Les Dents de la mer 3

I had avoided seeing this film for fifteen years because of it's bad reputation and because I love the first Jaws as one of the greatest movies ever made. Having survived the horror of "Jaws: The Revenge" once, I decided to see if I could brave this one, though.

About the only thing that surprised me was that the premise wasn't quite as dumb as "Jaws: The Revenge" is. And while there is a reference to the events of "Jaws 2" at least they don't insult our intelligence with a shark pursuing one family etc. of any "Brody curse."

What sinks this film though is that it's dull in every sense. The FX are cheap and terrible and too often it's hard to figure out what's going on here. Scenes that could have been suspenseful with a competent director just plod along in a muddled fashion. In the end, Jaws 3 comes off more as a glorified made for TV type disaster movie with none of the high quality that elevates the original Jaws above such fare.

Saw this one in all its 3D glory in the theater back in 1983, and it really scared the heck out of me. (I was ten) This film furthers the saga of the Brody family as sons Sean and Mike are now fully grown and moved away from Amity Island. Sean does something in Colorado if I recall, and Mike is (heh, heh, heh,) an underwater welder who just finished construction of an undersea kingdom at Sea World in Florida. Just when the park is about to have a grand opening, some uninvited guests show up. They being a 35-foot great white shark and her offspring. Needless to say, some people get eaten.

This film was originally going to be made as spoof of the previous two films. I'm not sure if any type of a finished script to that effect exists, but it would be worth a look. Jaws 3D ends up being another serious monster movie with a disaster movie subplot. Not only does the shark eat a bunch of people, it also traps several others in the underwater part of the park. The race is on to save the people and kill the mother shark. Her baby dies midway through after it is captured and hastily put on display in the park. The conclusion is fairly exciting, and full of bloody carnage.

The cast is one of the stronger points of the film. Dennis Quaid is the fearless Mike Brody. Bess Armstrong plays the park's head biologist and Quaid's love interest. (The real sparks were apparently flying between Quaid and Lea Thompson off camera, though!) Thompson plays a water skier at the park, and John Putch plays Sean Brody who falls for her. Simon MacCorkindale and P.H. Moriarity play a couple of Englishmen who show up and help battle the sharks. By far the best performance is turned in by Louis Gossett Jr., fresh off his Oscar for An Officer and a Gentleman. He plays the owner/manager/president (I'm really not sure which) of the park. He has a terrific moment as he addresses the park guests in the underwater tunnels over the p.a. system. He turns on the fake executive public relations charm and asks them all to calmly exit the park just as the giant shark is bearing down on them.

The individuals who play Dan and Liz left a lot to be desired. Since no other film credits are listed for them, one would have to conclude that they actually worked at Sea World and were given these roles since this is what they do on a daily basis. Maybe they still work there. Anyone know? The sharks look pretty good in most of the scenes. Except at the very end when the shark is lodged into the control room and its tail is sticking out. That looked incredibly fake. In addition, sharks must always stay moving in the water or they'll die. They can't just lay low in huge underwater structures waiting to pounce on their victims. They usually strike from directly underneath their victims in most attack scenarios. The big shark in this film also has the ability to growl and roar, but not as loudly as the one in part IV! The 3D effect looked very good in the theater, but films like this lose quite a bit of their luster on the TV screen. You're only left with a bunch of gag shots that were supposed to scare viewers in the theater, but now look ludicrous and forced.

This film made some pretty decent $ in its theatrical run, and is still shown regularly on television. If nothing else is on, and you find yourself in front of a TV for an extended period, give this film a try. But be forewarned: Part IV is perhaps the worst film ever made. Don't waste your time on that one! 5 of 10 stars.

The Hound.

I'm certain if you read the screenplay for this third entry in the Jaws franchise you'd think it could amount to a solid sequel. There's nothing fundamentally wrong with the idea, it at least adds many new elements to the Jaws formula. Where it all goes wrong is in the execution. The acting, direction, and production values are way, way below what they should have been. The 3-D effects are ridiculous. They bring to mind a SCTV parody of 3-D films, with exaggerated tricks that add nothing to someone watching this in regular format. Compare this to something like The Creature From The Black Lagoon, or It Came From Outer Space- those films were 3-D but play perfectly well as flat films. But those were made by people with talent, this film is not.

There's also the weird idea of using the Sea World park, but making it a fictitious one located near the ocean with completely different attractions- it's a strange bit of promotional advertising. The real Sea World is quite different, and yet it's shown with all these fantastic elements that are pure fantasy. A better idea would have been to name the marine attraction something original. The scenes somehow come off way more corny and trite than the actual theme park was at the time. The use of the dolphins is a great idea that is staged horribly. The old Flipper show had better shark vs. dolphin scenes.

The effects are wretched. In fact, had they worked it would have helped save the whole film from being a waste, but they are totally amateurish, below that of a Roger Corman exploitation film from the 50s or 60s. One expects more from a major studio mounting a sequel to a mega-hit.

The actors offer nothing here. Dennis Quaid and Louis Gosset have shown remarkable talent, but none of it is on display here. Bess Armstrong and Lea Thompson are both very attractive, but again they don't really add anything, and Thompson seems especially vapid here. Luckily all these actors are in a film so filled with incompetence that the music, effects, editing and overall storytelling distract from their work.

A pair of Great White sharks attack Sea World in Florida.

Jaws 3-D is a mostly weak film but has the redeeming quality of presenting such an outrageous concept you cannot help but watch it unfold. Additionally, it's artistic and technical merits are quite enjoyably flawed.

Jaws 2 was an unnecessary yet well made sequel, but having members of Brody family face yet another "murderer" shark is a laughably daft concept. Rather disturbingly it continued a trend of movies that demonise sharks. There are numerous other ideas involving the behaviour of sharks/dolphins and reactions of the main characters that are equally as bizarre, but if you can switch the brain off and appreciate their entertainment value you might find it a worthwhile investment of time. It also contains recycled character arcs from the original movie that feel like pale imitations.

Technically it has problems, particularly when most viewers will not get the chance to see the theatrical release. Most visuals designed for a 3-D experience stand out and do not have the same impact.

The shark horror sequences have little build up or tension and are quite unconvincing. I do admire the ambition of attempting to create a victim's perspective sequence from the inside of its mouth, but most of the final scenes of painfully slow moving underwater horror, (particularly the moment in the control room) are incredibly ropey.

That's not to say that the classic original did not (in principle) have the same problems. A mechanical shark looks like nothing else in every Jaws movie. However, Spielberg understood this and wisely kept the shark mostly hidden and focussed on developing great characters and tension.

I feel sorry for the editor of this sequel as it appears they had to cut together footage from both above and below the sea level that make the water's depth and lighting conditions look very inconsistent.

For some balance I am positive about the performances. Most actors do their best with dodgy material. Louis Gossett Jr, Bess Armstrong, and the coked up Dennis Quaid standout. Lea Thompson has some memorable moments as the "professional water skier". It feels the direction was more focussed on making the cast look good in shorts and swimsuits than character portrayals, but they manage to elevate some scenes. Armstrong convinces me as a whale/dolphin wrangler and I think she is the strongest performer.

As a young child of the 80s I quite enjoyed it on VHS. On a recent rewatch I placed it in the genre: so bad it's good, and sub-genre: never rewatch and spoil that of which you have fond childhood memories.

The Great White goes back into the cinema in this flawed sequel.This bone-chilling movie based on the Peter Benchley's novel and written by Richard Matheson and Carl Gottlieb (screenwriter of the trilogy) , it packs some exciting scenes, thrills, chills and lousy direction. The film is developed at Florida in a seaside park , while the previous entries are set at in New England in a shore community named Amity .There ,people is terrorized by a giant shark that attacks pacific tourists at the undersea kingdom during the preview week. An underwater world that contains restaurant, cafeteria, aquarium and several other things.The sons ( Dennis Quaid and John Putch) of Police chief Brody ( Roy Scheider, Lorraine Gary Jaws I,II) attempt to convince the park owner (Louis Gossett Jr) who reluctantly listen them to close the attraction . Meanwhile the giant shark attacks and the victims run afoul and making a real carnage and those serving for lunch. Then, an adventurer named Phillip(Simon MacCorkindale) and his helper determine to track down and kill it. The protagonists are forced to fight for their lives in a mortal confrontation.

It's an inferior following with average creation of tension,thrills,terror, emotions and brief gore. The story gets little relation to first two Jaws, except by father Sheriff Brody and sons relationship. The argument of this gratuitous following is partially similar to ¨Revenge of the creature¨(Jack Arnold) in which also a monster terrorizes a sea park. The shark attack images deliver the exciting united to creepy score composed and conducted by Alan Parker inspired on the classic soundtrack by the master John Williams (prized with an Oscar) who heightens the suspense. This below average movie features lousy interpretations of the quintet main star, Dennis Quaid, Bess Armstrong, Louis Gossett Jr, John Putch and Lea Thompson (formerly to ¨Back to the future¨) . Regular cinematography by James A Contner (subsequently filmmaker) and is badly directed by Joe Alves, producer designer of the original film. While the classic picture by Spielberg obtained three Oscars well deserved and today considered an authentic classic, its tree sequels are much worst, and were respectively directed by Jeannot Swarc,Joe Alves and Joseph Sargent in annoying direction. Rating: Bottom of barrel, a real turkey. Only for theaters, its real asset are the 3D digital effects, for that reason in television lost their spectacular Tri-dimensional qualities.