When her younger son Sean (Mitchell Anderson) is killed by a shark, the late sheriff Brody’s widow Ellen (Lorraine Gary) believes that the shark is targeting her family.
Escaping to the Bahamas, Ellen realises that the shark - with whom she shares a psychic link - has followed them, still intent on revenge.
“Oh shit” - Hoagey (Michael Caine)
The Revenge has achieved an iconic status as an all-time stinker.
After watching all the Jawses, I think it is a bit better than its reputation. What is most striking about The Revenge from a 2023 perspective is how fits the format of a legacy sequel.
Ignoring the previous sequel, it brings back a key cast member (Lorraine Gay) and surrounds her with a cast representing a younger generation. It tries to create echoes with the original by replicating certain scenes and moments (Mike’s daughter mimicking his actions at the dinner table). And it follows the recent trend of mirroring the plot structure of the 1975 picture - this one is a stretch, but the film tries to reinforce this connection with the showdown on a sinking ship, and flashbacks to stock footage from the final moments of the original film.
There are a few points in its favour:
While its action is even more incomprehensible than its predecessor, Jaws: The Revenge at least looks like a movie.
John McPherson’s photography gives the film a weirdly lush but slightly drained autumnal quality - conveying a sense of the tropical environment but inflecting it with Mrs Brody’s sadness and sense of doom.
Michael Small’s score works overtime at generating tension and atmosphere.
The scene where Mike is ambushed by the shark in the minisub is terrific - he is forced to evacuate and flee through a shipwreck.
It is genuinely tense, and ends with a great piece of action improvisation: Mike opens his oxygen tank and uses it as propulsion to get back to the surface.
While it mostly looks fine, the script is nonsensical, and the characters act in bizarre ways.
Confined by the ridiculous leaps of the script, Lorraine Gary’s performance is a series of overdone choices with no bridging in between. As nu-Mike Brody, Lance Guest is a plank of driftwood, while Mario Van Peeples - as his colleague and best friend - has a ridiculous accent.
One of the most remarkable parts of the Jaws franchise is the calibre of their casts - even in this entry, alongside those names mentioned, Lynne Whitfield (Eve’s Bayou) makes a brief appearance as Van Peeples’ wife.
The only person who escapes with any dignity is the one actor who has famously never watched it: Michael Caine.
He swaggers through proceedings like he’s passing through in between his own series of adventures as a ne’er-do-well pilot/gambler/scoundrel.
Whereas Jaws 3 is a failed execution of a fun high concept, The Revenge is a semi-competent execution of a terrible concept.
There are aspects of it (the script and some of the acting) which are terrible, but overall, it is a marginally more interesting film than its predecessor.
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