MovieChat Forums > Jaws 2 (1978) Discussion > Ignore the low rating, this is a damn go...

Ignore the low rating, this is a damn good film.


It has a solid premise, good characterizations, and an emphasis on storytelling not action sequences. Compare how this film is made to “action” films of the 21st century, night and day.

Everything on screen is real. The shark is superb. The suspense just builds and builds!
The original is incomparable, but this sequel is very very good and well-made.
You can probably skip Jaws 3D, but jaws and Jaws 2 are worth watching.

reply

It's a solid little film. Nothing special in anyway and lesser than the original in pretty much every aspect, but still it's a decent enough film.

reply

I don’t know if it’s ‘damn good’ but as far as horror sequels go it’s a respectable effort with some great moments.

As others have pointed out, the first half kinda drags although it does set up the young characters which pays off later. They’re not drawn particularly well but they at least feel ‘real’.

The last half hour is where it really picks up and there’s some heavy tension, especially for a PG film. The deaths are never gory but you feel the loss of life. The girl who saves Sean getting devoured is actually quite disturbing even though there’s no blood, the shark goes for her while she’s screaming and she just disappears.

In fact one thing this film really nails is the terror and trauma of the young cast, waiting to be eaten. The first film has a lot more going for it and maintains a lighthearted ‘fun’ tone throughout the horror, this one leans into the darkness with kids mentally breaking down.

While I’m pleased they didn’t go for cheap splatter, I do think this one needed more gore. The first was PG despite severed legs, corpses with eyes gouged out, and of course one of cinema’s most disturbing deaths when Quint gets eaten alive, screaming and spewing blood from his mouth. There was nothing even close to that here, it would have been easy to add some gore and keep the PG rating.

Anyway, solid sequel and always nice to hang out with Brody and his refreshingly supportive, non-nagging wife.




reply

Thanks, I will do just that and ignore the rating. Up until now, I only chose to watch movies that are rated 7.5 and above on here. I'll give this one a shot

reply

I always liked Jaws 2.

reply

This is for people that would have liked the first film without the super shocks!!! Personally, I LOVED the super shocks!!!

reply