- Actors: Lorraine Gary, Lance Guest, Mario Van Peebles, Michael Caine, Karen Young
- Directors: Joseph Sargent
- Writers: Michael De Guzman, Peter Benchley
- Producers: Joseph Sargent, Frank Baur
- Language English
- Classification: 12
- Studio: Universal
- VHS Release Date: 19 Jun 2000
- Run Time: 89 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B00004R697
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 8,306 in Video (See Top 100 in Video)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
One would think that after the aquatic horror of the previous three Jaws movies the remnants of the beleaguered Brodie family would be happily nursing their hydrophobia somewhere in Kansas. However, in Jaws--The Revenge, the fourth episode of the saga, we find that Ellen (Lorraine Gary) is still living on a tiny island, and her eldest son Michael (Lance Guest) has become, of all things, a marine biologist. Even when her younger son is slaughtered by yet another giant shark, all Ellen can do to take her mind off it is go to the Bahamas and gaze at the sea. There she embarks on a romantic affair with salty sea-pilot Hoagie (a nice turn from Michael Caine), but this peace is shattered as the shark begins to target her grandchildren and friends. Where this monster-with-a-grudge comes from, bearing in mind that the sharks in each of the previous movies got blown up or electrocuted, is something of a conundrum. But logic is clearly not a concern in a script that demands only that this film should bear some tenuous relation to its predecessors. The ghost of the far-superior original looms large here--in the form of Ellen's flashbacks (which actually use footage from the earlier films), scenes which overtly refer to moments from the series (Michael's son mimics him at the dinner table, as Michael once did to his own father) and a set littered with conspicuously large photos of Roy Scheider. There are nice touches--Michael and his Jamaican partner Jake (Mario Van Peebles) fit the shark with a heart monitor which lets off an eerie blipping sound when it approaches, it is nice to see a romance between more "mature" characters portrayed so warmly, and when the maternal Ellen forms the resolve to protect her family it even looks like she may briefly become a sort of geriatric Ripley character (a la Aliens). But with a shark that has never looked more rubbery, set pieces which lack suspense and invention and a short running time (only 86 minutes) it is hard to shake off the sensation that this is a made-for-TV film. Those wanting a dose of tongue-in-cheek killer-creature action would be better off avoiding this wet fish and taking in a Jaws rip-off with a little more bite, such as Deep Blue Sea or Deep Rising. --Paul Philpott
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Jaw is widely held to be a classic film, and an early example of the summer blockbuster. With that music, and the three excellent lead performances. But as with Rocky, and the awful Police Academy films, to stretch the original idea to three further sequels, really was going too far. Roy Scheider, had wisely bailed out by this point. Instead we see the family, of his late character,Brody,being terrorised by a relation of, believe it or not, the original shark. Who said fish only have three second memories. The lack of credibility in this storyline, makes this film a no, no. Michael Caine, has often been asked why he sacrificed his artistic integrity to appear in such a clanger of a film, in his biography he answers the question, it was too buy himself a large house. At least he did not say that he thought the script was the best he had ever read.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Taken in the spirit of those 50's giant insect B-Movies, Jaws 4 is actually quite enjoyable - just don't confuse it with a proper film, with plausible plots and well-scripted dialogue. The central premise of the film is absurd and unbelievable - a shark is annoyed that the Brody family has been killing other great white sharks, so it decides to eat members of the Brody family, following them to the Bahamas (somehow, not only does it know that it was Brodys that killed sharks in the previous films, it can recognise individual members of the family, and even knows when they're going to be flying to the Bahamas, and gets there ahead of them), so it's important to accept this and just enjoy Michael Caine's cameo as Hoagie (an avuncular rogue similar to his character in Educting Rita, whose name escapes me), and the fact that you're watching a film about a big fish that eats people. Obviously there are no scenes to match Quint's monologue about the "Hiroshima bumb" in the first film, or shocks like the head in the boat, but for dumb thrills it's perfectly adequate.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
After the dire Jaws 3 I was hoping this would re-energise the series. The opening certainly filled me with optimism, as with its excellent camera-work it looks very creepy, and the death of the younger Brody brother is very effectively-handled. But then it all falls apart like a rotten haddock. Mrs Brody (now a widow) goes to stay with her surviving son's family in the Bahamas (laughably fake accents abound). But the new shark on the block has followed her, intends to exact revenge for the death of its relatives. As if that wasn't idiotic enough, we are treated to people being crushed in the shark's jaws and then turning out to be alright after all cartoon-style. Considering this is 15, there's a ridiculously small bodycount. Mrs Brody, meanwhile, has flashbacks of things she never even witnessed, the laughable fake-looking shark (which at one point seems to be floating above the water) strangely roars and the film is padded out with soppy soap opera slush. The illogical, ludicrous ending destroys any remaining credibility the film ever had. At least Jaws 3 had some interesting ideas. This is just a desperate, uninvolving, tedious cash-in. Stick to the classic Jaws and its follow-up Jaws 2.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Jaws - again...
I know I know its the forth jaws movie - but there are some really good moments here. like the opening 15mins, the film takes you back to amity island where the brody family have... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Toecutter
Jaws has finally lost its bite....
Miserable, neurotic adults, brattish, obnoxious children and a dead shark. I know that the shark was never actually alive but in this utterly lame excuse at merchandising, it has... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Tim Kidner
Brilliantly funny!
This is MCA Universal Home Video's official film account for JAWS 4: The Revenge:
Once again the peace of Amity and the lives of the Brody family are shattered by a... Read more
Once again the peace of Amity and the lives of the Brody family are shattered by a... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mike
such a big budget for such a dire movie
to really do this review justice to just how bad this film is would merit a 200 page volume. Suffice to say there is no artistic merit to the movie at all, cinematography is dire,... Read more
Published 3 months ago by JrF
Yeah it's bad but..............
It's been over twenty years now and you should finally be able to watch this again without the bitter disappointment you had at the time, the hurt you suffered building up hopes... Read more
Published 7 months ago by ric03
JAWS 4 review
now, i dont know why JAWS 4 gets slagged off so much. lots of people say that JAWS4 is a terrible movie. i have to disagree with these people. Read more
Published 8 months ago by nicola edwards
GREAT!
This is the goriest one of all! The start is really scary and really sad and really bloody! The story for this is better than ever and the acting is really amazing! Read more
Published 13 months ago by G. Stephenson
You'll die laughing
There's no new bad things I can say about this film as they are all pretty much common knowledge (like how can someone have flashbacks of events they never witnessed?). Read more
Published 19 months ago by Inspector Gadget
under rated too much
i know there are some really crazy things about this film, like a shark roaring and a shark seeking revenge. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Mrs. J. J. Dolan
Jaws time and time again
The revenge of a franchise thats died a well drowned a death by money grabbing studio bosses...But I love this movie it picks up the spirit from JAWS 3 and takes you back to a more... Read more
Published on 1 Oct 2009 by Spice Boy
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