Retroist Jaws: The Revenge Podcast

I have very mixed feeling about Jaws: The Revenge. On the one hand, I found it disappointing when compared to earlier films, on the other hand I am fascinated that it was made and audiences reaction or lack of reaction to it. It is the last of the Jaws film, but was it the killer of the franchise or was the franchise already dying and this was just the last gasp?

I saw most of Jaws: The Revenge by myself. I don’t think I had a critical eye at the time, because even though I wanted it to be better, I was entertained enough by it, especially once it started. The FX did stand out as bad, but I liked the change in setting and the silliness of the shark seeking revenge. On this episode of the show, I will talk about the road to making the sequel, the writers, the director, the music, its reception and much more. Its a messy film that might not be critically great, but that doesn’t mean its not interesting.

This was a weird movie for me to cover in that I don’t think its a great film. That is not something I usually do. The thing is, the more I started watching it, thinking about it, and reading the novelization, the more interesting I found it. As you move further along in the Jaws sequels, fewer and fewer people see them. With this one, things have flatlined. Its reputation precedes it so much that people have avoided it like a shark plagued Amity beach. So will you think the movie is great after listening to this? Probably not, and I am not trying to convince you, but I do hope it makes you think about the movie.

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• This is the 348th episode of the Retroist Podcast and episode 22 of the new season.

• This is a sequel to my Retroist Jaws, Jaws 2, and Jaws 3D podcast and it will be helpful if you listen to the others.

• The movie theater in my town was a hub for activity for so many years. A surprising amount of drama and just growing up experiences revolved around it. Communities need more spaces like this.

• I had a lot of retro audio I wanted to add, but I limited myself. I think at least 2.5 minutes were cut there.

• Its hard to say a movie is “Bad.” The expectations for this movie are higher than other films that get called “bad.” A lot more films are worse.

• The tone of the film jumps around a lot. I think most of the Bahama shifts work well enough, but the scenes in “Amity” are not a great way to start the film. They feel more like TV movie reactions and drama.

• I remember sitting on the steps of the theater, it had 3 small steps or so. Waiting for my friends and watching people come in and out of the theater. I could smell the popcorn.

• Not John Williams, but a really nice soundtrack.

• Shame Murray Hamilton passed away, I love the idea that after all that happened, he is still somehow the mayor of Amity.

• Bonus Clipping should be up at the same time the episode comes out and see if people prefer it that way.

• Music on the show is, as always, by Peachy.

Thanks for listening to the show and I hope you have a great weekend.