Home
search
more | tips
IMDb > Jaws 2 (1978)
Jaws 2
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotes
Overview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv schedule
Awards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage board
Plot & Quotes
plot summaryplot synopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotes
Fun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQ
Other Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDesk
Promotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo gallery
External Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clips

Photos (see all 31 | slideshow)

Overview

User Rating:
5.6/10   16,254 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
No change in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Jeannot Szwarc
Writers:
Peter Benchley (characters)
Carl Gottlieb (written by) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for Jaws 2 on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
16 June 1978 (USA) more
Genre:
Horror | Thriller more
Tagline:
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water... more
Plot:
Police chief Brody must protect the citizens of Amity after a second monstrous shark begins terrorizing the waters. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
NewsDesk:
(5 articles)
Getting a Reading on Jaws
 (From Dread Central. 22 April 2009, 2:14 AM, PDT)

Before the Oscars, They Belonged to Us, Part 3
 (From Dread Central. 26 February 2009, 2:51 AM, PST)

User Comments:
This Time it's Kind of Personal! more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Runtime:
116 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) (2001) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) (original rating) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Norway:15 (DVD) | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | Netherlands:12 (original rating) | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:15 (DVD rating) | Australia:M | USA:PG (certificate #25237) | UK:PG | Singapore:PG | UK:A (original rating) | Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Marc Gilpin (Sean Brody) claims that when they were shooting one of the scenes on the makeshift raft of wrecked yachts, they were being circled by a real hammerhead shark. All the actors were scared and began to scream and holler at the production crew who were filming that particular scene from a distance. The crew were oblivious to the danger and assumed the actors were simply 'in character' and gave them the thumbs up! more
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: In the lighthouse sequence, underwater shots of the attacking great white shark are actually stock footage of a black tip shark. This is obvious, as you could imagine, from the black tip markings on the visible dorsal and pectoral fins. It is a smaller and less aggressive shark than the great white. more
Quotes:
Martin Brody: I think we've got another shark problem.
Mayor Larry Vaughn: Are you serious?
Martin Brody: You bet I'm serious.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in The Secret of My Succe$s (1987) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
33 out of 51 people found the following comment useful:-
This Time it's Kind of Personal!, 12 April 2003
5/10
Author: MovieAddict2009 from UK

A film like "Jaws 2" proves that we can, indeed, get too much of a good thing. Action and shark over substance and character development. Somewhere along the way "Jaws" went from being about deep, intelligent characters in intense situations to shallow teenagers in B-monster-movie moments.

"Jaws 2," or "Jaws2" (no space in between "s" and "2"), takes place four years after the horrid events in Amity, seen in the first film. Police Chief Brody (Roy Scheider, commonly mistaken for Rob Schneider with today's audience) is a veteran of a shark attack, of course. And like most sequels involving characters who once battled a beast of some sort and survived, Brody is now the official expert on sharks. When a boat blows up off shore, Brody suspects a shark. When a killer whale is found dead with chomp marks, Brody suspects a shark. Heck, you could blow up the state of Arkansas and Brody would probably think it's a shark.

Soon Brody loses his job because the town mayor (Murray Hamilton, reprising his role shortly in this film because he had to stop filming to attend to his sick wife) doesn't like poor Brody, even after the events of the first film. Then Brody's seventeen-year-old son goes out on a sail boat and before you can go, "Duh-duh-duh-duh" JAWS is coming at him and his friends. Brody goes, tries to save them, and you can guess what the outcome is.

Okay, here are some things I noticed that hindered this film:

1. The first thing that hits you over the head here is how this film is painfully a copy in every way of the first film, only about ten times worse. There is no suspense--they show the shark from the beginning on. In a documentary made just for the "Jaws2" DVD, the director says that "The shark has already been seen, so there's no suspense--you might as well show it." Well, this is a bit true--I hate when horror sequels wait till the end to show the creature ("Predator 2") even though we've seen them in the first. But the way they do it here is painfully un-suspenseful. The film really contains no sense of suspense.

2. You'd think that everyone in the town would have learned their lesson last time: Brody was right about a shark, and he saved the day. Here we see everyone turning back to their old ways and ignoring Brody. You could give excuses for this, but the fact of the matter remains: It's just another retread of the first film, done on a much lesser scale.

3. The shark here is shown too much--he looks like a rubber ducky in a bathtub. Kids scream as it attacks boats and helicopters--yes, helicopters (that looks strange on paper)--and the shark comes out of the water head first to swim forward. Now, unlike the first film where the shark was never shown very well--because of mechanical problems or not, they still didn't show it--they show the shark many, many times here. And unlike the first when they DID show the shark, in "Jaws2" they make the shark look utterly unrealistic. In the first the rubber shark swam like a shark--this thing swims like a giant piece of rubber in an ocean.

4. The director obviously went for action over story: Steven Spielberg masterfully crafted an instense and scary film, yet at the same time provided a very interesting character study. Here, we just see blood, guts, and big rubber sharks--something that might look good in a B-horror-movie, but not in a "Jaws" film.

5. What are the remote chances that another 25-foot Great White Shark (capitalized for effect) would be off the coast off the small town Amity twice? Perhaps this will answer that question:

After finding a killer whale, Brody asks a marine biologist (filling in Richard Dreyfuss' most-missed shoes), "You don't think if one shark dies, another shark could come and"--he gets cut off by the marine biologist, who says, "Sharks don't take things personally, Mr. Brody." Well, that's funny, according to the tagline for the forth film they do. Perhaps that is one of the confusing elements of this film. Is the shark attacking because Brody killed the other one four years ago? Or is it just an odd coincidence? We may never know.

Steven Spielberg had the smarts to move on after the first project, as did Richard Dreyfuss, and Roy Scheider should have said "no," too, because you can't flog a dead fish and expect people to jump. (Did that make sense? Sorry, I had a good catch-phrase in my head but it didn't come out right.)

The first film should have been a stand alone, but in the case that they should make a sequel to one of the most cherished films of all time, for heaven's sake, make it good!

So now I come back to my original question. What should my header be for this review? And then I got it:

"This time it's kind of personal!"

2.5/5 stars -

John Ulmer

Was the above comment useful to you?
more

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Jaws 2 (1978)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Anyone see this in theater? ecmblume
The guy who looked like Shaggy from Scooby-Doo Walls Of Jericho
I don't get it!! luckyluvr22
German TV version corruptmatt
Should they have even done any sequels? electrorevolution
when Marge/Sean's boat gets hit Joker-26
more

Recommendations

If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
- - - - -
Jaws Batoru rowaiaru I Still Know What You Did Last Summer Spider-Man 3 National Treasure: Book of Secrets
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
Show more recommendations

Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits External reviews
News articles IMDb Horror section IMDb USA section
Add this title to MyMovies

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.