Jaws 2 (1978)

Police chief Brody must protect the citizens of Amity after a second monstrous shark begins terrorizing the waters.

Director:

Jeannot Szwarc

Writers:

Peter Benchley (characters created by), Carl Gottlieb,

Stars:

Roy Scheider, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Roy Scheider	...	Police Chief Martin Brody
Lorraine Gary	...	Ellen Brody
Murray Hamilton	...	Mayor Larry Vaughn
Joseph Mascolo	...	Len Peterson
Jeffrey Kramer	...	Deputy Jeff Hendricks
Collin Wilcox Paxton	...	Dr. Lureen Elkins (as Collin Wilcox)
Ann Dusenberry	...	Tina Wilcox
Mark Gruner	...	Michael 'Mike' Brody
Barry Coe	...	Tom Andrews
Susan French	...	Grace Witherspoon - Old Lady
Gary Springer	...	Andy Nicholas
Donna Wilkes	...	Jackie Peters
Gary Dubin	...	Eddie Marchand
John Dukakis	...	Paul 'Polo' Loman
G. Thomas Dunlop	...	Timmy Weldon

Storyline

The small island resort town of Amity is trying to bounce back from the financial troubles that suffered after becoming known as the site of shark attacks four years earlier. Mayor Larry Vaughn is welcoming developer Len Peterson and his new resort to Amity. Two scuba divers are exploring the area where the Orca sank after police chief Martin Brody killed a huge shark four years ago. A shark shows up and devoured the two divers, but not before one of the divers takes a close-up picture of the shark's eye, and sometime later, while a mother is driving a boat that's pulling her water-skiing teenage daughter, the shark devours the daughter and causes the mother to accidentally blow up the boat, then a killer whale is found on the shore with a huge bites on it. After Brody sees this, he knows there's another huge great white shark in Amity's waters, but Vaughn and Peterson explain these attacks away as non-shark accidents, because the thought of another shark in Amity's waters would drive...

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Plot Keywords:

shark | island | mayor | beach | police chief | 

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Taglines:

Is it humanly possible that with all the sharks in the world, there could only be one as terrible as...JAWS? (trailer on DVD)

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 June 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tiburón 2

Filming Locations:

Chappaquiddick Island, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$102,922,376 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Due to difficulties with weather and environment, most of the movie was filmed in and around Fort Walton Beach, Florida on the Northwest Panhandle. Many ocean scenes were actually shot in the Choctawhatchee Bay. "Cable Junction" was actually a floating set that was constructed for the film and kept docked at the Shalimar Yacht Basin when not needed and could be seen from the Garniers Bayou Bridge with its faux beacon flashing at night. Interior shots of the teen hang-out where they play pinball were filmed in the original location of the Hog's Breath Saloon on Okaloosa Island. This business relocated to a new facility in Destin, Florida in recent years after the first site proved very susceptible to hurricane damage. The original building was still vacant and derelict in January 2005.

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Goofs

The morning after Brody is fired and he is in the kitchen looking at himself in the mirror, just as he turns around when his wife walks in a boom mic is clearly visible.

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Quotes

Sean Brody: What's after Cable Junction?
Bob: The Atlantic. Then Ireland.

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Connections

Referenced in Vamos a por vosotros (2011)

User Reviews

Has Its Moments, But Not Very Good

No doubt Jaws 2 had some big shoes to fill. It can't be easy to make a sequel that surpasses the greatness of a film thats become a classic. Jaws 2 tried a few new techniques so it wouldn't be more of the same, but most of them didn't work. The only things that did work were the techniques used in the first movie.

The Plot- Amity Island has been suffering from financial troubles since the shark attack that occurred a few years back. And when a series of accidents occur out in the ocean, police chief Martin Brody thinks another shark has come to Amity for some dinner. Of course, nobody believes him and he has to fight this war himself.

The Pros- Jaws 2 has its upsides. Roy Scheider reprises his role as police chief Martin Brody, Lorraine Gary reprises her role as Ellen Brody, Martin's supportive wife, and Murray Hamilton reprises his role as Amity's mayor Larry Vaughn. The returning actors are very impressive and are definitely a plus for the movie. Another pro is John William's musical score, he still uses the classic Jaws theme and added some new things. There are a few more little things that make the movie decent.

The Cons- Keep in mind I said the movie is decent, not good. The new actors pretty much suck. The movie tries to do kind of a teen slasher flick kind of format, using teenagers as most of the cast. Most of the teen actors were merely average at best and the plot wasn't anything to write home about. My biggest pet peave about this movie is that you see the shark way too much. The shark in the first movie had little screen time until the end, which is what made it so intense and thrilling. But the shark looks fake sometimes, so when you see it that often, its not very thrilling. The director said if you know what the shark looks like, don't hold back. Thats true, its no mystery, we know what the shark looks like, but it still had too much screen time. Speaking of the director, Jeannot Szwarc was not nearly as good as Spielberg. The direction was pretty bad.

Well Jaws 2 is definitely better than Jaws 3 and 4, but thats not saying much. I don't think any animal disaster film will live up to the original Jaws. Jaws 2 is probably worth a rental, but I wouldn't buy it.

I Give Jaws 2 a 5/10.