Hollywood could’nt get enough of its favorite monster flick, Jaws, spawning the creation of three sequels, with Jaws 2 being the best of them all. Let’s discuss.
Hollywood cant re-create lightning in a bottle, it just doesn’t happen. This can be applied to Jaws and its infamous sequel, Jaws 2. You know you are in trouble when the film makers are trying to recreate the feeling and success of the first film. Sequels to big films should be made with a blank sheet, to make it fresh and stand on its own.
The best sequels in film history can stand on their own, including Terminator 2 , Aliens, The Godfather part 2, these films don’t rely on the original to entertain the audiences in my opinion. They re-create their own set of film rules in the context of their franchises.
Jaws 2 could capture the thrills and spills of the nightmare that is the Great White, but it couldn’t capture the magic chemistry of the original three with its cast of misfits and amateurs. However, most films in general dont have the magic chemistry of the three leads in Jaws, it’s rare.
With Jaws 2 easily being the best out of all three of the sequels, it’s a really fun film to discuss now, nearly 45 years since its release, back in 1978.
The film gathers a cliche plot that relies heavily on the love of the first film. The film itself has weak characters but Jaws 2 really does have some inventive and brutal kills, and I really mean brutal. There is a lot more fire and explosions this time around, a lot more, but there is actually a rather compelling character study this time around. We get to uncover more layers to Chief Brody and its pretty good.
His character arc revolves around him slowly loosing his mind to the point of putting his job on the line. He frantically tries to convince the board that there is a shark in their waters and these frantic outbursts begins to effect his family. This was a surprisingly good element to the film and this drama certainly helped keep my interest in between the madness when the shark was scavenging for meals around the beach.
Some interesting back notes on the film were that the film could have been made into a fantasy sequel featuring underwater creatures, separate from the original but with the same brand title, thank god that idea got scrapped.
The film gets off to a promising start, with a visually exciting opening title credits, closing in on two doomed divers, with the jaws music theme ticking along, its the classic Jaws scenario that has become very self aware and terrifying. We also get a lovely nod to the shipwreck of the original, a ravishing moment of us Jaws fans. John Williams return to compose the music for this sequel and it delivers.
Whether how Hollywood Jaws 2 gets, Great White Sharks can eat you alive and there is nothing more terrifying than that, other than terrible film sequels including Jaws 3 and Jaws 4.
For the most part, Jaws 2 doesn’t try to be anything more than what it is, a meaningless and predictable sequel that gets the job done with one competent performance right at its core, Chief brody. No disrespect for the rest of the cast, they’re fine but you don’t really remember them and the film slowly falls into the slasher horror flick concept, where characters exist only to be eaten alive one minute later.
Jaws 2 features more kills, but its effects are less meaningful, whereas in the first film, there would be more focus and concentration on one kill at a time, carefully building up tension leading to an attack. Jaws 2 wants to eat the whole cast and it nearly achieves this.
Come to think of it, it was a minor miracle that Jaws 2 could cast Chief Brody in its sequel. However, to give Jaws 2 credit, it’s pretty much impossible to make a monster sequel as good as Jaws was, it just doesn’t happen.
Jaws was one of the greatest films ever made, Jaws 2 could only be half decent, it would have to take something really really special to get the film to be even half good, but there are plenty of fans of Jaws 2 who would argue its a good sequel and fair play to them.
The sequel was made by Jeannot Szwarc, who has’nt exactly made anything noteworthy in the past, but the film does hold together fairly well, well enough for a fun Friday and Saturday night experience. Jaws 2 may belong on the verge of Hollywood sequel trash, but it’s the better kind, thanks to some lovely nods to the original, terrifying kills and spills and a compelling character arc of Chief Brody to help keep you emotionally engaged in the drama and chaos. For those that haven’t seen Jaws 2, give it a go.
The only Jaws films that exist in my opinion are Jaws and Jaws 2, leave the rest behind.
You can buy the Jaws series on DVD for a lovely price, here and buy the book behind the films production here.
What do you think of Jaws 2?
Author Bio
Sam is a content writer. He loves all elements connected with film and writes with passion, always. You can find him on Linkedin, where you will be able to read more articles. When he is not writing, you can find him practicing football
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