Jaws - The Revenge (1987)

The worst Jaws and in the top 100 worst films ever made

I'm sure there are better reviews than mine but I had to warn anyone who is thinking of watching this..or worse, buying it, that it is literally in my top 100 worst films ever made. There is one stupid after another. In fact, one cannot attach a single positive word to this film. The silliest thing in the entire film, and there are many, is having the shark growl. I cannot believe that the fool who directed this actually got funding. September 19, 2008

This time - it bombs.

I recall seeing this movie down the shore in the summer of 1987. I was five years old. It's my oldest memory of going to the cinema. Sad, isn't it?

To a five year old in the late 80s, this may have been terrifying. To an adult in the late 00s, it's monumentally stupid. There's so many major flaws in this movie, the biggest of which happens to be the main plot: a shark seeks revenge against the Brody family. My question is - why? Who is this shark? Did the shark from the first three movies survive and is now exacting vengance? Is this shark a relative of those first three sharks? If so, how does this shark know who killed his family? More importantly, how does the shark know this family left Amity for the Bahamas? Does he have hired spies on land? How does he even know how to get the Bahamas? Why does Ellen Brody have nightmares about events she wasn't even present for? Why is Michael Caine's shirt dry after climbing out of the water? Why does the shark roar? What causes this shark to explode? Is Mario Van Peebles a Jamaican superhero? Why can't Lance Guest's wife act?

My brain hurts. And yours will too after seeing Jaws: The Revenge! See it!

One star for Michael Small's admittely thrilling score and Michael Caine's new house. September 1, 2008

Wherefore art thou, Chief Brody?

This film, the fourth in a franchise inspired by Peter Benchley's novel "Jaws" could be used by either the MST3K crew for episode fodder or by a film school to show how not to make an action-adventure film.

The fact that scenes from the original and far superior "Jaws" are spliced into this film might make the viewer rush to eject this film and watch Spielberg's first blockbuster. Nevertheless, the film is good stupid fun if you really have nothing better to do.

The film starts with Mrs. Brody's youngest son Sean (the baby on the beach in the original and the kid on the sailboat in the second) being attacked and killed at night by (presumably) a Great White shark. Mrs. Brody is inconsolable, and she orders her other son, Mike, to stop working as a marine biologist in the Bahamas. He invites her to visit him partly because he's concerned about her mental state and partly to assuage her fears that he will soon become the victim of a shark attack.

She goes to the Bahamas and meets a single pilot named Hoagie (played by Michael Caine). She seems to sense that a Great White is lurking nearby and, sure enough, Mike is stalked through a sunken ship by one and her granddaughter is nearly eaten while riding a banana boat on the beach. Interestingly enough, the boat used in this film is located in 60 feet of water off the shore of Nassau, Bahamas, and local dive stores use it for wreck dives. I dove this wreck in 1998.

Mrs. Brody decides to take matters into her own hands and kill the shark herself so she steals her son's boat. Hoagie and Mike find her (spotting the boat and shark from Hoagie's plane) and they all battle the shark before the film's glorious conclusion: the shark being impaled on the bowsprit of the boat.

The fact that in many scenes the shark is so obviously fake so as to make one's eyes roll is one reason the film was panned. Secondly, Mrs. Brody has flashbacks to events she did not personally witness (Chief Brody's killing the original shark and her son Sean's death as examples); even Roger Ebert pointed this glaring flaw out.

If you want a stupid shark movie, this will do unless you watch "Shark Attack 3: Megalodon" which is even more stupid. August 24, 2008

yes it's horrible

This is one of the worst movies ever made. But don't let that stop you from watching a true comedy. The movie makes no sense. When sharks fly? They do in this movie. Apparently this shark is also a ninja, and it flies out of the water using it's unharnessed flying power. Not only that, but the shark can sense revenge. It swims across the world to hunt down the Brody family. This film makes no explanation for everything but that's the beauty of it. Mario Van Peeples should have won an Oscar for his role as the Jamaican side kick. You will not stop laughing at this great piece of cinema. This time it's personal so bring some Kleenex. July 24, 2008

This fish is a stinker

It took me nearly two days after viewing the fourth installment of the Jaws franchise to compose myself and at least attempt to recover a few of the brain cells I lost while watching this disaster.
Jaws The Revenge is so awful it defies the English language.

Being a fan of the first two Jaws films, I initially hoped that The Revenge would at least attempt to do them justice. Not a chance. I feel that the writers were in fact mocking my brain capacity by releasing this film with more flaws than a really bad face-lift.

Evidently this long line of sharks really has it in for remaining Brody family because this dried up tuna follows the remaining Brody family to the Bahamas where I must mention, Great White Sharks commonly avoid. How and why this shark feels the need to follow the family around the circumference of the earth is beyond me, and something better off ignored. The shark looked like a withered old balloon and the scares were null and void. Jaws the Revenge completely destroyed what was so compelling about the first two films and left me with nothing but a headache.

Unless you are a glutton for punishment, avoid this film at all costs and pop in Jaws for a couple hours of thrills, scares, and humor. February 19, 2008

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