Les Dents de la mer 3

Jaws 3-D (1983) was not only a sequel to the first two JAWS films, but it was also one of the few movies that took advantage of the rebirth of the 3-D fad that was sweeping Hollywood during the early 80's (see Amityville 3-D and Friday the 13th 3-D). When the film hit the video shelves, they scrapped the whole thing. Why make a 3-D movie in the first place if you're not going to take advantage of it when it's available for the home video market? The video looked bad when it was released as a rental. Many of the scenes that were shot didn't make any sense or were badly projected. The movie did poorly at the box office and after a couple of years, no more mainstream films were presented in 3-D. The movie itself is pretty bad. Only for die hard fans of the JAWS series.

Not recommended, unless they re-release it in 3-D. other than that it's pretty much worthless.

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.

I actually like this Jaws ok. I don't think it is a masterpiece or anything, but it is good if not taken to seriously. This one focuses on the Brodie boys who really went through a growth spurt. One (Dennis Quaid) works at a sea amusement park and this is where the shark attacks take place (this should alone tell you not to take the film to seriously). I actually saw this one at the theater too, so that helps to enjoy the film more as it was rather cool in 3-D and it is the only 3-D movie I have ever seen at the theater so maybe that is why I will always somewhat enjoy it. The plot is at a sea park like I said and first the team goes after this one shark that was rather puny, then you find out there is a bigger one out there. There are a couple of pretty good shark attack scenes and I loved the subplot of the people stuck in that pod underwater. This film isn't for everyone though seeing as how it is ranked as one of the worst so read other people's reviews before deciding to see it.

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.

Mike Brody appears to be totally over the events that struck his family in his youth and now works in Florida's newest underwater attraction – Seaworld. His brother, Sean is less sure and never goes in the water – although a visit to see Mike and a new girlfriend help him confront his fear if not get over it. Meanwhile, something is picking off staff and swimmers getting Mike and the staff out on a shark hunt. They capture a small great white and take it into captivity, only for it to die when it is put in too small a tank. They think their problems are over until an examination of the bite marks on some bodies and they realize that the shark that did the killing is much, much bigger than the one they caught.

I saw this film as a child but couldn't remember if it was any good or not – my childish fears may have made it scary even if the film was poor, so I decided to give it a go again recently. The first thing that struck me was the sheer rubbishness of the effects. In the original Jaws, Spielberg had hidden the shark as much as he could because the effects didn't work (and also therefore upping the tension); however here the makers just decide to show anything – a poorly superimposed image, a rubber shark, fake severed arms and so on – none of them are concealed, they are all shown up in all their rubbish glory. I could forgive it this due to its age but two other films had already managed to handle this issue before this film so I don't see why they went this route when it so clearly didn't work. Some shots are so bad that they could have been mistaken for being a spoof (witness the shark swimming towards the control room).

Of course, after the poor effects the second thing that hits you is the laughable plot. True it is not as bad as part 4 in terms of plausibility but it is still pretty thin. No attempt is made to really give the characters any sort of, well, character and the very basic sea world plot just about manages to give the shark enough high profile feeding scenes to keep the film moving – just don't hold your breath for any logic or sense. In fact, the opposite is true and this film does deliver some moments that make you wonder what the writers were thinking when they conceived some of this stuff! The manner of Jaws' death here would be hilarious if it wasn't so darn pathetic. Even with the plot being poor the film should still have had at least a few moment of fear and tension – many of us fear being eaten alive so it isn't hard to draw on that, but this fails to have any tension or excitement to speak of. The effects suck a lot of this out – but a director who's name is listed in the dictionary alongside the work 'workmanlike' didn't do anything to stop the rot either.

Without characters the cast are set adrift with nothing to do – how Quaid must have envied Roy Schnieder in the first films, at least he was a good character. Quaid runs around the place, Armstrong screams, Putch broods, Thompson screams and Gossett tries to act tough in the middle of a script that gives him nothing to do. I don't blame the cast but I am disappointed that nobody mention how very bad taste it was to make a happy ending out of the dolphins surviving while so many other people had not!

Overall this is just a bad film. I'm not a big one for lists so I'll not play that game here but it is pretty much without any value at all. The plot is poor, the effects are rubbish, the direction is weak, the script just a load of nonsense and there is a total lack of tension, thrills or excitement. The original is a classic and this film is further proof that sometimes classics should be just left alone.