Jaws III: Monster

Really enjoyable movie. It's been years since seeing the original and I'd forgotten the majority of it. I definitely don't remember it being this fun. My overall impression of the original was that it was mind-numbingly boring, actually. There are still sections here which aren't that interesting, thanks to the original script, but these are usually helped along by a fun turn from Dennis Quaid. It's easier to scoot by those bits when the film's been tightened up this much, too.

I really enjoyed the additions from other films to pep this one up. They worked really well, didn't stand out too much (apart from maybe a couple of obvious CGI shots which were nevertheless graded and colour-corrected well enough to not jar with original footage) and added a lot of fun stuff. The only thing that I wasn't keen on was the radio DJ providing plot exposition. I assumed (even before watching the brilliant documentary on disc 2) that this was the fan editor right away. It really sticks out in the final scenes, too. In theory, it's a fantastic idea, but the performance doesn't work for me. The key sticking point is the British accent. It doesn't work given the setting and the inherent Americanness of the film. Other than that, the additions are amazing. Frankly, I didn't realise the extent of some of the editing until I saw the documentary, which is a testament to how well it's done.

The editor has taken a forgettable, dated chore of a sequel and turned it into a fun movie. I'll be recommending this one to friends. The extras are fantastic as well. Great touch.

A definite improvement on a really bad movie. Like the new B movie elements added with the new squid ending. Thank God for the removal of the tacky 3d effects of the original. Excellent soundtrack. Love the extras on the second disk... Love the "Ghost Shark" short. Fun edit!

April 15, 2012

I agree with what Blueyoda said. Except maybe about the opening credit montage, that I liked a lot.

- The movie is improved while being respectful of the original. Of course the CG shark shots are obviously not from the 80′ but I think it works better than the bad mix between Slow Bruce (who chased his victime at the speed of Friday the 13th’s Jason…) and random real sharks footages that always are a bit jarring. This gives a sens of unity in the special effects that this movie needed.
- The audio work is VERY good. A lot was changed but we do not notice anything wrong.
- The added plot works well and add to that B movie feeling. Although I think we could have seen maybe a bit more of this (but it’s always a good sign when you say that you want MORE of something, you know.)
- The commentary was really interesting. Kuddo for this extra work.

- So the edit is very good, but to me the real gem of this release is the bonus DVD.
I rarely saw (never?) such an amount of work for extra features on a fanedit.
The documentary, edited and commented by the editor is amazing and really pro-looking. Its first part is about the original movie Jaws 3D and the second is about the fanedit itself, so beware of spoilers.
Then we have Ghost Shark. A 30 + minutes short fanedit of Jaws the Revenge. The main idea behind this edit is something I wanted to make myself but did not have time and, to teel the truth, did not really know how to do. And I can tell you: I had the time of my life watching LastSurvivor’s version because I could not have done it better and it was a pleasure to watch a fanedit I wanted to do without, well, doing it! lol. I don’t see another way to make Jaws 4 better, IMO. Not to mention tha this short edit also have a commentary as an option.
Add to this: deleted (edited) scenes and trailers and you have an amazing bonus package.

So I would rate the main edit a 9/10 because I think it’s great but not perfect.
But the extra work of the bonus pushes it to 10/10.

April 14, 2012

*This rating was given before reviews were required*

April 17, 2012

This rocked the house! Super awesome fanedit dude!