Jaws: The Revenge... Even Sharks Avoid it

Sharks don’t take things personally, or so you’d think.

As the fourth installment of the Jaws franchise, Jaws: The Revenge swam out of the ocean onto the big screen in 1987. While trying to enjoy a vacation in the Bahamas, the Brody’s are attacked by another man-eating shark. Ellen Brody believes the shark is out for revenge and attempts to stop its vengeance.

It astounds me that I haven’t written a bad movie review for Jaws: The Revenge until now! This movie was made without a care for the original masterpiece. Nobody knew where the story was swimming and it’s flooded with errors. Jaws: The Revenge is a laughably terrible disaster that fails right from the beginning.

Did you know that filmmakers originally intended to bring Roy Scheider back just to kill him off in the first five minutes? Thankfully, Scheider said no. It would have been utter disrespect to his iconic character. Instead (or sadly) his demise is given to Sean Brody (Mitchell Anderson).

Lorraine Gary left acting right after starring in this film. Reprising her role as Ellen Brody, her character is all over the place. One moment she’s out for revenge until she’s enjoying her love story with Hoagie (Michael Caine). Despite the erratic direction, Gary performs well, channeling authentic bitter emotions.

Michael Caine’s reaction to this movie is hilarious! When asked about his involvement in the film, he only comments that the house he built is far better than the movie. Gary and Caine’s chemistry is sweet.

More credits include Lance Guest, Mario Van Peebles, Karen Young, and the late Judith Barsi as young Thea. The acting is awkward and wooden since they were given little to no direction on how to act. The dialogue resembles muffled words that sharks hear humans saying from underwater.

What was Joseph Sargent trying to conquer? Jaws: The Revenge is one miss of a tidal wave in story, direction, and special effects. The special effects are embarrassing. Not only does the shark look fake, but you can see the devices to make the shark move! What shark travels from Amity Island to the Bahamas?

The climactic Brody vs. the Shark showdown is one of the most hilarious sequences ever filmed. Watching a rubbery shark leap out of the water and roar—yes, roar - and balance on one fin is the cringiest scene. Ever heard of a roaring shark? Too bad sharks don’t have vocal cords to pull off a threatening call.

In the scattered frenzy of Jaws 4 ideas, there were plans to bring back Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) and Mayor Vaughn (Murray Hamilton). Sargent commented that the writers were so burned out that they were surprised the film was greenlit with the most preposterous idea ever.

Even the editors had no idea what story they were piecing together. Did you know that this movie has two different endings? I can’t imagine what test audiences thought of the actual film, but since they were unhappy with one character getting killed off, filmmakers decided to reshoot the ending so this character lives - in the most inexplicable way possible.

By the end, everyone was giving up. Characters jump into shark-infested waters, a character climbs onto a boat completely dry after being in the ocean, and the final scene is filmed in a swimming pool to convey the ocean!

You’re better off watching Jaws, a well-directed, acted, and all-around excellent cinematic masterpiece. However, if you’re in the mood for a laugh and curious to see that this movie actually exists, take a look at Jaws: The Revenge.