(Review originally written at 25 October 2005)
This movie doesn't receive much love but I think it really deserves some. It's understandable why this movie is regarded as a bad one. It's the third establishment in a series of unneeded "Jaws" sequels. Both 2 and 3 were disappointing movies, especially compared to the first of course so how could the third sequel be possibly any better? It's easy to bash a movie like this but I'm not going with the majority here on this one.
I'll explain why I feel that this is the second best movie from the "Jaws" series. Despite the previous two sequels it actually tries to recapture the atmosphere of the first movie. Also of course the fact that Lorraine Gary reprises her role as Ellen Brody adds to this feeling and atmosphere. The movie has lots of returning character and references to the first "Jaws" movie, something that the previous two sequels mostly ignored. This movie is actually the closest to the first "Jaws" movie in its atmosphere, story and tension. The only reason why this movie is not as good as the first "Jaws" movie is the fact that it hasn't got the characters Quint, Chief Brody and Hooper in it. Also of course Spielbergs skill and subtle touch is missing and so is John Williams' musical score.
The use of some archive footage from the first "Jaws" movie, in some flashbacks scenes might be a bit cheap but in my opinion it works effective. It perfectly binds the first and last establishment of the "Jaws" series. It also explains the 'lame' story better. The story is that a shark wants to take revenge on all the Brody's. It's of course incredibly silly that a shark would ever do such a thing but a story like this was necessary to put an end to the "Jaws" series. After this vengeful shark would die, it would be highly unbelievable that any of the Brody's would have a later encounter with a great white. This sort of story was simply needed to put an end to the series and for me it's really satisfying.
It is a really great and enjoyable monster movie. It has some well build up and executed sequences and an ending that also doesn't disappoint. In my opinion it's a great way to end the "Jaws" series, even though my opinion still is that none of the "Jaws" sequels should had ever been made because they are simply pointless.
7/10
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