Ushering in the age of the inferior sequel; Jaws 2 was essentially a license to print money. Indeed; the film did very well despite blatantly replicating the plot of Steven Spielberg's original; though to lesser effect. Roy Scheider returns as Martin Brody; sheriff of the small island town of Amity. Just as the beachside resort is rebounding from the previous movie's shark attacks; another great white is snacking on divers and water-skiers. Naturally; the town fathers don't want to confront reality and choose to proceed with a lucrative sailing regatta; resulting in a grisly loss of life. Besides the fact that director Jeannot Szwarc takes an impersonal; workaday approach to the film; Jaws 2 manages to be both stylistically flat and openly cynical about its commercial intentions. Of chief interest here is Scheider's performance; which wisely reflects the emotional fallout from Brody's last trauma in his obsessive behavior here. --Tom Keogh