Unlike the other massive blockbusters of the 1970s--The Godfather (1972),Star Wars (1977), and Superman (1978)--Jaws (1975) did notlend itself particularly well to a sequel. After all, the story was about a shark that terrorized asmall East Coast beach community. The shark was killed at the end, and the story was over.It had a kind of primal simplicity to it that kept audiences in its grip, but it didn't leave muchroom open at the end for a continuing saga. Thus, it is quite surprising that, three years later,the makers of Jaws 2 (many of whom were involved with the original) managed toessentially tread the same water, but still give the sequel enough of a twist to make it seem, ifnot fresh, then at least fun.

Steven Spielberg's original film is largely credited as being the first true Hollywoodblockbuster, not only in the way it filled theaters with people of all ages willing to be scaredsenseless by a rampaging great white shark, but in how it illustrated the vast potential of thesummer months for high-concept, mass-marketed movies. The original Jaws wasplagued with endless production problems (what should have been a 55-day shoot turnedinto 159 days), but the young Spielberg triumphed by turning out a popcorn masterpiece thatmade millions. Because of that movie's enormous success, as coproducer David Brown putit, a sequel was "obligatory." But where to go?

Screenwriter Howard Sackler, who helped Robert Shaw pen his chilling monologue aboutthe fate of the U.S.S. Indianapolis in the first film, eschewed several overly ambitious ideas(including one by Arthur C. Clark involving sunken secrets in the Indian Ocean) in favor ofgetting back to basics. Again, he set the story on the fictional Amity Island, the same EastCoast community that had been terrorized by a great white shark three summers before. Afterthe original director, John Hancock (Bang the Drum Slowly) was fired threeweeks into production, Carol Gottlieb, who wrote the original's screenplay along withnovelist Peter Benchley, did a thorough rewrite. French director Jeannot Szwarc was hiredbased largely on his work in television (the same criteria that had gotten Spielberg hired),and the production was again underway.

The resulting movie is hardly original, but in sticking closely to the primal basics that madethe first movie work so well while also expanding outward with new visual tricks and alarger, mostly younger cast, Szwarc turned Jaws 2 into an entertaining and worthyfollow-up.

Roy Scheider reprises his role as Police Chief Martin Brody, who is, once again, the onlyman who believes that there is killer shark in the waters just off Amity's placid beaches. Thistime he doesn't have the support of Matt Hooper, the scientist played by Richard Dreyfuss inthe first film. Rather, he is completely on his own in being faced with the incredulousreactions of Amity's Mayor Larry Vaughn (again played by Murray Hamilton) when he triesto sound the alarm. Brody must also confront a new antagonist, a wealthy real-estatedeveloper named Glenn Peterson (Joseph Mascolo), for whom his wife, Ellen (LorraineGary reprising her role), works. Jaws 2 continues the first film's scathing themeabout the danger of big business run amok, with profits being put ahead of human lives. Inthis case, a brand-new Holiday Inn resort that has just been completed on Amity is in dangerof losing money if people think the waters are dangerous, and Vaughn and Peterson will doanything they can to make sure that doesn't happen.

The movie opens, appropriately enough, underwater at the site where the Orca, the boat usedin the first movie to kill the shark, has sunk. Two scuba divers are exploring it when anothergreat white makes its presence known and promptly devours both of them, but not beforeone diver snaps an up-close photograph. Brody becomes suspicious later on when hesuspects that a "boating accident" involving a mother and her water-skiing daughter wasactually a shark attack. Brody is later fired from his position as police chief after causing apanic on the beach one day, and the truth of the situation doesn't become clear until the nextday, when a group of local teenagers set out sailing in the ocean off Amity Island.

As the original film eventually turned into a parable of man versus nature with Brody,Hooper, and Quint setting off to battle the shark, Jaws 2 uses a similar ploy,except with a group of teenagers (who include Mike and Sean, Brody's sons) trapped on theocean. What makes these scenes work is the fact that the movie takes its time in the openingscenes to give these teens unique and interesting characters so that, when they are in peril,we feel tension. The screenplay posits these teens as resourceful, intelligent people who reactrealistically to the situation in which they find themselves. Some panic, some get into fights,but they pull together in the end.

Of course, the shark is the real star here, and Szwarc eschews Spielberg's technique ofkeeping it under wraps for the movie's first hour. Szwarc and cinematographer MichaelButler do everything they can to make the shark attacks feel new and terrifying, and theysucceed quite well. Szwarc has a strong sense of visual style and pacing that keep themovie's momentum flowing; he creates a palpable sense of isolation with the kids floating inthe middle of ocean on a jumbled mass of broken and half-sunk sailboats and catamarans,always vulnerable to an attack. Of course, Jaws 2 is trying to up the ante at alltimes, so we get scenes of pure absurdity, such as when the shark attacks a helicopter andmanages to drag it down under the water, even with the blades spinning.

Jaws 2, of course, will never be labeled a masterpiece as Jaws is. It hadthe dubious distinction of reinventing a story that had already been told in nearly flawlessfashion. There weren't too many new directions the narrative could be taken, yet thefilmmakers did everything they could to breathe new life into the material without forgettingwhat had made that material work in the first place.

©2001 James Kendrick