Only now does it occur to me... that the beauty of seeing a monster shark suddenly and mercilessly eat a helicopter almost forgives JAWS 2's general inclination for pissing on the original.
Yeah, JAWS 2 is not a good movie. And while it marks the return of Chief Brody's rockin' hotpants,
the contractually obligated Roy Scheider crabbily sleepwalks his way through a movie that's nearly as soulless as a shark's black, beady eyes.
There are a few things to like, including an early Keith Gordon (CHRISTINE, ALL THAT JAZZ) performance and a nice John Williams score, but on the whole, with its lowered stakes, bland atmosphere, and lack of compelling characters (who we can really sink our teeth into), JAWS 2 begins to resemble a lesser slasher film– a series of aimless attacks on screaming victims– an effect that is amplified by the "disfigured killer," a shark puppet with a burned face doing a proto-Freddy Krueger impersonation.
Anchors aweigh... bitch!
2014 HALLOWEEN COUNTDOWN
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