Jaws 2
Published 2026-08-31 12:29:35
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water...
Film info
- Director
- Year / Run time 1978 ยท 1hr 57m
- Series Jaws (2 of 2)
- Genres Horror, Thriller
- Cast
The horror is far from over! Four years after the great white shark terrorised the small resort of Amity, unsuspecting vacationers begin disappearing in an all-too-familiar fashion. Only one man knows the truth.
Academy Award-winning producer Richard D. Zanuck brings the next instalment of this frightening series with Roy Scheider reprising his role as Police Chief Brody.
Live blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 2:41 | Snapping a picture right before you get eaten, what a way to go! |
| 5:54 | Yay, the wife is back. She was a lot of fun in the first movie. |
| 12:18 | It's nice that we're into the next generation, the kids from the first movie are old enough to have their own storylines now. |
| 16:46 | What the hell is that kid doing, hanging off the back of a flag off a sailboat? Terrifying and we haven't even got to the shark yet! |
| 19:42 | Jeez, how fast can sharks swim? I didn't know they could keep up with a speedboat. |
| 25:31 | "I'm going sailing." "Again?" "Well, what else is there to do?" Literally anything if you ask me. |
| 38:49 | "Just routine." Dude, you're not fooling anyone. |
| 45:34 | Are we taking on a shark with a gun now? |
| 57:32 | "I blew it! I shot off my mouth, I shot off my gun. Four years down the drain." |
| 1:22:10 | Appreciate the effort, but you sort of know Brody's kid isn't going to get eaten. |
| 1:28:33 | Ooh, shark attacks helicopter is new... and unlikely. |
| 1:38:40 | "It's not the bottom, it's that thing." |
| 1:49:25 | Grim death, even for a terrorist shark. |
Thoughts
I just recently rewatched Jaws and loved it, enjoying the craft and the intent behind every single scene. iPlayer had Jaws 2 available for free and I've never seen it, so I figured it was worth a go.
This is a competent shark horror film but it's not got the skill behind it that the first had. And the beating heart of the original is the mismatch of desires and trauma that the main characters are working through whilst chasing the shark. In this one, we have Chief Brody clearly showing signs of PTSD, his incident with the gun being a clear sign. No one else really has time to make an impact on you, can I name any of the other characters at this point? No... I don't really know what their dreams and desires are, and if we're being honest, I don't really care.
It's also missing the build of the first. A few incidents led to the trio going out on the boat where many classic scenes occur. This one is a lot of individual incidents until Brody's kid gets in trouble, and the shark (still looking fake!) takes down a helicopter.
If it didn't have the Jaws name attached, this would be a serviceable big teeth horror movie, but natural comparisons to the first one are always going to knock it down several points.
Rating: 3 / 5
