7. Jaws 2 (1978)
How The Original's Magic Was Stripped Away: Forcing Brody Into The Same Situation Here's an interesting sequel, because taken as a movie on its own merits, it's pretty good (for a
Jaws sequel, anyway). The direction is nicely imitation Spielberg, and the plot is okay for what is essentially a rehashing of the first movie, but, oh well, what are you gonna do? They were going to make a sequel to the most successful movie of all time, weren't they? So what's my problem with it, you ask? Simply put, it's the fact that
Jaws 2 is considered to be "canon." In movieland, at least, these events really did happen to Brody all over again, which - as you'll likely agree - is ridiculous and totally unbelievable. The fact that this is official, though, means that - whether we ignore it or not - Brody did face off against
another shark over the course of
another summer, and that frustrates the hell out of me. When the first movie ends, having now processed
Jaws 2's storyline, I know that Brody's problems aren't over - a second shark is going to cause him the exact same problem in a few years. It simply cheapens the first venture, though thankfully it's too good to really tarnish.