Review of Jaws 3

Introduction

Jaws 3 was originally titled Jaws 3D and saw audiences donning cardboard 3D glasses whilst watching – something which has mysteriously disappeared in recent years…

The third instalment of the Great White Shark vs. humans story combines the man-eating sharks seen in the first two films with a disaster movie. This time, the son of the policeman from the first film works at "Undersea Kingdom" which gets an unwanted "attraction" in the form of a giant Great White Shark out for revenge.

Video

The video comes in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and is of variable quality. The scenes shot outside are of pretty good quality, with good detail, good focus and little or no grain on the print. Some of the interiors however are grainy and out of focus, and of very noticeably poorer quality. Some scenes also have variable focus across the width of the image, with the outer edges blurred whilst the centre of the image remains in focus.

The films visuals are also a mixed bag. Some of the shark sequences are real footage (albeit sped up on occasion) which looks ok, however, some of the scenes use models, which look awful. Other annoyances include the "baby" shark which is caught being nowhere near as big when they catch it as it was when it was trying to eat them in the lagoon!

However, the shark visuals are nothing compared to the quite staggeringly poor rear-projection and overlays. Some of this is caused by effects designed to be 3D in the original film which do not look so good when flattened – bits of body, submersibles, sharks etc have thick black edges around them and are at times laughably bad. Of particular note is the sequence of the yellow submersible as seen from the window of the control centre underwater. One of the worst effects sequences of all time.

Audio

The sound comes in Dolby Digital Stereo and whilst only adequate, doesn`t detract from the movie in any way. The original John Williams score for Jaws is a classic, and although Alan Parker`s score for Jaws 3 imitates it, the soundtrack has none of the unnerving menace of the original.

There are plenty of sound effects, including a rather amusing "roar" when the shark bites.

The dialogue is always clear and understandable.

Features

There are trailers for this movie, Jaws 2 and Jaws: The revenge, all of which are selectable from rather unexciting static menus.

The disc is packaged in a clear Amaray case with no insert.

Conclusion

The first two Jaws films were going to be a hard act to follow, and despite the added attraction of a disaster movie plot, the third instalment doesn`t live up to its predecessors. A strong cast and reasonable storyline are badly let down by sometimes-atrocious special effects, but despite this the film was fairly watchable and at 94 minutes is not overly long.

The picture quality is variable, the sound average and there are no extras, so the disc isn`t particularly appealing. The first Jaws is a far superior movie, so you should buy that instead. If you want good effects, entertainment and a disaster plot involving sharks, try Deep Blue Sea.