Jaws 2 Movie Review

Jaws 2 (1978)

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Written by: Peter Benchley (characters created by), Carl Gottlieb and Howard Sackler (written by) 
Directed by: Jeannot Szwarc
Starring: Roy Scheider, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton
Rated: PG
Watch the trailer

Plot
A shark terrorizes the same small town again.

Verdict
It's difficult to live up to an icon, and this sequel proves that. It's almost a certainty the producers wanted to generate the profits from the first one, but the most glaring omission is the lack of Spielberg's metered pacing. This dispenses with the sense of foreboding doom that made the original Jaws a classic. This is a cash grab over substance.
Skip it.

 Review
Jaws 2 lacks the impact of the first movie. It doesn't try to provide anything new. This is a failure of the writing in that it's a feeble recreation of the first, but the directing lacks Spielbergs tension and suspense.

Spielberg's Jaws didn't show us the shark, and for good reason. He relied on us to create a gruesome image in our mind. This movie jumps right in, showing us the shark in the very first scene. The attack is over so quickly that there isn't even a chance to let the iconic score build and create a mood.

Jaws 2 just tried to recreate the first movie instead of bringing something new to the franchise. There is no reason to see this as it's completely inferior to the original. Instead of a focus on the shark, this movie decides to focus on Brody (Roy Scheider) and his family. I liked the idea of Brody unhinged at yet another shark attack, but the inclusion of his kids as potential victims is just lazy and manipulative.

As bad as the first is good.

Where the first movie used establishing shots in the ocean to imply the shark was close, this movie has way too many establishing shots at the beach or bar. Every other scene change includes an establishing shot of happy vacationers and islanders on the beach. That's not how you create tension.

This shark's face is burned, just to give it distinguishing feature. This happens in one of the early scenes where a woman, while being attacked in her boat, douses the boat and herself with gas and lights it up. I don't know if she made a mistake or was the hero the movie needed.
The shark is too smart, picking or avoiding targets just to manipulate the audience. It makes the movie boring.

I was surprised that the same writer was involved with Jaws and Jaws 2. It doesn't seem like it, but then the sequel doesn't have the advantage of being based on a book and it shows. The biggest omission is the lack of Spielberg. This is just a B movie, riding on the coat tails of success.