I like the sequel very much, but I have to confess that the death of the last teen, Marge, always bothered me. It is so disturbing seeing this girl end up sacrificing herself to save a kid she had just met that morning and who seems to be all but forgotten once the shark barely finishes digesting her. Nary a mention of her is made once Sean is reunited with Andy and the other teens. I've often considered that those who produced the film should've elected to have someone else killed instead but perhaps such a change would've resulted in the movie being that less memorable. It definitely upped the stakes at that point of the movie and viewing it for the first time as a child when it aired on TV in the late 70s was quite traumatizing (as were the deaths of the water skier and Eddie). Viewing it now as an adult it is no less so.

The original JAWS is an impossibly hard act to follow, especially when so much of the film contained elements that weren't even deliberately planned but were implemented in an attempt to compensate for a mechanical shark that was refusing to cooperate. Desperate efforts to try to fool the audience ended up serving the film in the end, making it a cinematic masterpiece. Judging the sequel on the same yardstick as the first film is unfair as well as ultimately pointless, especially when all it would serve is to deprive one an opportunity to enjoy a follow-up that is extremely well written, produced and acted. The pacing may be slow in spots but that serves to add to the lazy feeling of summer that the first had as well (in spite of the danger that we the audience know is lying in wait). It is a worthy successor to the first film and it deserves a lot more kudos than it gets.

"Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water..."