Although widely regarded as the worst of the series, I found this to be at least as good as JAWS 3, if not possibly better. For a "bad" movie, JAWS: THE REVENGE is pretty easy viewing, with crystal-clear photography and a good soundtrack (basically an upbeat riff on the classic John Williams music). The most criminal thing about this film is the first fifty minutes, where we hardly see any "shark" at all. Instead, the time consists of people and their relationships, with lots of bonding, moody characters, fights, and the occasional shark attack to keep the plot moving. The film is "bad", ie. cheesy, at the opening and close, but ironically these are the most enjoyable parts of the movie; the worst part is the boring middle.
Things kick off promisingly with an attack on the younger son of Brody. After much thrashing and screaming the boy resides in his boat...MISSING AN ARM! He proceeds to clutch at the bleeding stump and scream repeatedly, only for his cries to be drowned out by carol singers! After this the shark makes short work of the rest of his body. Well, an opening which contained poor acting and some surprisingly explicit gore bodes well for the rest of the movie, but unfortunately they then forgot about the shark and things become a human drama instead.
This time around, Lorraine Gary returns from JAWS and JAWS 2. She's a little wiser and a little older, and basically has developed Scheider's fear of the water. Gary must have needed the money to appear in this, as she had bowed out of the previous instalment. Her surviving son is now played by the bland and bearded Lance Guest. Guest is absolutely boring and his character a ridiculous snob who despises Michael Caine for being a pilot. What a jerk!
The further down the cast you go, the more interesting actors you find. One I did like was Mario Van Peebles as Guest's Jamaican partner, who helps him do undersea research. Peebles makes the best of his clichéd character and is the funniest, most likable person in the movie. Eagle-eyed viewers may well spot Peebles' dad, Melvin, appearing in a cameo. So, the rest of the cast are all no-names, right? Yes, they're all much of a muchness but WAIT! Who's this?
Michael Caine? Surely it can't be THE Michael Caine, can it? But yes, Caine is in this film as a hilarious bumbling pilot called Hoagie. Well, much has been surmised of Caine's decision to appear in this movie, the general consensus being that he must have had financial difficulties at the time. All I can say is that I love his performance, no matter how bad it is, and regard him as one of the film's highlights!
After much talk and too much sentimentalising, the ending is suddenly upon us and retreads the old "survivors on a boat vs. the shark" routine. However, this is so-bad-it's-hilarious stuff, with the shark STANDING in the water at one point on its tail! This is so a pole jutting from the prow of the boat can impale it, thus causing the shark to bleed profusely and fall to bits. The shark is shown in the open far too often in this movie, and looks much more fake than it did previously with a real lack of movement. Due to technical incompetence, it's also possible to spot the machinery controlling the model for much of the film. However, these are all plus points! While not a brilliant film by any means, JAWS: THE REVENGE is unmissable viewing for bad movie fans as a night of cheesy entertainment.
Things kick off promisingly with an attack on the younger son of Brody. After much thrashing and screaming the boy resides in his boat...MISSING AN ARM! He proceeds to clutch at the bleeding stump and scream repeatedly, only for his cries to be drowned out by carol singers! After this the shark makes short work of the rest of his body. Well, an opening which contained poor acting and some surprisingly explicit gore bodes well for the rest of the movie, but unfortunately they then forgot about the shark and things become a human drama instead.
This time around, Lorraine Gary returns from JAWS and JAWS 2. She's a little wiser and a little older, and basically has developed Scheider's fear of the water. Gary must have needed the money to appear in this, as she had bowed out of the previous instalment. Her surviving son is now played by the bland and bearded Lance Guest. Guest is absolutely boring and his character a ridiculous snob who despises Michael Caine for being a pilot. What a jerk!
The further down the cast you go, the more interesting actors you find. One I did like was Mario Van Peebles as Guest's Jamaican partner, who helps him do undersea research. Peebles makes the best of his clichéd character and is the funniest, most likable person in the movie. Eagle-eyed viewers may well spot Peebles' dad, Melvin, appearing in a cameo. So, the rest of the cast are all no-names, right? Yes, they're all much of a muchness but WAIT! Who's this?
Michael Caine? Surely it can't be THE Michael Caine, can it? But yes, Caine is in this film as a hilarious bumbling pilot called Hoagie. Well, much has been surmised of Caine's decision to appear in this movie, the general consensus being that he must have had financial difficulties at the time. All I can say is that I love his performance, no matter how bad it is, and regard him as one of the film's highlights!
After much talk and too much sentimentalising, the ending is suddenly upon us and retreads the old "survivors on a boat vs. the shark" routine. However, this is so-bad-it's-hilarious stuff, with the shark STANDING in the water at one point on its tail! This is so a pole jutting from the prow of the boat can impale it, thus causing the shark to bleed profusely and fall to bits. The shark is shown in the open far too often in this movie, and looks much more fake than it did previously with a real lack of movement. Due to technical incompetence, it's also possible to spot the machinery controlling the model for much of the film. However, these are all plus points! While not a brilliant film by any means, JAWS: THE REVENGE is unmissable viewing for bad movie fans as a night of cheesy entertainment.