Jaws: The Revenge

Summary

This time it’s personal.

As I mentioned in the Jaws 3-D review, in 2020, Universal Studios released the three sequels to Jaws in an affordable three movie Blu-ray pack that also featured Digital HD copies of the films. This set collected the three previously released Blu-rays from Universal for a very reasonable price. Over a recent vacation with my family to Florida, we watched all of the Jaws films together. The quality of each film’s writing erodes from the original classic film’s tightly written script until we eventually reach the absolute insanity that is Jaws: The Revenge. In Jaws 3-D, Universal Studios had insisted that the leads of the film be related to Chief Brody from the first two films. Writer Richard Matheson thought that this idea was stupid, but the corporate brass won out, thus establishing a theme that the Brodys are essentially cursed to run into sharks even if they relocate to Orlando and simply work at Sea World. That theme is explored in the most ludicrous fashion imaginable in the jaw dropping finale to the Jaws quartet. 

Jaws: The Revenge has often been derided as one of the worst sequels ever made. The film was ridiculed often (with good reason) and in his 1992 memoir Sir Michael Caine wrote about his presence in the film, “I have never seen the film, but by all accounts it was terrible. However, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific.” Caine was reportedly paid $1.5 million dollars for his presence in the film which only asked of the actor about a week worth of shooting. Also along for the ride was actress Lorraine Gary, the only real tether to the glory of the first film. Jaws: The Revenge is essentially a slasher film that uses a shark in place of a black gloved killer. It is magnificently stupid despite the best intentions of screenwriter Michael de Guzman and director Joseph Sargent. Watching the film for the first time in decades, I had a great time laughing at the worst ideas in the film.

On Amity Island, Sean Brody (Mitchell Anderson) is set to be married soon. It’s Christmas time and he is a deputy in the town. After eating dinner with his mother Ellen (Lorraine Gary) he stops by the police station. The call attendant tells him there is some wood in the channel that needs to be cleared so the fishermen can return. Sean takes a boat out to look at the wood. A shark brutally attacks him – removing his arm before finishing him off. Michael Brody (Lance Guest) returns home to check on his mother and attend the funeral. Michael has become a scientist, gotten married to an artist named Carla (Karen Young,) and has a five year old daughter named Thea (Judith Barsi.) Ellen does not want Michael to continue doing work that is on the water, but he explains that his work is in fresh water. Michael convinces his mother to come back home with him to the Bahamas to get her mind off her terrible loss. They fly into the Bahamas on a small private plane flown by a charming pilot named Hoagie (Michael Caine.) They stay in a house on the edge of the water. Michael works with Jake (Mario Van Peeples) – who talks with an accent similar to a Rastafarian – to tag conks and track snails. Ellen explains to Hoagie that she feels certain that something is coming for herself and her family. When a great white shows up where Jake and Michael are doing research, they decide to pivot towards researching why the great white would have emerged in fresh water. The shark has come there to kill the Brody family.

Jaws: The Revenge is as stupid as the title implies. The film expects a lot from the audience in terms of stretching plausibility. The film expects an audience to believe that a shark, thirsty for vengeance, swims against the Gulf Stream for hundreds of miles in order to kill Brody’s offspring. As the advertising implied, this time it’s personal. This plot device is easily one of the most idiotic I have ever seen used in a film. The film is also not helped by the stupidity of the characters themselves. Michael realizes that his mother’s greatest fear is for him to be eaten by a shark, and he realizes that a shark should not be near the waters he is researching, yet he presses on with his research in secrecy. What type of terrible son would do that directly after his brother was brutally murdered by a shark? The romance between Lorraine Gary and Michael Caine is completely unbelievable as well, because Caine was too cool of a character in the Eighties for their chemistry to feel anything but forced. I don’t think this is the fault of Lorraine Gary – just a mismatching of the two actors. The film also suffers from one of the most abrupt endings of a blockbuster film I have ever witnessed. When you see the ending you will get what I am talking about. 

The acting in the film is hard to judge. The dialogue is pretty benign and the characters are written poorly, so is it fair to say that Mario Van Peebles is terrible? No. It is not fair to say that. Mario Van Peebles does his best to make the role work, but why did this film need a Rasta? Lance Guest is a good actor that I have seen do well in films like The Last Starfighter. This film does not give him much room to shine. He does his best. Michael Caine is a lot of fun to watch on the film, which makes sense considering he made over a million dollars to take a vacation in the Bahamas and work for a week. Lorraine Gary is given the hard task of carrying the film emotionally, but it just doesn’t really work.

Jaws: The Revenge is best enjoyed as an insane version of a slasher film. If you frame the film through the eyes of a slasher film with the shark as a killer, the movie can be pretty fun to watch. The film has deservedly been shunned by most of the world, but it didn’t stop me from cracking a smile while I watched it’s plot unfold. This is definitely the worst of the Jaws sequels, but if you enjoy bad films, there is a comic feast to be made of the film.

Video

Universal has provided Jaws: The Revenge in 2.39:1 in 1080p. I was happy overall with the natural looking image on display for the fourth film. The Bahamas setting looks pretty enticing. Fine detail and clarity are not an issue, and aside from a little bit of crush, there is a lot to enjoy about this presentation. I can’t imagine any fans being disappointed.

Audio

Jaws: The Revenge features a pretty robust DTS-HD MA 5.1 track. Clarity is excellent and dialogue is easily understood. The score by Michael Small is enjoyable and so are some of the Eighties songs that play in the film. I had no qualms with this track.

Supplements:

Alternate Ending

Trailer

Overall Scores:

Video – 4/5

Audio – 4.5/5

Supplements – 1/5

Overall – 3/5

Jaws: The Revenge is a laughable sequel in the once great Jaws franchise. It is one of the most widely reviled sequels ever made for any film. Personally, I had no issue being entertained by the film for all of the wrong reasons. The film is essentially a slasher which subs in a killer shark for a black gloved killer. It’s so bad, that it is unintentionally pretty hilarious. I may not be able to recommend the film to people that want to take it seriously, but the Universal Studios Blu-ray from 2016 is pretty attractive technically. That disc has been included in the Jaws Three Film set which is very affordable and also includes Digital HD copies. That set certainly comes highly recommended for fans of the first film that want to complete their collection.