Initially, from what I have read about this film, it wasn't supposed to include the Brody sons of Roy Scheider's sheriff of Amity from the first two films. For whatever reason, the third film's producers and moneymen decided that a connection to the first Jaws films was needed so Quaid's engineer and visiting brother, John Putch (going to school in Colorado, far away from water, as the film jokily proclaims in dialogue) were added to the third film.
Honestly, I could devote several blog posts to Jaws, but part 3 just isn't really barely worth two. It wasn't really a film that deserves to be crucified as the The Revenge does. Really, Jaws 3 isn't "bad on a fun level" as The Revenge is. There are few, if any, WTF moments (except the idea that a human meal for mama Great White would still be near her mouth with a grenade in his dead hand just so that Quaid could use a bent tube to pull the pin when the shark breaks into the central command center of Undersea), and the cast (besides Gossett, dealing with a Southern accent that does him no favors and a character that ultimately rescues himself when saving a crew member from drowning) is competent enough (Quaid, Bess Armstrong as Quaid's girlfriend, Lea Thompson in an early role as quite the cutie (she's part of a ski team that does pyramid routines)).
The thing is is that Jaws 3 is flat and rather sadly uninspired. The shark isn't even scary. If anything, its death at the end feels rushed as if the director just wanted to kill the damn thing and end the movie. You have this big scene before the shark swims "calmly" into the supposedly highly protected glass shield of the control command center where the Great White is loose in open waters within Sea World, a group of water skiers and some swimming targets (yet, the primary target is Lea (out of numerous potential human casualties, the one character somewhat developed) and Putch (he's a Brody, so why wouldn't the shark be after him???) are prime candidates to be human chum.
Joe Alves just seems a little out of his depth in this film. There's the obligatory character set ups but development felt as inspired as the shark attacks. Like Quaid taking a job in Venezuela, and how this impedes on his relationship with Bess who may be taking a job herself somewhere else completely. Lea is just a skier who happens to be involved romantically (in puppy love fashion) with Putch, himself visiting from out of town. Gossett, Jr. isn't quite Murray Hamilton in his oblivious inability to protect innocent lives since he wasn't aware of the other shark being in his park. But he endures a lot of shark-related catastrophe, just the same. When customers are trapped in the Undersea travel tunnel, and a small number of victims are attacked by the Great White (and the smaller shark dies), you can see it all wearing heavily on him. But the character is all surface "I want to make lots and lots of money" or "Ah, shit, that shark has robbed me of the millions I might have made otherwise." There's little depth beyond those two basic attributes to the character. Quaid was able to shrug this off with some fun films like Enemy Mine (with Gossett, Jr. co-starring as an androgynous alien) and Innerspace afterward.while Bess Armstrong has made a living on the small screen mostly. Gossett, Jr. had won an Oscar prior to this film, which I imagine the Golden Raspberry bunch loved significantly, considering they nominated him for Jaws 3 D. No doubt, this film is one the actors involved probably were glad to put behind them. But as part of a popular franchise (the first two films were quite the moneymakers), these films don't just die and fade away. I just wish this was one of those movies that seems perfect for an annual summer viewing, but I can't justify spending 98 minutes every year on it.
Honestly, I could devote several blog posts to Jaws, but part 3 just isn't really barely worth two. It wasn't really a film that deserves to be crucified as the The Revenge does. Really, Jaws 3 isn't "bad on a fun level" as The Revenge is. There are few, if any, WTF moments (except the idea that a human meal for mama Great White would still be near her mouth with a grenade in his dead hand just so that Quaid could use a bent tube to pull the pin when the shark breaks into the central command center of Undersea), and the cast (besides Gossett, dealing with a Southern accent that does him no favors and a character that ultimately rescues himself when saving a crew member from drowning) is competent enough (Quaid, Bess Armstrong as Quaid's girlfriend, Lea Thompson in an early role as quite the cutie (she's part of a ski team that does pyramid routines)).
The thing is is that Jaws 3 is flat and rather sadly uninspired. The shark isn't even scary. If anything, its death at the end feels rushed as if the director just wanted to kill the damn thing and end the movie. You have this big scene before the shark swims "calmly" into the supposedly highly protected glass shield of the control command center where the Great White is loose in open waters within Sea World, a group of water skiers and some swimming targets (yet, the primary target is Lea (out of numerous potential human casualties, the one character somewhat developed) and Putch (he's a Brody, so why wouldn't the shark be after him???) are prime candidates to be human chum.
Joe Alves just seems a little out of his depth in this film. There's the obligatory character set ups but development felt as inspired as the shark attacks. Like Quaid taking a job in Venezuela, and how this impedes on his relationship with Bess who may be taking a job herself somewhere else completely. Lea is just a skier who happens to be involved romantically (in puppy love fashion) with Putch, himself visiting from out of town. Gossett, Jr. isn't quite Murray Hamilton in his oblivious inability to protect innocent lives since he wasn't aware of the other shark being in his park. But he endures a lot of shark-related catastrophe, just the same. When customers are trapped in the Undersea travel tunnel, and a small number of victims are attacked by the Great White (and the smaller shark dies), you can see it all wearing heavily on him. But the character is all surface "I want to make lots and lots of money" or "Ah, shit, that shark has robbed me of the millions I might have made otherwise." There's little depth beyond those two basic attributes to the character. Quaid was able to shrug this off with some fun films like Enemy Mine (with Gossett, Jr. co-starring as an androgynous alien) and Innerspace afterward.while Bess Armstrong has made a living on the small screen mostly. Gossett, Jr. had won an Oscar prior to this film, which I imagine the Golden Raspberry bunch loved significantly, considering they nominated him for Jaws 3 D. No doubt, this film is one the actors involved probably were glad to put behind them. But as part of a popular franchise (the first two films were quite the moneymakers), these films don't just die and fade away. I just wish this was one of those movies that seems perfect for an annual summer viewing, but I can't justify spending 98 minutes every year on it.
I'm scared to re-watch all of these Jaws sequels but I'll need to by some point.
ReplyDeleteYou shouldn't be in too big a hurry. Seeing them can wait, haha.
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