Under the lens takes a deep look at films by focusing in on one or two particular areas of the picture that helped to define it for better or for worse.
Jaws 2 is a 1978 horror thriller directed by Jeannot Szwarc and stars Roy Scheider and Lorraine Gary. The story begins after the events of the previous picture and finds Police chief Brody again having to protect the citizens of Amity after a second monstrous shark begins terrorizing the waters.
Under The Lens: Disconnected Narrative and Set pieces
Disconnected narrative: The primary issue with Jaws 2 is the disconnected narrative of the picture, events happen that have little to no effect on the overall plot other than to have the audience “See” it. For example, the picture opens with two divers visiting the wreck of the Orca and being eaten by a giant great white shark, this event is revisited later in the picture, but so late that it feels like a sort of weird twisted vignette.
Another event sees a diver get the bends because he panics when seeing the shark, Brody visits the man but then soon after runs off and the event is forgotten never to be mentioned again. Later in one of the pictures better scenes the shark attacks a boat which then blows up, Brody suspects a Shark attack but no one will listen, he then runs across the burned body of the pilot, one would think he would find some evidence or her body would play into the plot? Nope, finding her body acts more like a jump scare which has no direct influence on the story.
Having subplots is fine for a motion picture, but its plot events need to connect to one another, even in a small way so as to forward the story, sadly Jaws 2 at times feels more like a series of “Events” and less like a coherent plot.
Set pieces: One of the strengths of Jaws 2 is its action set pieces, the shark attack on the water border and destruction of the boat, its taking down of a helicopter, and lastly the picture’s final act are all thrilling and worthy of the name Jaws. The final act finds a bunch of teens waylaid on a collection of boats that are drifting and sinking with the shark hunting them down one by one. The final confrontation between Brody and the shark takes place on an island power junction that is well shot and exciting. There was a lot of work put into the choreographing of the sailboat wrecks and we get a suitable amount of tension and suspense.
Highlights
The helicopter crash attack was well shot and exciting
The brief exploration of Brody’s PTSD was interesting
The death of the shark is rather creative
Quotable Quote
Martin Brody: I mean, it’s obvious that a big fish took a bite out of… this big fish.
Something to think about
How did Jaws affect you? Did you have a fear of swimming or the ocean due to it?
Conclusion
Overall Jaws 2 is a disappointing but perfectly suitable sequel to Jaws, it checks all the boxes and is at times a rather good picture, but suffers from a disconnected plot and lack of development of its lead character Brody. The idea of a PTSD stricken Brody is very interesting but is only barely touched on, it also has a shocking lack of gore compared to its predecessor. That being said Jaws 2 is filled with thrilling set-pieces, beautiful scenery, and some nice cinematography, which raises this sequel to a level of “Good but not great”. Is it worth watching? Yes, it is, at the very least to see what the town and Brody are up to and watch the creative carnage caused by Team shark!
