Les dents de la mer: 2e partie

If I were to make an appropriate comparison, Jaws 1 was a White shark bite, ferocious and huge, Jaws II would be a bite from a Blue Shark, still nasty, but lacking the ferocity.

The film reminds me of the Halloween follow up in so many ways, the first being a moment of cinema where the game was changed, a massive act to follow, both feel like a direct continuation of the first, both have quality, but lack the originality and impact of their predecessor.

Jaws II is slow to start, but as it gets going it really cranks up the tension, featuring some really good, tense moments. The shark has become a psycho killer instead of just a predator, and is now intent on killing its victims in the way Michael Myers did.

Some good strong special effects, I thought in several scenes the shark looked very realistic, I've never been a fan of the ending though, it's just a bit silly. Roy Schneider clearly did not want to do this film, and I think it shows in his performance, he is not happy.

It's a pretty good sequel, trouble is the original is a classic.

A lot of people come under the misconception that only Jaws is good while all the sequels are bad but that's not entirely true. Of course Jaws 3D and Jaws the Revenge are the ones you should definitely avoid at all costs but Jaws 2 is the one that gets under-looked and unfairly rated because of the bad rep the later sequels did. I assure you all, Jaws 2 is nothing like those said bad sequels films, in fact this film is actually as enjoyable as it's preceding film.

Like a proper sequel should do it directly continues from where the first film left off with most of the same characters returning including main protagonist Police Chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider), he is just an excellent main character, it wouldn't be a Jaws film without him who has the unfortunate task of dealing with another man eating shark that is terrorising the sea of this island resort town of Amity. Although the film starts off slow but as more of the film gets going the better it becomes. I loved the moments when the shark kills the victims like a horror villain should.

Now of course Jaws 2 may not match up to the original film but at least the people who made this film actually tried to make a good film with a decent story. I enjoyed it and I highly recommend it, it's one of the many underrated sequels that should be given a chance.

Four years on from the events of 'Jaws' the population of Amity Island have got on with their lives; the tourists have returned and they don't want to think about sharks. Then a couple of divers go missing and two women are killed in a 'boating accident'; Chief Brody is in charge of the investigation and after the body of a killer whale, complete with bite marks, washes up he is convinced that there is another great white shark in the waters round the island but the town council doesn't believe his claims. Then a group of youngsters, including Brody's sons, go out sailing... inevitably they have a run in with the shark and Chief Brody will have to take to the water again to try to save them.

Not surprisingly this isn't as good as the original film; that would have been very difficult. It is however pretty good. There are plenty of scary moments, certainly more than I expected in a UK-PG rated film. It starts well with the divers being killed as they explore the wreck of the Orca, the boat from the first film, and follows that up with an impressive explosion. We then get the chief's fears not being believed which did feel like a bit of a rerun of what happened in the first film. Things get better again when the youngsters sail into danger; the shark may be shown a bit too much and it looks no more realistic than that in 'Jaws' but the young actors do look genuinely terrified which helps make it acceptable. The cast is decent enough although Roy Scheider stands out with his fine performance as Chief Brody. Overall I'd definitely recommend this to fans of the original.

No, this wasn't as good as the original, but it wasn't bad, either. In fairness, the audiences knew what to expect in this one and had already been shocked by the killer Great White Shark. Thus, it was no way audiences were going to react to the sequel as they did the first Jaws movie.

It didn't have Steven Spielberg directing, but it did have the same locale with same principal characters on "Amity:" mainly Police Chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider), his wife Ellen (Lorraine Gary) and Mayor Larry Vaughn (Murray Hamilton) so one didn't feel as if this was a completely new film. There was continuity to it, and we have the same problem (a big shark eating people). The main difference is that it is just a few years after the first horrifying incidents.

This story mainly involves Chief Brody's teenage kids and their friends. Overall, the film moves a little slowly the first hour, but picks up dramatically in the second half. In fact, it turns out quite intense, just like the first film. The main mistake the filmmakers made - which they wouldn't do today, was that it was too slow for too long. That, and the fact that the area residents apparently had a short memory; unrealistically short.

Anyway, the shark looks more realistic.....and if you can hang in there, you'll be rewarded with some good escapist entertainment in the second hour.

It only figured that multiple sequels would be spawned from (at the time) the most financially successful film in history. Jaws 2 was not the least bit necessary in terms of story and character development. It's merely an opportunity to put the lives of numerous young characters in jeopardy before our hero from part one (Scheider) can paddle to their rescue. The film is technically well-done, and the action somewhat compelling. This film also made a fortune, but it had nowhere near the commercial or critical success of the original.

First of all, the acting talent of Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss is sorely missed. They tried to write the Matt Hooper character back in, but Dreyfuss was in the midst of shooting Close Encounters with Spielberg, rendering his physical participation out of the question. Roy Scheider is back, though. And once again he proves that he is in fact a hell of a good actor. He's the kind of guy whose character you always end up rooting for. This time we see a darker side of his Chief Brody. Convinced there is a new shark in the waters off Amitty, he presses the point so vigorously that he is fired from his job. Keep in mind, the same mayor (Hamilton) is still in office, and he's not the kind of guy who wants his beaches closed for any reason.

Despite losing his job, Brody is once again forced to dispose of the killer great white before it devours his teenage son's friends and their sail boats. The film has some good stunt work, and some memorable shots of the killer fish. There is decidedly less blood shown in this one. The original barely escaped and R-rating, and they were obviously not going to chance that again. There are still plenty of frightening scenes, though. French director Jeannot Szwarc is no Spielberg, but he does a decent enough job with the material. John Williams' music still rings true.

Speaking of the material, that's the film's weak spot. Sharks do not behave like killers in a slasher movie. They don't use strategy to hunt down their victims like the sharks in these movies. A great white shark is a powerful and dangerous predator, but humans are generally not on its menu. Jaws 2 is however, miles above the next two sequels in the series. Part 3 had only the 3D gimmick to fall back on. Part 4 is hardly worth mentioning unless you like to laugh at really, really bad films.

7 of 10 stars for Jaws 2.

The Hound.

Added Feb 14, 2008: RIP Roy Scheider!