Franchise Weekend – Jaws 3D (1983)

Director: Joe Alves

Writer: Richard Matheson, Carl Gottlieb (Screenplay) Guerdon Trueblood (Story)

Starring: Dennis Quaid, Bess Armstrong, Simon MacCorkindale, Louis Gossett Jr, John Putch, Lea Thompson

 

Plot: The sons of police chief Brody must protect customers at a SeaWorld theme park after a thirty-five-foot shark becomes trapped in the park with them.

Tagline – The third dimension is terror

Runtime: 1 Hour 39 Minutes

 

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

 

Verdict: They Can’t Get Worse

 

Story: Jaws 3 starts as we follow the sons of Chief Brody, Mike (Quaid) who works at sea world with his girlfriend Dr Kathryn Morgan (Armstrong) as they receive a visit from Sean (Putch) who has followed in his father’s footsteps by being afraid of the water. With Seaworld getting a visit from celebrity Philip FitzRoyce (MacCorkindale) everything is ready for a new stamp of approval.

When it turns out that a great white shark has taken up home in the lagoon Kay wants to capture it for good reasons, while Philip wants to turn into a sport and kill it, can they find a safe solution?

 

Thoughts on Jaws 3

 

Characters – Mike Brody is the son of the Chief in the first two films, now grown up, he builds the worlds for Seaworld alongside his girlfriend who works with the animals, he is on the verge of a big transfer which will make serious money and his career, now he must work to save the park much like his father did, fighting a shark. Kay is girlfriend of Mike, she works with the wildlife in the park, wanting to do the best for the shark that appears there. Philip FitzRoyce is here to help with press as he knows how to add the crowds to the audience.

Performances – Dennis Quaid is ok in this movie, he doesn’t reach the levels we know he can reach, Bess Armstrong is the strongest part of the film because you can understand both her and her characters reactions. The rest of the cast are fine to poor, they are not as annoying as the kids in the last film.

Story – The story has jumped a few years now, following the kids does make sense, we follow of a Seaworld that gets an uninvited guest in sharks move into the lagoon. The team must get them out, this is the story as the ambitious money hunger park owner puts lives at risk and a guy named Brody must try to save the day. There is nothing overly new here, it doesn’t build on the scale of the original two films and just feels almost a waste in the most part.

Adventure/Horror – This doesn’t have the feel of an adventure and sadly it doesn’t come off scary in anyway, this just turns out to be bland.

Settings – Having the film set in a Seaworld environment is something we wouldn’t see anymore because of the hatred towards them, but this setting almost plays out like a marketing campaign for them,

Special Effects – This film tried to do 3D, it failed.

Scene of the Movie – Watching someone get eaten.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Those effects.

Final Thoughts – This is a weaker sequel that just ends up being boring for the most part, it doesn’t build on the legacy in anyway either.

 

Overall: Just bad all around.

Rating