Jaws 2

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David Jonathan B I've always preferred this to the original, both of which I saw as a kid in the 70s on their release. While the first was a great film, 2 was far more exciting as it involved every day victims just out for a jolly at the beach. The pacing is far better too. Even today, if this turn up on the telly, I'll still watch it. It transports me to the 70s and wakes up that excited boy going to cinema in me. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/08/25 Full Review Troy T I don't know why everyone is so hard on this sequel. I think it's highly enjoyable with some pretty good scares. Yes, it's not the masterpiece the first one is, but I still think it's a successful film. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 07/07/25 Full Review DanTheMan 2 One good bite deserves another. I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Jaws 2; it's a vastly underrated sequel that had no business being any good but did so anyway, with plenty of thrills, chills and some genuinely nail-biting moments. It's not a patch on Spielberg's classic, lacking his storytelling elegance, but in streamlining the terror, it creates enough apprehension to keep the adrenaline flowing. Director Jeannot Szwarc does a good job with his ability to emulate the look of the original with fine photography that brings the beaches and ocean to life and gives this sequel the same kind of sun-bleached look as the first; although he lacks the creative manipulation of Spielberg, with no feel for pace, no gift for invention and no eye for the subtle details of human interaction, relying greatly on his returning players to do the heavy lifting for him. Even with the decision to showcase the shark from the get-go, Szwarc still manages to create some rather delicate moments of palpable fear amid the chaos, especially once the shark goes full aquatic slasher villain with its new-fangled scar. Even with the familiar formula, the filmmakers did everything they could to revitalise the material while staying true to what had made it successful in the first place. If there's anything I can admire in the material, it's how this film takes the time to explore Sheriff Brody's PTSD from the original; the man is very obviously suffering, growing panicked and obsessive all the while being given the runaround by the local officials with Scheider, despite not wanting to be there, clearly giving it his all as the outcast loner. He's brilliant and goes a long way in endearing this sequel to me. The return of John Williams is an equally welcome addition; while keeping the familiar motifs, his score for this sequel is broader, pulling out all the stops to make it as exciting and hair-raising as possible. Although Jaws 2 pretty much wrote the book on unnecessary sequels, it still has a lot to give and makes for a solid adventure yarn, far from a classic, but a very worthy follow-up. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 07/06/25 Full Review David F When I saw that Roy Scheider returned for this sequel, I decided to check it out. Yes, the mayor who didn’t want to close the beeches during the first Jaws even though everybody was getting eaten by a dangerous shark is still the mayor in this film. And this one does try to bring up some of the elements of a critique of capitalism that were present in the first film. It begins at the ribbon cutting for a new Holiday Inn on Amity so you know that promoting the tourist season is going to be a big part of this film. Unfortunately, it all devolves into a great big mess. Scheider is game but he is also a little unhinged in this film, not quite the conflicted police chief with a fear of the water who needed to confront that fear in order to do his job and make the beaches safe again. A lot of this film follows a group of teens who are kind of stranded at sea and in peril with a new shark looking to eat people. The climax where the shark bites into an undersea power cable almost lives up to the conclusion of the first film but mostly this is a dud. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 07/01/25 Full Review thiago s Filme mais ou menos, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são mais ou menos, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom Rated 1/5 Stars •  Rated 1 out of 5 stars 06/23/25 Full Review Jacob G Jaws 2, while not as groundbreaking as its predecessor, delivers everything we’d expect from a blockbuster sequel: more kills, more action, and less exposition. This film cuts straight to the chase, revealing the lurking menace in the water of Amity Island without wasting any time. This distinguishes it from its predecessor, which prioritized concealing the shark for most of the runtime to generate shock value. However, there was no need to repeat this strategy in the sequel. By 1978, everyone was fully aware of the threat from the outset, so employing this method would have been unnecessary. Additionally, Jaws 2 boldly ventures into slasher territory, taking the suspense/thriller formula of the first film and updating it by turning the focus to Chief Brody’s sons and a group of neurotic, sail-hungry teenagers. The film also delves into deeper themes, particularly the struggles of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which has profoundly impacted Chief Brody after the traumatic event that shook his community years prior. It goes even deeper, diving into his paradoxical journey, where he simultaneously becomes the forgotten local hero of his town while striving to be a devoted father and husband to his family. It showcases remarkable emotional depth and honesty in its portrayal of mental illness, which is further amplified by Roy Scheider’s captivating and slightly unhinged performance. The other actors are commendable as well, particularly the teenage ensemble who deliver a handful of exceptionally convincing portrayals that maintain a comparable level of quality to those of the adult cast. Nonetheless, director Jeannot Szwarc understood the significance of crafting a worthy follow-up to Spielberg’s modern classic, and he arguably achieved that, despite the numerous challenges that plagued the film’s production behind the scenes. Alas, despite all the appraisals, Spielberg’s magic is noticeably absent from the project, which inevitably leads to a decline in quality. However, thanks to Szwarc’s skillful direction and keen attention-to-detail, the quality drop is relatively minimal. In retrospect, while Jaws 2 never reaches the heights of its seminal predecessor, it stands today as a criminally underrated sequel which deserves more love and appreciation than it receives. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/23/25 Full Review Read all reviews

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