RECENT WATCHES: Jaws: The Revenge (1987)

“Jaws 3-D” was still successful, but made considerably less money then either previous film. The killer shark franchise would rest for three years before Universal CEO Sidney Sheinberg, during a time when the studio was desperate for a hit, demanded a fourth entry be made. He quickly hooked Joseph Sargent, the director of acclaimed thrillers like "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three" and "Colossus: The Forbin Project," to make “Jaws: The Revenge.” There was a catch however: The sequel had to be ready by next summer. The expediated production time is obvious in the final film. “Jaws: The Revenge” is one of the most notorious sequels ever and widely considered one of the worst movies of all time. 

Some have suggested that "The Revenge" disregards the events of "Jaws 3-D" but, if this is true, it has little effect on the final film. Regardless, the saga of the Brody family continues. Martin has passed away at some point, leaving Ellen a widow. Michael is now working as an ocean-life biologist while Sean has inherited his father’s position at the local police force. On a cold Christmas Eve, Sean goes out to investigate a missing boat in the waters around Amity Island. He is attacked by a great white shark and killed. Ellen becomes convinced that the shark is a spectre of revenge, determined to kill off her entire family. She heads to the Bahamas to spend time with Michael, his wife, and her granddaughter. Despite finding romance there, Ellen is still worried about the shark, expecting it to strike at any minute. Which, of course, it does.

“Jaws: The Revenge” has been widely mocked for its “voodoo shark” concept. Most infamously, comedian Richard Jeni did a lengthy bit about it. The film does indeed move the franchise into the previous unseen realm of magic realism. The script never outright confirms whether the shark is a supernatural manifestation of aquatic retaliation, sent to avenge the last three sharks’ murders at the hands of the Brody family. Ellen certainly seems to think so. The shark targeting her family specific and tracking her from Maine suggests this to be the case. Yeah, nothing in the earlier films suggests such a thing being possible. However, let’s be serious: Is it really any dumber then the concept of a Mommy Shark avenging the death of her child in “Jaws 3-D?” Or a second shark attacking Amity Island for a second time, for that matter? At least the mystical route explains why the same shit happens for the fourth time in a row. 

Maybe the weirdest parts of “Jaws: The Revenge” is that large portions of the film doesn’t even focus on the damn shark. Maybe to help distinguish the series from all the “Jaws” rip-offs, each of these movies had to focus on the Brody family. By this point, the only original cast member the producers could get back was Lorraine Gary as Sherriff Brody's widow. (Probably because she was married to Sheinberg.) Focusing on Gary's character has some interesting effects on the narrative. Once in the Bahamas, Ellen is romanced by Hoagie, the plane pilot. The two dance during Junkanoo, canoodle in a casino, and spend an afternoon flirting in a bar. “Jaws 4” might as well be subtitled “How Ellen Brody Got Her Groove Back.” Only occasionally do their conversation circle back around to the killer shark and usually in the most awkward way possible. Michael Caine is fine as Hoagie. (And his openness about the movie’s quality has been charming.) Lorraine Gary, meanwhile, varies between confused and melodramatic, usually whenever she’s crying or yelling at something.

The movie also heavily focuses on the plight of the Brody children. Much time is spent on the relationship between Michael and his wife, Carla. She’s a scrap metal artist, as displayed in several scenes. The two’s sex life also comes up with an unusual amount of frequency. Michael’s job as a marine biologist, especially his studies of conch shells, is another diversion in the script. Meanwhile, his daughter Thea also gets plenty of screen-time, playing with her dad, mom, and grandmother. Mario Van Peebles' character, Jake, and his ridiculous Jamaican accent also appears a lot. Rumor has it, Peebles wrote most of his dialogue. This explains why he does goofy things, like humming the "Jaws" theme song. At one level, I appreciate the film’s attempts to flesh out its cast members. On another level, it feels like padding, leaving viewers with the lingering question of “Why is this shit in a “Jaws” movie?”

In “Jaws 3-D,” Bruce the Shark had already seen better days. When “The Revenge” rolled around, the shark became faker looking than ever. Worst yet, the film seems obsessed with the shark leaping up, flashing his jaws, and roaring. We see this repeatedly, in nightmares and the waking world. One sequence, that has the shark jumping onto Michael’s boat, is protracted and embarrassing. Every time, the shark looks rubbery and fake, like the flaying puppet it is. This is most obvious during a chase scene between Michael and the shark in a sunken ship. In a better movie, that moment could have been suspenseful. Here, the execution is laughable.

Speaking of laughable… In its last act, “Jaws: The Revenge” goes totally nuts. Ellen has an emotional break, hijacks a boat, and goes after Jaws herself. In a baffling scene, Jake is eaten, seemingly psychically projected into the shark’s mouth. To top that baffling moment, there’s the infamous finale. Just as the shark leaps out of the water, Ellen impales it on the bough of the boat. Without explanation, the marine predator explodes. This is what’s supposed to be happening, I think: Earlier, the shark swallowed a device called an impulse producer. I suppose it's possible the device contain some sort of explosive fuel, which was sparked by the impaling. However, the scene is so badly cut, this is not clearly conveyed. The inexplicable cherry on the baffling sundae is that Jake somehow survives being eaten by the shark. Even though we clearly saw him being munched on earlier! Everyone then has a good laugh and the movie ends. Unsurprisingly, this bizarre conclusion is the result of last minute re-edits and alternate footage.

It is a "no shit" statement to say that "Jaws: The Revenge" is bad. The movie has been a critical punching bag for thirty-five years. However, a part of me enjoys it a lot more than “Jaws 3-D.” It’s shorter, for one, and better paced. Part three's regurgitation of horror clichés and its focus on stiff 3-D gimmick mostly bored me. “The Revenge” is frequently hilarious, albeit for all the wrong reasons. There's a zippy, comedic energy to its slapdash incoherence. Granted, it’s still a pathetic end to the legacy started by Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece. Yet its focus on a middle-age woman and its wacky plot does provide an undeniable novelty. At the very least, “Jaws: The Revenge” is better then the NES game it inspired. And it does have that awesome tagline: “This time, it’s personal!” For all these reasons and more, "Jaws: The Revenge" is, in its own misbegotten way, the most entertaining of the "Jaws" sequels. [5/10]