Jaws 3 vs Jaws: The Revenge

[Amasov]

So after getting the original film on BLU-RAY last week, I got to thinking about the rest of the films in the series. Jaws 2 was a very underrated sequel, in my opinion, but it was probably as far as you could have taken it. Then we have Jaws 3(D) followed up by Jaws: The Revenge. Arguably, the two worst films in the series, but I have started to wonder what people consider worse, the third or fourth film.

Personally, I have to go with 3 being the worst. 3 was the gimmick film. The overall look of the film is of a lower-quality than the previous two installments. It almost comes off as more of a ripoff rather than a sequel.

Then you have The Revenge. I know it's commonly regarded as one of the worst films ever made, but for some reason, I'm able to sit through and watch the entire thing. It does stray into utter idiocy, like having the shark roar (???), the shark carrying a personal grudge against the Brody family, and among all things, the shark possessing the ability to stand up on its tail. As insane and ridiculous as it all is, I feel The Revenge at least tried in some sense.

Thoughts?

 

[Warp Core Breach]

Even though both are pretty terrible I'm going to give an edge to "Jaws: The Revenge". The presence of Michael Caine helped, and even though it was mostly ridiculous I found it enjoyable on that level at least. If nothing else the shark roaring like the Munsters' pet Spot and lines like "Bloody hell, the breath on that thing!" always make me giggle.

"Jaws Goes to Seaworld", not so much.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

Jaws-3D and Revenge are both terrible, but Revenge wins out simply by virtue of not taking itself the least bit seriously whereas 3D sucks completely but like an idiot that doesn't know any better thinks it's smart and that everyone is laughing with him instead of at him. Plus, the effects in 3D have not aged well.

Revenge can easily be enjoyed in a "so bad, it's good" way. I mean, it's about a shark, which is not even the same shark from the previous movies, having a vendetta against the Brody family and stalking them from Amity (by the way, why the hell were any Brody's still living and working on friggin' shark magnet island after all they'd been through?) to a tropical island after they flew there. It's really the father to the greatness that is Megashark vs Giant Octopus.

The film is hilarious, from the tagline ("This Time it's Personal"), to Michael Caine's admittedly phoned in performance in a gig that he took simply to enjoy the Sun and some island fun for a while while getting paid, to Mario Van Peebles terrible acting, to the shark roaring like the T-Rex in Jurassic Park and then holding still out of the water for a photo op like the Jaws at Universal Studios so Ellen Brody can (SPOILER ALERT: The shark was actually Keyser Söze all along and was just making up its story using objects in the room) use the bowsprit to shish kabob the shark and kill it --along with the boat.

Plus, how can anyone not love the cheesy deliciousness of this trailer:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQDXfB1nBnk&feature=player_embedded[/yt]

 

[Brikar99]

Is "Revenge" the one where the shark roars and then explodes for no reason at the end? If so, that's the one I choose. Always.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

My favorite is when Ellen Brody is encouraged to skewer the shark by vivid sepia-toned (so we know it's the past!) memories of her dead husband (you see, the fear of sharks scared him into having a heart attack, which again explains why they were still living on Shark Week Island) saying "smile you son of a bitch!" and blowing it up, even though she never witnessed those events.

Plus, the shark is taunted into roaring like the Mufasa of the sea by a flashlight. Oh, it sends out electrical impulses and makes the charging sound of a defibrillator, but it's still a flashlight.

 

[Sephiroth]

Give it a few years and we'll get a nu-Jaws with 30% lens flare and the wrong font on the Orca

 

[Garak]

My father in law's best friend worked on the set of Jaws 3. Apparently the director was drunk off his ass the entire movie. At one point he actually asked if he could get a "stunt baby" that could perform dangerous stunts.

Still though, it's one of those movies that is so bad it's good, and I think it's held up pretty well over time! If it's on the telly I always stop and watch it. Love the scene when the shark breaks the glass of the control room, classic. Or when the British shark wrangler gets chewed up and the POV is from inside the shark's mouth. Amazing.

Not even Michael Caine could save the abortion that was Jaws the Revenge.

 

[Harvey]

They're both pretty dreadful. The fourth film tries to take the concept deadly seriously and falls flat on its face. The third film is a hair less serious, but it falls apart with gimmicky effects that just look awful.

The second film is underrated, though. It was about as good as a sequel to the original could be, and managed to bring back most of the cast (and John Williams!), too.

 

[Brikar99]

The second film is underrated, though. It was about as good as a sequel to the original could be, and managed to bring back most of the cast (and John Williams!), too.

It's definitely a lesser film, though it's not outright bad like the others. It's decently made and entertaining, but one of those ones where I just sort of felt "That was nice, moving on..."

 

[Admiral James Kirk]

They're both bad but since The Revenge has at least one original cast member plus Michael Caine I'm giving it the edge.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

The fourth film tries to take the concept deadly seriously and falls flat on its face.

It's a movie about a shark getting revenge on the humans who killed (presumably) its kin. You think they were taking it deadly seriously? Shark Tale is practically a wildlife documentary compared to this movie.

 

[Harvey]

Obviously the concept is ludicrous, but the tone the movie takes is quite serious.

(To the point of comedy in many places; witness the scene where Lorraine Gary gets all bent out of shape when she's faced with the sculpture of...something not even remotely shark-like.)

 

[Amasov]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LK4Jir_Xyes[/yt]

"...where one of her sons - the other's dead..."

 

[Amasov]

Is "Revenge" the one where the shark roars and then explodes for no reason at the end? If so, that's the one I choose. Always.

Did you ever see the original ending?

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqiWWmAEfTA&feature=related[/yt]

 

[Trekker4747]

Only "Jaws" all of the sequels are shit on multiple levels that completely missed what made the first one great.

 

[Rowdy Roddy McDowall]

I loved JAWS 1, enjoyed 2, disliked 3 and hated 4 intensely.
Only two years ago I found out something which made me despise JAWS THE REVENGE all the more.

I bought a biography of Roy Scheider from Oldies.com in 2010. I often wondered how he could be in films as good as JAWS, 2010, ALL THAT JAZZ and others one moment, then be in clunkers like COHEN AND TATE, SEAQUEST and too many straight-to-videos to mention in the final years of his career.
The book told me why.

It seems while turning down JAWS 3D had no effect on his Hollywood status, refusing to appear in JAWS THE REVENGE did. If memory serves the original plot had Scheider dying right at the beginning, instead of Sean Brody. Scheider rightly said no.....and the producers basically blackballed him at that point, tarnishing his reputation and keeping him from getting decent theatrical parts. Now the mystery was solved. And it's a disgrace. And one more reason to shun THE REVENGE completely......

 

[Reverend]

'Jaws: The Revenge' wins for two reasons: -
1) I've never seen Jaws 3.
2) Michael Caine.

 

[auntiehill]

This reminds me of Richard Jeni's great routine on JAWS 4, aka "Here's a fish. You're stupid."
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=e07_1251153180

 

[BillJ]

Isn't the question equivalent to: would you rather step in cat shit or dog shit?

 

[Trekker4747]

Isn't the question equivalent to: would you rather step in cat shit or dog shit?

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