There are sequels that are necessary (Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers), there are sequels that are unnecessary but still make sense (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) and there are sequels that are unnecessary and don’t make a lot of sense. Jaws 2 is one of these sequels. The original Jaws works perfectly as a stand-alone film; indeed, it’s a bona fide classic. But considering how much money it made, there just had to be another one… right?

The film begins in somewhat of the same way as the first one did: a shark attack. But unlike that much-lauded first film, we see the shark from the very beginning. Fortunately for us, so do the victims, thus allowing an underwater camera to play a significant part later on in the film. The next scene shows us the familiar face of Police Chief Martin Brody, again played wonderfully by Roy Scheider. Brody is attending a party for opening of a series of hotels with his wife, who is some sort of aide to the mayor. At this party, we meet the main protagonists (and therefore, the main shark victims) of this film: Amity’s local teenagers, including Brody’s own son, Michael. These teenagers all have their own small sailing boats and routinely go sailing together. Cue the iconic theme.

Martin’s oldest son Michael is one of these teenagers. In order to keep his son out of the water and set him on the path of becoming a man, Martin finds a job for Michael and sets him to, effectively grounding him for the remainder of the summer. Like any good cinematic kid, Michael disobeys his father, instead sneaking out to go sailing with his friends, bringing his shrewd kid brother Sean with him. The shark embarks on a killing spree, leaving 5 or 6 kids to mourn the deaths of their comrades. However, it makes a fatal error: it leaves one girl alive in a boat to tell Martin that there actually is a shark and that it is after the kids. Martin takes off in a police boat to rescue the teenagers.

This movie, in order to differentiate itself from the original, adds a few techniques. Unfortunately, the only things that really work in this film are the things brought over from the original. The returning cast members are fantastic, including Roy Scheider, Lorraine Gary as Martin’s wife, Murray Hamilton as the blockheaded, enterprising mayor Larry Vaughn, and Jeffrey Kramer as Martin’s well-meaning but bumbling deputy. All four turn in competent performances, with Kramer taking on a larger role than in the original film. However, it’s Scheider who electrifies (no pun intended) as the borderline paranoid Martin Brody. The chief who so courageously took on the shark from the original has no intention to do it again, but the incompetence of the governing authorities forces him to do so (one would think that the Mayor at least would trust Martin when it comes to shark attacks). However, Martin’s fears of the shark drive him to the edge, causing him to lose his badge and credibility with the public, leading to a great scene between Scheider, Gary, and Kramer.

The differences between this film and the original don’t do as much for it as the similarities. For starters, the new cast becomes very annoying very quickly. The teenagers scream constantly, and not much can be said for their acting skills in between the screaming. Also new is Joseph Mascolo as Len Peterson, a member of the Amity authorities. He represents a complete opposite character to Martin, as he contradicts Martin’s every move and even attempts, seemingly, to seduce Martin’s wife.

One very “stick-out-like-a-sore-thumb” aspect of this film is the shark itself. Whereas Spielberg was forced to show as little of the shark as possible to film’s great merit, this shark is seen far too much, appearing in the first five minutes of the movie. Later in the film, it’s drawbacks as a machine are seen very clearly, as in one scene its mouth folds over when pressure is applied. However, a certain plot element causes a very interesting physical appearance in the shark (and contributes a very freaky scene ala Ben Gardner’s head popping out of the boat). Also unlike the shark from the first film, this shark doesn’t act naturally. This shark doesn’t take every chance it gets to attack. A couple of would-be victims escape from very close calls, and there’s really no reason why the shark should have let them go. And instead of destroying the makeshift raft that keeps the kids afloat, the shark waits until bigger prey comes along: a helicopter, resulting in a truly laughable scene.

In all, this film in no way sizes up to the original. Granted, the first half is extremely good; but the next half falls apart, due to the aforementioned teenagers and the unlikely behavior of the shark. I’d encourage any fans of the first film to check this one out; it’s probably even worth the $5 that most stores now charge for it. But don’t expect it to match the original. Watch it and enjoy it, especially the “shocking” ending (that really is terrible, I should quit now).

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