So, here's the thing, I think we, as a society, are too hard on this movie. There are two reasons for this: The first is that it is a sequel to one of the greatest movies ever made - one that doesn't really need a sequel. When you are following up a stone cold classic there is a high bar to be met, and Jaws 2 does not meet that bar. It doesn't even get close, but what movie could? Many a sequel has met a similar fate. The Lost World: Jurassic Park immediately comes to mind as another sequel treated harshly and, like Jaws 2, later sequels would prove that it could've been much, much worse.
The second reason, and far more relevant to this review, is that the is no credible way to do this sequel and not stretch the bounds of believability. The audience can very easily believe that somewhere another giant shark starts terrorizing a beach community. If you really want characters from the first film to return, it isn't too much to have them contacted and brought in to assist against this new threat. They could have easily made this movie make sense with a few changes to the script.
Instead, we get the very same community again facing a giant shark, the very same leadership refusing to believe that there is a shark, and the very same family having to defeat said shark to save the day. And I get it. You want Roy Scheider to return after his absolutely iconic performance as Martin Brody in the original. Lorraine Gary is the wife of the (at-the-time) president of the studio, so bringing her back to make sure the budget is where it needs to be makes sense (she also is great as Ellen Brody). Having filmed in the area before gives familiarity to those behind the camera. I understand why certain choices were made.
But damn do those choices hobble this movie in substantial ways that can't really be overcome. I will still argue for its value as far as the movie-watching experience is concerned. It is a perfectly fine movie and it has some pretty great scenes scattered throughout even if it never reaches the highs of the original. It just needed to be completely divorced from the original to be judged fairly, but the screenplay makes that an impossible task. The movie as it exists is so tied to the previous one that any attempt to comment on it without bringing up its predecessor is a herculean task.
To expand on the summary from above: Another shark starts terrorizing Amity Island, with it initially killing two divers photographing the sunken boat from the first movie. They just so happen to get shots of the shark during the attack, and when Brody finds the camera and gets the photos developed, he immediately sees the shark and wants to shut down the beaches. And no one believes him.
And we have already hit the point where the audience is collectively saying "Are you fucking serious?!" It's such a dumb plot point. If you excise this from the movie - maybe just have Brody continue to be suspicious after the earlier deaths in the film, then develop the pictures and immediately go to rescue his two sons. You've removed the dumbest part of the plot and made it ten times more believable as far as ridiculous sequels go. Maybe slide in another random attack if length is a concern, but this ostracization of Brody is unnecessary.
Because if you ignore that subplot (and I highly recommend you do), you have a modestly effective killer creature film. The early attack on the skier and the boat driver is well done, as is the later attack on the sail boating teenagers. I'd say the latter scene is the movie at its best as it captures the terror and confusion inherent in such an attack, along with setting up the flotilla of crashed boats that leaves them stranded. The scene where they try to save an unconscious Mike Brody (Mark Gruner, who I am not ashamed to say I had a huge crush on when I was younger) is incredibly tense.
One can certainly argue that this is a slasher movie with a shark as the killer, but even by that standard, it is perfectly fine. You get just enough fleshing out of the teenagers to be able to separate them from one another. Scheider as Brody is a solid actor who carries the film well despite absolutely hating the script and production, with a fight breaking out between him and director Jeannot Szwarc.
While Jaws is an easy recommend, I'm a bit more ambivalent on this one. I enjoy it, and think it is unfairly maligned, but I can't really argue with people who think the plot is stupid (since it is for large parts) or that it can never live up to the first film (also a legitimate complaint). I'd guess I'd recommend it with the mentality of treating it as a purely popcorn flick: Don't take it too seriously and just have fun.
7 out of 10
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