Jaws 3 (1983)

12% of critics liked it
(25 reviews)
33% of users liked it
(169,718 ratings)

An ocean-themed Florida amusement park comes under attack from an angry Great White shark in this third installment of the horror series. The film maintains only a loose relationship to the original Steven Spielberg hit, centering on Mike (Dennis Quaid) and Sean (John Putch), the sons of police… More An ocean-themed Florida amusement park comes under attack from an angry Great White shark in this third installment of the horror series. The film maintains only a loose relationship to the original Steven Spielberg hit, centering on Mike (Dennis Quaid) and Sean (John Putch), the sons of police chief Martin Brody (originally played by Roy Scheider). Mike works at Sea World, where a baby Great White shark has accidentially been let into the park. Soon, the baby's vicious and extremely powerful mother comes in search of her child. The film focuses most of its attention on the series of tense shark attacks that follow, as tourists run for their lives while the park workers struggle to destroy the sharp-toothed beast. The suspense sequences were made somewhat more memorable during the film's original release with 3-D photography, an attribute lost on video, thereby removing the most distinctive element of an otherwise run-of-the-mill sequel. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 38 min.
Directed By: Joe Alves
Written By: Richard Matheson, Carl Gottlieb
Genres: Action & Adventure, Horror, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Jul 22, 1983 Wide
On DVD: Jun 3, 2003
Studio: MCA Universal Home Video

Critic Reviews

Variety Staff, Variety
Surprisingly tepid.
Janet Maslin, New York Times
It's harmless but unsurprising.
Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy
So hokey and so incredibly incompetent in execution that it feels less wicked in its ignorance and more like a comic relief hillbilly, of the sort seen in this very movie's water-skiing interludes.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Since the wholly unimaginative series needed a gimmick at this point to stay afloat, the new but short-lived 3-D craze came along just in time.
Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com
Enough is too much...even in 3-D. The franchise sinks.
Derek Adams, Time Out
Put in a baking tray, gas mark 7, and enjoy a turkey.
Alex Sandell, Juicy Cerebellum
The best sequel in the series, if you're ranking it on cheese factor, alone.
Bob Bloom, Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)
Where's the three strikes and you're out rule for cinema when you need it. This bites!

Read all 8 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Michael M

Jaws was a good blockbuster, Jaws 2 was an Ok blockbuster. This is an excuse to cash in on the first one. The 3D in the cinema was as bad as this movie overall.
Alexander D

It's not terribly awful, but through about 80% of the film, we are mentally shrieking, "Why didn't they keep it in Amity!? And it would have looked a lot more organized if they had just done a little more work to keep the 3D effect!!!"
Jacob E

Holy mother of god, this is one of the worst films I have ever seen. Every single aspect of it (editing, acting, special effects) is completely botched to the point of accidental comedy. This is one of the funniest films I have ever seen, but for all the wrong reasons (and I mean all… More
Holy mother of god, this is one of the worst films I have ever seen. Every single aspect of it (editing, acting, special effects) is completely botched to the point of accidental comedy. This is one of the funniest films I have ever seen, but for all the wrong reasons (and I mean all of them). Highly recommended if you have friends over and want to make fun of a movie, but if you are looking for serious entertainment, don't even think about watching it.
Curtis L

Better than Jaws 2, but it has the annoying hallmarks of a 3D movie. Also the kill count is ridiculouly low...so many missed opportunities for Sea World guests to get eaten. At least it tried a fresh start, instead of just rehashing the original Jaws like number 2 did.
AJ V

This "Jaws" movie is so bad it's good. I caught it on TV last summer for their Jaws marathon or whatever it was, and I just thought it was hilarious.
Jeff "

Wow, This film is yet another Cash cow from Universal. The only thats good about this film was the concept of the amusement, I thought it was fairly original, but really I wasn't impressed halfway through watching this. Of all the Jaws this is the most violent one, and somewhat… More
Wow, This film is yet another Cash cow from Universal. The only thats good about this film was the concept of the amusement, I thought it was fairly original, but really I wasn't impressed halfway through watching this. Of all the Jaws this is the most violent one, and somewhat the film feels like it lost all credibility and became a tongue in cheek film. It's not a film to terrify, this film is a total joke, and in my opinion it shouldn't have never been made. Maybe some die-hard fans will disagree with me, but considering the first film by Steven Spielberg's is now considered as one of the greatest Horror films ever filmed, you'll see this one as a travesty of the genre. Hopefully most die-hard fans of the first like me, will see it as a mockery, and a total waste of celluloid.
Jason O

I never thought I'd see the day when I would see a Jaws movie that I wasn't that crazy about. Well, "Jaws 3" did just that. This third time around, the ferocious great white shark that has earned a fearsome name called Jaws, is terroizing workers and visitors alike… More
I never thought I'd see the day when I would see a Jaws movie that I wasn't that crazy about. Well, "Jaws 3" did just that. This third time around, the ferocious great white shark that has earned a fearsome name called Jaws, is terroizing workers and visitors alike at Sea World, a popular aquatic park. As big of a fan as I am of "Jaws" and "Jaws 2," I couldn't even make myself like "Jaws 3" all that much. You might be asking why I think it's so bad, right? Well, really it's not THAT bad, but it's not that good either. I didn't like it much cause it doesn't seem to be related to the first two movies, the special effects are at their worst, and the kills aren't half as exciting or suspenseful as they were in the first two movies. Oh yeah, there's even different people this time around. Instead of it having Roy Scheider again, it has Dennis Quaid, Louis Gossett Jr., and several other newbies to the series. I recommend anybody who wants to own all the movies in the Jaws series to go ahead and get "Jaws 3," but for anybody else that just wants the best, get "Jaws" and/or "Jaws 2" and skip this third one. NOTE: That was my Amazon review from the year 2001. Jaws loses some of his bite, or actually a lot of it.
Anthony L

Jaws 3-D is a guilty pleasure, it's got a really solid story but its execution lets it down. Watching it without the 3-D effects is hilarious, it's really a so bad its good kinda film. I like it.
Phil H

Terrible effects and a rather silly plot make this a film to forget and when I say terrible effects I mean really bad :( The cast became more star studded or mainstream but its just a complete rerun of the first two (cant really go anywhere with this plot idea though) except its set… More
Terrible effects and a rather silly plot make this a film to forget and when I say terrible effects I mean really bad :( The cast became more star studded or mainstream but its just a complete rerun of the first two (cant really go anywhere with this plot idea though) except its set inside a Seaworld type marine park, which isnt a bad idea, but this needed better backup. Its a typical cheesey 80's horror slasher flick but with a shark as the boogeyman.
Jon L

It was a neat idea to bring Jaws into 3D (Jaws 3D), but I was too young to see it in the theatre, so it's just more of the same type of thing.
Chris G

Even with its great cast Jaws 3 (or Jaws 3-D) is a total cluster with effects so bad that they make an 11th grade film on mustard and lightsabers look like Jurrasic park.
Film C

good for its time
Lady D

Pretty much the same old same, but in new settingsd. I'm kind of getting bored now.
Lafe F

A cool concept for a movie, having a shark attacking an undersea park with glass tunnels. But this doesn't really deliver on the gore. It's more fun in 3-D. This movie probably inspired "Deep Blue Sea"!
Dean M

Bad luck for me that I missed out 3-D in the cinema because I was too young and not allowed to watch it. So in the DVD, I first watched it was an average thriller, looked unexciting than <i>Jaws</i> series.
Dean !

Saw this a little while back and wasn't as good as I remembered. Story sounds great, the idea of a Great White Shark at an aquarium causing havoc...bit the effects look very dated now. Maybe a remake project with Deep blue sea effects would be better!!
Cassandra M

dont go in the water theres a bad jaws movie
danny d

all the jaws flicks were pretty good
Jason S

I like this one. Jaws kills in a water park.
Steve B

Makes one wonder why the Brody's don't just move to fucking Nebraska!!

Read all 20 featured audience ratings

Cast

            Dennis Quaid as Mike Brody

            Bess Armstrong as Kathryn Morgan

            Simon MacCorkindale as Philip FitzRoyce

            Louis Gossett Jr as Calvin

            John Putch as Sean Brody

            Lea Thompson as Kelly Ann Bukowski

            P.H. Moriarty as Jack Tate

            Dan Blasko as Dan

            William Bramley
            
            Mary Duncan
            
            Barbara Eden
            
            Harry Grant as Shelby Overman

            Andy Hansen as Silver Bullet

            P.T. Horn as Guide

            Will Knickerbocker as Man in Crowd

            Lisa Maurer as Ethel

            Liz Morris as Liz

            Ken Olson as Rad

            Barbara Quinn as Anxious Tunnel Person

            Kaye Stevens as Mrs. Kallender

            Randy Stone
            
            John Edson as Bob Woodbury

            Dolores Starling as Charlene Tutt

            Laura Tracy as Girl in Tunnel

            Joe Gilbert as Mr. Brit

            Louis Gosset Jr.
            
            Louis Gossett Jr.
            
See full cast