste of what could have been great in the first half of the film.

While the first half of Jaws 2 shakes up the formula of the first film by forcing Brody into a corner all on his lonesome, it caves into established formula and flounders in its second half in which Brody is sidelined in favor of a group of teens and their peril with a shark that heavily resembles the final hour of Jaws. Whereas the first half of Jaws 2 feels fresh, the second half is uninspired tripe, the type of blockbuster entertainment that Universal figured had to be stretched out to an hour in order for audiences to get their money's worth. The weaknesses of the film's narrative are most apparent in this second half, as the film's natural story of Brody's obsession leads into a teens in peril sub-plot that becomes the dominant plot of the picture for no good reason. It's a shame that the through line of the picture is so wonky and lopsided, as numerous scenes fail to gel with one another, all culminating in a lazy finale that doesn't feel earned or worthwhile the way Jaws' second half was. 

Either way, this transition into teen territory does place Jaws 2 into a fun sub-genre: the slasher sub-genre that is. Released in 1978, a few months before John Carpenter's Halloween, Jaws 2 acts as a proto-slasher before the slasher boom of the 80s. The sequel's group of teens, who are mostly horny and sex fueled, are typically flat and disposable bait to the shark's unstoppable killer, key elements of the slasher genre. While the film is far from scary, due to Szwarc's inability to produce honest tension, it still stands as a unique blockbuster slasher before the solidification of the low budget slasher a few months later.

Look out for that mechanized shark whose mouth is bending!

Szwarc seems to be a decent director, although he is no Spielberg. Whereas Spielberg masterminded Jaws and made it a success, Szwarc seems more like a director for hire. Interestingly enough, Szwarc replaced original director John Hancock after several production and personal issues between the director and the studio. Therefore, Szwarc was literally hired on to complete the project, just as original Jaws screenwriter Carl Gottlieb was re-hired to touch up the script. All of these last minute shake ups are ultimately to blame upon the uneven sequel.

Szwarc has specifically stated that he never intended to ape Spielberg's style, which owed much to Alfred Hitchcock and his view of suspense and tension. After all, the shark is completely shown within the first twenty minutes of the film. Therefore, Szwarc crafts a more action packed shark attack film instead of a terrifying one along the lines of the original. Compare the scene where Brody discovers the burnt body in the ocean to the infamous scene from Jaws where a head rolls out of a boat. One is fast paced while the other is slow paced and satisfying. See what I mean? Whereas Jaws was satisfying to watch above all else, Jaws 2 is nothing but entertaining. And while never ending shark attacks may be entertaining to watch for a period of time, Jaws 2 reminds us that the presence and threat of a killer is far more formidable than the killer itself. 

That being said, Jaws 2 is still a fun time for a summer blockbuster. The sequel is more or less a direct retread of the original film: shark attacks citizens of Amity, Chief Brody tries to warn people, nobody listens, somebody significant dies, Brody goes out on boat and kills shark once again. Even though it is a fairly lazy sequel, Jaws 2 is still a lot of fun to watch, especially for its more over the top action sequences. For example, one of the first shark attacks in the film results in a hilarious scene where a girl dumps lighter fluid on her boat, shoots a flare at it, sets herself and the shark on fire, and than explodes! It's the highlight of the film purely for how ridiculous it is. Even the lengthy finale, while flawed, features some fun shark kills, such as a moment where a poor coast guard lands his helicopter in the water, only for the shark to pop up and eat him and the vehicle whole! The only dissatisfying death in the whole film belongs to the shark itself, who dies in a fairly lame way that feels immensely forced if only because Jaws ended the same way. If you can forgive a sequel for directly retreading the same water as its original, than Jaws 2 should be nothing but a serviceable time for you.

At least they have the option of an open casket burial for this Jaws.

I think that I would be willing to forgive Jaws 2 for its minor flaws if it were at least a shorter film. Many of the film's scenes run for far too long and drain the film of all tension whatsoever, thereby dragging the film to a near two hour run time. I always felt that the original Jaws ran for 10 or so minutes too long, as the final hour is nothing but shark hunting. Unfortunately, Jaws 2 runs for a whopping 30 minutes too long, which is far from excusable and damn near sequel killing. 

All in all though, Jaws 2 is undeniably a solid sequel with good production value, memorable characters who are only memorable because they were great in the original, and some fun shark action. Szwarc does his best to move the story along, Scheider does a fine job holding the audiences' attention, and Williams crafts some new and fun pieces of music that liven the tone. Therefore, Jaws 2 gives you new worthwhile material to walk away with, especially Brody's near asylum inducing freakout at the beach that stands as my favorite scene in the film. In conclusion, Jaws 2 is the best non-original-Jaws shark attack movie...next to maybe Renny Harlin's Deep Blue Sea, which is on a whole other level of ridiculousness. It's no Jaws, but Jaws 2 does not deserve to be forgotten amongst the halls of blockbuster cinema and sequel-dom. Give it a re-watch, you may find yourself surprised at how well it holds up, in parts that is.

Rating: 6/10 - Jaws 2 is a flawed but entertaining sequel that delivers both the shark action and some of the memorable principal players that audiences loved about the first film.

Franchise:

Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975)

Jaws 2 (Jeannot Szwarc, 1978)

Jaws 3-D (Joe Alves, 1983)

Jaws: The Revenge (Joseph Sargent, 1987)