Movie Review: Jaws - The Revenge

Stars: 2 out of 5

Pros: Acting

Cons: Just about everything else

The Bottom Line:

Shark stalks family

Film mostly ridiculous

Feel free to skip

The Jaws Franchise Goes Out with a … Roar?

I’d heard it was bad. But I still wanted to see for myself just how bad Jaws: The Revenge is. Maybe my expectations were low because I thought it wasn’t as bad as I expected. Not saying it is great, either. 

We start up in Amity where a tragedy befalls the Brody family, leaving widow Ellen (Lorraine Gary) grieving over her second loss. Her son, Michael (Lance Guest), invites her to go with his family back to the Bahamas where he is conducting research on sea snails. 

Ellen agrees to go, even meeting the charming pilot Hoagie (Michael Caine) along the way. But she is certain that a great white shark is stalking her family. At least it seems crazy….

The movie is set around Christmas, which left me scratching my head. I wonder if that was the original release day, and it got moved. I mean, it just doesn’t seem like this franchise would fit into the Christmas season. 

So, where do issues with the move start?

First, let’s talk about the lack of continuity with the previous movie. Michael is suddenly a biologist instead of an engineer of some kind? Honestly, I don’t mind so much that we’ve got our fourth actor playing the character. I kind of expect it at this point. 

Then there’s the premise of a shark with a vendetta being out for revenge. I know animals are smart. But that smart? As smart as the plot requires it to be? Please. Not to mention the travel involved. 

On the other hand, I will give this shark credit - it only goes after its targets. Some of the killers in slashers should learn from this shark and leave the extra characters alone. 

Of course, horror fans will complain that the body count is low, and they do have a bit of a point. Especially with the ending I saw. Apparently, there are two endings to the film, and I’m going with the slightly happier one since it is the one I saw. 

And that’s one of the other flaws with this film, the tone. Even for a creature feature horror movie, this is a dismal movie. I get it considering how the movie opens, but the sad tone keeps it from being enjoyable. 

Now, this isn’t to blame the actors. They are doing the best they can with the material they have. And Lorraine’s performance is phenomenal. 

Back to what doesn’t work. There’s the script. For the plot to work, Michael has to be incredibly stupid. I mean, anyone with a brain and all his family has been through would never go along with what he agrees to here. 

Not to mention some improbable escapes. 

There are a couple of suspenseful scenes, but the rest of the movie is so crazy that we can’t take them seriously. 

Finally, can we talk about the roar? Yes, the shark roars during the climax. Now, I’m not a biologist, and I know some animals can make noise when you don’t expect them do, but this seems a little silly. Then again, I don’t have any issue with the metallic sound effect the knife makes in the Scream movies when it is pulled out, so I’m willing to turn a blind eye when I love a franchise.

The special effects are okay. A few don’t hold up, but a few of the scenes are quite effective. 

I can’t say the same for the opening. It’s so dark, it’s hard to follow. And, honestly, that character deserved better. 

Jaws: The Revenge is on par with the third movie for me. Unless you are a diehard fan of the franchise, there’s no reason to watch it.