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Jaws 3-D (1983) More at IMDbPro »

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221 comments in total

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24 out of 36 people found the following comment useful :-
Not as bad as they say!!!, 16 September 2005

Author: salvoide from Spain

First of all, the movie fails mainly due to the 3D effects (sorry for my English, I'm a Spaniard!) 'cause they wanna be more than they're. Sometimes, they look laughable, but the physical effects are awesome (the great great white). I appreciate this movie 'cause this is a movie of my childhood. I saw and recorded it on TV, and I grew with Mike and Kathryn, my right heroes!!!.

Now, I'm conscious about the film's mistakes, but, for a third installment, the result ins't so bad. The plot couldn't innovate the genre, but the idea of a baby shark and his angry mother is... so childish and imaginative. Otherwise the idea of a shark attack in a aquatic park is fabulous. I think that if they made this movie without the 3D effect it looked better. Sometimes, the scales don't agree, and the "lake" looks deeper than it is, for example. The ending, with the mother breaking the control room's glass is... funny (and ridiculous) ...

The characters are well performed, but I saw this film on the Spanish version, so the "dubbing actors" could act better than the original actors. Because of that, I don't understand why Louis Gosset Jr. was nominated for a Razzie award ¿?. The relationship of Mike-Kathryn and Sean-Kelly are convincing.

This movie is far for being the worst of the series. it's clearly weaker than the first ones, but...worthy and entertaining. If the effects weren't 3D, the movie was totally fabulous. But, furthermore there was the 80s. It doesn't look so bad for being 80s. Isn't it?

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27 out of 42 people found the following comment useful :-
Am I the only one in the world whom liked this movie?, 24 January 2005
Author: Prolox from Canada

Those poor Brody kids, every time they try to get on with their life another Shark comes in & makes life miserable for them. However instead of all the action taking place on the shores of Amity like the first two, the action switches over to a theme park called Sea World, that has a labyrinth of tunnels underneath the sea, in order for visitors to get a closer look at the underwater sea kingdom like never before. Not to mention a variety of other shows & fun things for them to do. However unlike most parks, this one also happens to carry a very mean, 35 foot great white shark, that has gotten into the park through an unlocked gate & decides to eat up the guests & make things miserable for the Brody boys. I appear to have been the only one to have enjoyed this film. I mean sure there was a lot of silly things in the movie, but at least it was better than most killer shark movies released today. Besides look at it this way, at least the film made sense & didn't have that plot line about the original shark from the first movie coming back from the dead, in order to kill the entire Brody clan, as payment for it's death years prior, the plot line of which was in the sequel, JAWS: THE REVENGE

***1/2 (stars)

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13 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :-
Campy fun., 21 February 2003

Author: Aaron1375 from Alabama

I actually like this Jaws ok. I don't think it is a masterpiece or anything, but it is good if not taken to seriously. This one focuses on the Brodie boys who really went through a growth spurt. One (Dennis Quaid) works at a sea amusement park and this is where the shark attacks take place (this should alone tell you not to take the film to seriously). I actually saw this one at the theater too, so that helps to enjoy the film more as it was rather cool in 3-D and it is the only 3-D movie I have ever seen at the theater so maybe that is why I will always somewhat enjoy it. The plot is at a sea park like I said and first the team goes after this one shark that was rather puny, then you find out there is a bigger one out there. There are a couple of pretty good shark attack scenes and I loved the subplot of the people stuck in that pod underwater. This film isn't for everyone though seeing as how it is ranked as one of the worst so read other people's reviews before deciding to see it.

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26 out of 42 people found the following comment useful :-
Stupid plot, rubbish effects and almost no tension to speak of, 19 July 2004
Author: bob the moo from Birmingham, UK

Mike Brody appears to be totally over the events that struck his family in his youth and now works in Florida's newest underwater attraction – Seaworld. His brother, Sean is less sure and never goes in the water – although a visit to see Mike and a new girlfriend help him confront his fear if not get over it. Meanwhile, something is picking off staff and swimmers getting Mike and the staff out on a shark hunt. They capture a small great white and take it into captivity, only for it to die when it is put in too small a tank. They think their problems are over until an examination of the bite marks on some bodies and they realize that the shark that did the killing is much, much bigger than the one they caught.

I saw this film as a child but couldn't remember if it was any good or not – my childish fears may have made it scary even if the film was poor, so I decided to give it a go again recently. The first thing that struck me was the sheer rubbishness of the effects. In the original Jaws, Spielberg had hidden the shark as much as he could because the effects didn't work (and also therefore upping the tension); however here the makers just decide to show anything – a poorly superimposed image, a rubber shark, fake severed arms and so on – none of them are concealed, they are all shown up in all their rubbish glory. I could forgive it this due to its age but two other films had already managed to handle this issue before this film so I don't see why they went this route when it so clearly didn't work. Some shots are so bad that they could have been mistaken for being a spoof (witness the shark swimming towards the control room).

Of course, after the poor effects the second thing that hits you is the laughable plot. True it is not as bad as part 4 in terms of plausibility but it is still pretty thin. No attempt is made to really give the characters any sort of, well, character and the very basic sea world plot just about manages to give the shark enough high profile feeding scenes to keep the film moving – just don't hold your breath for any logic or sense. In fact, the opposite is true and this film does deliver some moments that make you wonder what the writers were thinking when they conceived some of this stuff! The manner of Jaws' death here would be hilarious if it wasn't so darn pathetic. Even with the plot being poor the film should still have had at least a few moment of fear and tension – many of us fear being eaten alive so it isn't hard to draw on that, but this fails to have any tension or excitement to speak of. The effects suck a lot of this out – but a director who's name is listed in the dictionary alongside the work 'workmanlike' didn't do anything to stop the rot either.

Without characters the cast are set adrift with nothing to do – how Quaid must have envied Roy Schnieder in the first films, at least he was a good character. Quaid runs around the place, Armstrong screams, Putch broods, Thompson screams and Gossett tries to act tough in the middle of a script that gives him nothing to do. I don't blame the cast but I am disappointed that nobody mention how very bad taste it was to make a happy ending out of the dolphins surviving while so many other people had not!

Overall this is just a bad film. I'm not a big one for lists so I'll not play that game here but it is pretty much without any value at all. The plot is poor, the effects are rubbish, the direction is weak, the script just a load of nonsense and there is a total lack of tension, thrills or excitement. The original is a classic and this film is further proof that sometimes classics should be just left alone.

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17 out of 25 people found the following comment useful :-
Not The Worst Of The Sequels, But Close, 25 September 1999
Author: Eric-62-2 from Morristown, NJ

I had avoided seeing this film for fifteen years because of it's bad reputation and because I love the first Jaws as one of the greatest movies ever made. Having survived the horror of "Jaws: The Revenge" once, I decided to see if I could brave this one, though.

About the only thing that surprised me was that the premise wasn't quite as dumb as "Jaws: The Revenge" is. And while there is a reference to the events of "Jaws 2" at least they don't insult our intelligence with a shark pursuing one family etc. of any "Brody curse."

What sinks this film though is that it's dull in every sense. The FX are cheap and terrible and too often it's hard to figure out what's going on here. Scenes that could have been suspenseful with a competent director just plod along in a muddled fashion. In the end, Jaws 3 comes off more as a glorified made for TV type disaster movie with none of the high quality that elevates the original Jaws above such fare.

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9 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Mediocre, but Oscar worthy compared to part IV., 15 September 2005

Author: TOMASBBloodhound from Lincoln, NE USA

Saw this one in all its 3D glory in the theater back in 1983, and it really scared the heck out of me. (I was ten) This film furthers the saga of the Brody family as sons Sean and Mike are now fully grown and moved away from Amity Island. Sean does something in Colorado if I recall, and Mike is (heh, heh, heh,) an underwater welder who just finished construction of an undersea kingdom at Sea World in Florida. Just when the park is about to have a grand opening, some uninvited guests show up. They being a 35-foot great white shark and her offspring. Needless to say, some people get eaten.

This film was originally going to be made as spoof of the previous two films. I'm not sure if any type of a finished script to that effect exists, but it would be worth a look. Jaws 3D ends up being another serious monster movie with a disaster movie subplot. Not only does the shark eat a bunch of people, it also traps several others in the underwater part of the park. The race is on to save the people and kill the mother shark. Her baby dies midway through after it is captured and hastily put on display in the park. The conclusion is fairly exciting, and full of bloody carnage.

The cast is one of the stronger points of the film. Dennis Quaid is the fearless Mike Brody. Bess Armstrong plays the park's head biologist and Quaid's love interest. (The real sparks were apparently flying between Quaid and Lea Thompson off camera, though!) Thompson plays a water skier at the park, and John Putch plays Sean Brody who falls for her. Simon MacCorkindale and P.H. Moriarity play a couple of Aussies who show up and help battle the sharks. By far the best performance is turned in by Louis Gossett Jr., fresh off his Oscar for An Officer and a Gentleman. He plays the owner/manager/president (I'm really not sure which) of the park. He has a terrific moment as he addresses the park guests in the underwater tunnels over the p.a. system. He turns on the fake executive public relations charm and asks them all to calmly exit the park just as the giant shark is bearing down on them.

The individuals who play Dan and Liz left a lot to be desired. Since no other film credits are listed for them, one would have to conclude that they actually worked at Sea World and were given these roles since this is what they do on a daily basis. Maybe they still work there. Anyone know? The sharks look pretty good in most of the scenes. Except at the very end when the shark is lodged into the control room and its tail is sticking out. That looked incredibly fake. In addition, sharks must always stay moving in the water or they'll die. They can't just lay low in huge underwater structures waiting to pounce on their victims. They usually strike from directly underneath their victims in most attack scenarios. The big shark in this film also has the ability to growl and roar, but not as loudly as the one in part IV! The 3D effect looked very good in the theater, but films like this lose quite a bit of their luster on the TV screen. You're only left with a bunch of gag shots that were supposed to scare viewers in the theater, but now look ludicrous and forced.

This film made some pretty decent $ in its theatrical run, and is still shown regularly on television. If nothing else is on, and you find yourself in front of a TV for an extended period, give this film a try. But be forewarned: Part IV is perhaps the worst film ever made. Don't waste your time on that one! 5 of 10 stars.

The Hound.

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49 out of 90 people found the following comment useful :-
3rd demension IS terror!, 23 March 2004

Author: TruPretender from Sundance, Utah

By far, this is the most innovative of the whole series! I mean, come on! SEA WORLD! Terror at Sea World! You don't get any better than this, and I must say, the acting, the score, and the development, all written with intellect! I do not care what any one says, this film is a true piece of work. With the same type of opening, of a P.O.V. shot in the deep blue ocean, which was missed in Jaws 2, this one has a creepy feeling from the beginning. Admittingly, the first two films preceeding this have it beat in many areas, but not all! The very idea of not one, but TWO sharks in Sea World as its grand opening takes place...is just freaky! Special effects will suffer when viewed with out 3-D glasses, however, the film is still enjoyable to watch. Alan Parker povides the film with a new kind of shrieking score that makes the feel a little eerie as the original shark theme is put to the test, and brought to a new level of scary. What most call boring, is the intellectual discussions that the main characters speak of as they, being adults, must deal with the water crises in the most mature way they can. Different ideas of murder, explosions, and captivity are all the order of the evening as the exposition is revealed. Later, the film takes a plunge when hungry mamma is let out, and all hell breaks loose, literally. Not so much the scares, as the shocks, are what draws me to this film, and every minute is worth while. Never trust the ocean, it is always full of suprises, and in all the wrong ways. Yes, the 3rd demension is pure terror, and Jaws 3-D will not fail to serve audiences with a real bang and boom! 9/10

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13 out of 19 people found the following comment useful :-
Revenge of the 80's: The sequel meets the 3-D fad., 25 August 2005

Author: Captain_Couth (sirjosephu@aol.com) from Sacramento, CA

Jaws 3-D (1983) was not only a sequel to the first two JAWS films, but it was also one of the few movies that took advantage of the rebirth of the 3-D fad that was sweeping Hollywood during the early 80's (see Amityville 3-D and Friday the 13th 3-D). When the film hit the video shelves, they scrapped the whole thing. Why make a 3-D movie in the first place if you're not going to take advantage of it when it's available for the home video market? The video looked bad when it was released as a rental. Many of the scenes that were shot didn't make any sense or were badly projected. The movie did poorly at the box office and after a couple of years, no more mainstream films were presented in 3-D. The movie itself is pretty bad. Only for die hard fans of the JAWS series.

Not recommended, unless they re-release it in 3-D. other than that it's pretty much worthless.

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5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
they should have stopped at two, 17 May 2006

Author: S-Reisner from United States

and left the series where it was. This was made in the eighty's a few years after the second one (not as good as the first, but pretty good), the first two were made in the seventy's and the sound effects and shark effects were worse in this. The shark made in this looks like a piece of cardboard that floats through the water, they copied the original score from the first jaws film and if it wasn't for a brody descendant and the score this could've been named something else. It looked so damn fake when the shark went through the glass at the end of this ridiculously bad film. Even Dennis quaid did a bad job in this one, if they kept Roy Schneider it would be worth watching. I only gave this a two because it was suspenseful at parts. A part that bugs me is when they say they are going to bait the shark near the end they are saying they will use a live person as bait, but at the end nobody is used and all the shark does is swim at them and through a glass window and tries eating a bunch of people. I'm tired of great movies being ruined by bad sequels. Jaws 4: the revenge was worse though, its pretty far fetched how a shark would know the brody family and would be stalking them in the Caribbean (jaws 4 plot). Don't see this or part 4 because they both suck. Just watch the first two.

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5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Terrible special effects but I liked it anyway, 15 January 2003
Author: Dr. Gore (drgore@hotmail.com) from Los Angeles, California

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

*SPOILER ALERT* *SPOILER ALERT*

Jaws invades an underwater park. The idea was great. The problem is the special effects were terrible. I missed it when it came out in theaters so I never got to experience the 3-D phenomenon. Maybe that would have made a difference but I doubt it.

A giant shark attacking a Sea World like park was a great starting point. But it's hard to get scared of Jaws when he looks like the shark at Universal Studios. I mean he was one plastic shark. I need to believe Jaws is a real shark inflicting terror. This time, I didn't. He was definitely a big toy floating in the water. The climax scene was the worst of all.

SPOILER ON ENDING

Jaws goes headfirst through the window of the control room. In 3-D, this might have been cool. In the tape I saw, it looked awful.

Although the effects were rotten, I still find myself enjoying this flick. Face it, all the Jaws sequels have a very high bar set for them. They are not going to even get close to the original "Jaws". For a B giant shark flick, it was pretty good. Comparing it to "Jaws" is unfair but also unavoidable. Even though I know the effects were bad, I still liked it. It was the best "Jaws" sequel.

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