You either die a hero or live long enough to become a villain. That’s the sad fate for Sheriff Brody who, years after the events of “Jaws,” is now seen as the crackpot of Amity Island. Despite the fact that the mayor admitted defeat in the end of “Jaws,” and in spite of academic backing, and a very experienced shark hunter dying at the teeth of the beast, Amity Island has a streak of memory loss prompting a lot of people to forget what Sheriff Brody accomplished at the end of the original movie.
The writers sadly back track for us with “Jaws 2” eliminating a lot of the importance of Brody’s mission in “Jaws” as a means of advancing the whole plot of this follow up. This means making Brody a drunken has been, the local politicians absolutely devious for the sake of being devious and turning the great white shark in to a slasher villain. “Jaws 2” is something of a man vs. monster movie again but this time with Jaws upping their body count and transforming them in to a slasher villain of a sorts.
Jaws is still as angry and hungry as ever, but the newest shark is some kind of scarred monstrosity that coincidentally torments Sheriff Brody’s children in the second half of “Jaws 2.” The follow up to the blockbuster is essentially one part a goofy mystery where Brody is still suffering from PTSD from his encounter with the great white. Despite it being you know, nature and all that, everyone insists that the big old shark isn’t coming back. This makes him an even bigger emotional wreck who has to prove himself. Again.
Following is a bigger (and younger) cast with bigger cannon fodder, including his two sons. They’re all meant to be classic slasher movie targets while adding Brody’s sons give us some emotional stakes. Much to their horror the shark sets its sights on the group, leaving them stranded and desperate to make it back to shore. Despite some fleeting moments of tension, as well as Donna Wilkes’ epic scream of horror, “Jaws 2” is a pale follow up that repeats the beats from the original film.
It also destroys Sheriff Brody as a means of advancing us in to this new premise, which is paper thin at best. Maybe it’s time to move somewhere bereft of shark life and ungrateful town folks. “Jaws 2” has its small base of fans that think it’s a solid follow up, but I found it to be great background noise, at best.