Jaws 2 is a 1978 American thriller film directed by Jeannot Szwarc and co-written by Carl Gottlieb. It is the sequel to Steven Spielberg's Jaws, and the second installment in the Jaws franchise. The film stars Roy Scheider as Police Chief Martin Brody, with Lorraine Gary and Murray Hamilton reprising their respective roles as Martin's wife Ellen Brody and mayor Larry Vaughn. It also stars Joseph Mascolo, Jeffrey Kramer, Collin Wilcox, Ann Dusenberry, Mark Gruner, Susan French, Barry Coe, Donna Wilkes, and Gary Springer. The plot concerns Chief Brody suspecting another great white shark is terrorizing the fictional sea side resort of Amity Island, following a series of incidents and disappearances, and his suspicions are eventually proven true.
Like the production of the original film, the production of Jaws 2 was troubled. The first director for the film, John D. Hancock, proved to be unsuitable for an action film and was replaced by Szwarc. Scheider, who only reprised his role to end a contractual issue with Universal, was also unhappy during production and had several heated exchanges with Szwarc.
Jaws 2 was briefly the highest-grossing sequel in history until Rocky II was released in 1979. The film's tagline, "Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water..." has become one of the most famous in film history and has been parodied and homaged several times. The film received mixed reviews and was followed by Jaws 3-D in 1983 and Jaws: The Revenge in 1987.
Plot[]
While a new hotel opens on Amity Island, a 25 ft great white shark kills two scuba divers photographing the wreckage of the Orca before heading into Amity waters. Their camera, which took pictures during the attack, is recovered the next day. The shark then kills a female water skier. The driver of the boat attempts self-defense by using a gas tank and flare gun, but the boat explodes, killing her and severely burning the right side of the shark's face.
A killer whale carcass is found on the beach. Police Chief Martin Brody believes that a shark is responsible. Brody explains his concerns to Mayor Larry Vaughn, who expresses doubts that the town has another shark problem. Brody then finds floating debris from the destroyed speedboat and the boat driver's burnt remains. Brody calls Matt Hooper for assistance, but he is in Antarctica on a research expedition. Brody prohibits his son Mike from boating out of concern for his safety and instead lands him a job on the beach as a show of community service.
The following day, Brody watches a beach from an observation tower and causes a panic after mistaking a school of bluefish for a shark, and shooting at it. However, his fears are confirmed when photos from the diver's camera are processed, and one of them shows a close-up of the shark. When he presents it to the Amity Town Council, they refuse to believe it is a shark, and vote Brody out as police chief with the sole dissent coming from the Mayor.
The next morning, Mike disobeys his father's orders by going sailing with his friends, taking his younger brother Sean with him. Marge, another teen, takes Sean with her, and they head out on six separate boats, going past a team of divers led by instructor Tom Andrews. Moments after submerging, Andrews encounters the shark. Panicking, he rushes to the surface, causing an embolism. Soon after, the shark hits the boat of teenage couple, Eddie Marchand and Tina Wilcox, who have strayed from the others; Eddie falls into the water and is mauled to death.
Brody and his wife Ellen witness Tom's evacuation by ambulance and hear that the other divers suspect something scared him. Deputy Jeff Hendricks, who has taken over as Brody's replacement, tells them that Mike went sailing with his friends, so Brody and Ellen commandeer the police boat, aided by a reluctant Hendricks, to rescue them. They come across Tina's boat and find her hiding in the bow; she confirms the shark's presence. Brody hails a passing boat to take Hendricks, Ellen, and Tina to shore, where the truth is revealed, while he goes searching for the kids.
Meanwhile, the shark attacks the group, striking one of their boats and causing most of them to capsize or crash into each other. Mike is knocked unconscious and falls in the water. The only pair whose boat is still seaworthy retrieve Mike and leave the others to take him ashore and get help; Sean and the others remain adrift upon the wreckage of tangled boats. A Coast Guard marine helicopter that Brody contacted arrives to tow them to shore, but the shark latches onto the chopper's pontoons, capsizing it and drowning the pilot. The shark knocks Sean into the water, and Marge is eaten while saving him.
Brody finds Mike, who informs him of the situation before Brody sends him to safety. Brody finds the others at Cable Junction, a small island housing an electrical relay station that supplies power to Amity. The cheering and jumping that greet him attract the shark, which attacks again, causing Brody to maroon the police boat. He tries pulling them in with a winch but instead hooks an underwater power cable. The shark hits the boat wreckage, sending most of the teenagers into the water, and they swim to the edge of Cable Junction; Jackie Peters, Mike's love interest, and Sean remain on the boats. Using an inflatable raft, Brody taps the power cable with an oar to lure the shark toward him. The shark bites the cable, electrocuting it to death. Brody collects Sean and Jackie and they join the others on Cable Junction to await rescue.