Jaws 2 (1978)

Tagline: “Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water.”

Running Time: 116 minutes

Film quality: 3.5/5
Gore Content: 2/5
Entertainment Value: 4/5
Originality: 3/5

Introduction

With a massive hit like ‘Jaws’ (click here for my review of the original classic!), Universal green lit a sequel before the original had completed its international run. But it wasn’t going to be straightforward! Spielberg likened doing a sequel to ‘A cheap carny trick’ (if only someone had reminded him of that before he did the 4th Indiana Jones film!), Roy Scheider was reluctant to go near it, an initial draft closer to the tone of the book featuring Amity in decline and in the hands of the Mafia was rejected and the film’s original director was fired 12 weeks into production. Could the little known Jeannot Szwarc, a regular director on the small screen, save the film which would ultimately cost three times the original?

In a nutshell…

The seaside town of Amity is thriving again following the devastating events of the first film and local businessmen are ploughing money into new luxury developments. When a couple of divers go missing and a waterskier is killed in a terrible boating accident, Chief Brody fears the worst…has the killer shark returned and will anyone listen to him?

So what’s good about it?

Let’s get one thing straight out of the way…this film was NEVER going to beat the original and the makers must have known that. However, alongside ‘Psycho 2’, this has to go down as one of the best ‘this should be terrible’ sequels of all time. It really isn’t bad at all and there are some truly standout moments that easily rival the original, and it’s in the set pieces that this film really knocks it out of the park.

The shark chasing the waterskier in one of the earlier moments is as extraordinary as it is iconic, Chief Brody’s meltdown on the beach is highly memorable and tragic, the jump scare of the dead body leaping out of the waves as Brody gingerly makes his way into the water almost lives up to the head popping out of the boat. These scenes would not have been out of place in the original and Szwarc does a fine job in replicating the tension and thrills that Spielberg managed so effortlessly.

He paces the film very well and is clever enough to pitch the film very close in tone to the original without making it a shameless re-tread. Brody’s children are more grown up in this movie so they make a plot feature out of it by putting them in peril. This changes the dynamic and Brody’s sense of urgency. Whereas in the first one he is the hero out of a sense of duty to protect the town, this time he needs to save his children and their friends. The setup is very much the same, the first half of the movie on land, the second at sea, but whereas Spielberg’s juggernaut was claustrophobic with three men in a small boat, this one juxtaposes the frantic search by Brody, Ellen and Hendricks with the escalating horror of the helpless kids at sea. It might not reach the same tension levels but it is very effective all the same.

One thing that struck me was how much the film follows the formula of your average slasher flick. Nobody can see the faceless killer stalking the beachgoers, we get a few red herrings along the way before the reckless teens defy their authoritative parents to put themselves in danger and must be saved by the only one who can see what’s going on. I’m not saying that it wrote the book on slasher films but it did precede ‘Halloween’ by a few months and many of the common tropes are there. That said, with the exception of the Mayor’s son who comes across as a bit of a prick in the first half of the film, the kids are generally likeable and you’re on their side, just wanting to have a bit of fun living in a seaside resort.

Of course John Williams score is as exceptional as ever, adding a new dimension with the beautiful, peaceful undersea theme making the shark scene seem all the more jarring. Again, the acting is excellent with Scheider, hiding his almost total disdain for the film and director, turning in a performance every bit as good as his original effort. But we can’t close the ‘good’ section without mentioning the poster. That tagline ‘Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water’ must be one of the greatest poster taglines ever written and is often mistaken for the original film’s tag. It’s been imitated and parodied ever since but remains memorable in its own right.

And what about the bad?

Yes, the shark in the original does things that no shark in the history of the world has ever done but there are some very silly moments in this one. Outside of ‘Mega Shark Vs Giant Octopus’ (or anything released by The Asylum), can a shark really bring down a helicopter? Also, the film badly misses characters with the gravitas of Hooper and Quint. Early drafts that used a discarded plot point from the novel, the Mafia’s role in propping up the town, would have lent the film some real depth and grounding so it’s a shame that this was considered ‘too dark’. But, other than simply not being as good as the original, this is a very serviceable film and have settled on it to watch it to the end whilst channel hopping many times…always the sign of a good film!

Any themes?

There’s not as much depth as the first film but it does play more on the greed and nature of self-interest that follow politicians and local authority. The Mayor local councillors and businessmen with a vested interest can’t see, or aren’t willing to see what’s going on in front of their eyes and don’t heed the warnings of Brody until it’s too late. It’s hinted at in the first film with Larry’s refusal to believe they’ve caught the wrong shark but that line is more explicitly drawn in the sequel with the introduction of developer Len Peterson who has a personal beef with Brody, completely driven by money and chasing his wife Ellen.

I like the way it focusses on the positive aspects of kids having fun. Whereas the slasher film takes delight in punishing sexual abandon, drug taking and drink, there is very little of that here. The only couple engaged in sexual activity are in a solid relationship and the fun loving kids are simply taking advantage of living in a seaside resort and enjoying its natural charms.

Release history.

No issues with censorship but there was a Brazilian VHS release that featured two additional scenes, apparently not present anywhere else. These include a moment where we see Hendricks searching underwater for the camera lost by the divers and a second extended scene where Brody talks to residents in the police station. There is also a TV versions featuring five very short, incidental scenes inserted to beef up the running time for a three hour slot. Some of these short and largely character developing scenes are available as deleted scenes on the DVD release.

Cultural impact

Some of the set pieces, especially the waterskier with the shark fin in tow, have been parodied and held in very high regard. Likewise, that genius tagline, but other than being viewed as a highly competent sequel, the cultural impact is very much owed to the original.

Final thoughts

Though not a patch on Spielberg’s classic, it’s easily the best of the follow ups and matches the original with some outstanding moments, if not as a whole. It doesn’t deviate too far from the formula of the first film whilst maintaining its own sense of identity, focussing on the kids and the fun aspect of living on a resort and how this can go horribly wrong if you don’t respect the sea.

Memorable Quotes

Marine Biologist: “Sharks don’t take thing personally Mr Brody.”

Brody: “I think we’ve got another shark problem.”

Brody: “I’m telling you and I’m telling everybody at this table that this is a shark, and I know what a shark looks like because I’ve seen one up close. And you’d better do something about this one because I don’t intend to go through that hell again.”

You’ll like this if you enjoyed…

‘The Reef’, ‘Open Water’, ‘Piranha’, ‘Deep Blue Sea’