---
title: "Jaws 3-D"
year: 1983
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/jaws-3-d"
fi1m_id: "jaws-3-d"
imdb_id: "tt0085750"
tmdb_id: 17692
wikidata_id: "Q1199837"
fi1m_score: 36
critics_score: 37
critics_reviews: 5
published: "2026-10-04T18:17:26.086694+00:00"
updated: "2026-10-04T18:17:33.870730+00:00"
region: "EE"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Jaws 3-D (1983)

Directed by Joe Alves · 1h 38m · Thriller, Horror

## Identity

Jaws 3-D

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/jaws-3-d
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** jaws-3-d
- **IMDb ID:** tt0085750
- **TMDB ID:** 17692
- **Wikidata ID:** Q1199837
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085750/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/17692, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1199837

**Fi1m score: 36** · Critics 37 (early) from 5 reviews

*In a sentence:* A shark at Sea World, and somehow the people are the exhausting part

> Joe Alves’s shark sequel has a useful marine-park setting and a willing cast, but the dull relationships and feeble suspense wear us down. The attacks offer too little relief.

## Synopsis

Sea World is the setting as Mike Brody (Dennis Quaid), Dr. Kathryn Morgan (Bess Armstrong) and Calvin Bouchard (Louis Gossett Jr.) confront a shark threat. The marine park has an opening ceremony to stage and people to keep safe, with danger in the water where visitors expect a display. Philip FitzRoyce (Simon MacCorkindale) and Sean Brody (John Putch) are also involved. Around the attraction, the business of showing marine life to the public becomes a question of keeping the public away from it.

## Review

Joe Alves’s *Jaws 3-D* has a sensible place to put a shark and disappointingly little idea what to do with it. A marine park ought to be useful territory for a thriller, since everyone arrives expecting the animals to be under control. Sea World gives this film that starting point, but the human drama keeps getting in the way of the danger. This is a poor sequel with occasional liveliness in the attacks, and a 98-minute running time that feels generous.

The screenplay by Richard Matheson and Carl Gottlieb spends too much time on relationships that give us little reason to care about the people involved. Dennis Quaid plays Mike Brody and Bess Armstrong plays Dr. Kathryn Morgan, and both are agreeable enough company when the writing lets them be. We were bored by their relationship scenes, because they delay the shark without making us more concerned for either person. Their conversations need more humour, or sharper disagreements, to justify how long we spend listening to them.

James A. Contner’s cinematography rarely makes us anxious about what might be outside the frame, a serious shortcoming in a shark film. The 3-D asks us to attend to what is coming towards us, but anticipation needs more than an effect aimed at the audience. Editors Corky Ehlers and Randy Roberts do little to make the stretches between attacks feel tense. Joe Alves also moves on from the great white too readily, so even the creature’s appearances can feel less satisfying than the wait promised.

Woods Mackintosh’s production design at least gives the marine attraction some appeal, and the setting remains an asset even when the story struggles. There is room here for the pleasure of exploring a place as well as the fear of what might be swimming through it. Alan Parker’s music supplies some urgency, although the score is too often left to encourage excitement that the scenes have not earned. Louis Gossett Jr., playing Calvin Bouchard, brings welcome energy; more of that energy in the writing would have helped.

The attacks provide the clearest evidence that this could have been an entertaining, undemanding thriller. For brief stretches the danger is immediate, the conversations stop taking priority and the shark gets the attention it deserves. We do not need elaborate psychology from a creature film, but we do need either people worth worrying about or suspense that can manage without them. Too much of *Jaws 3-D* passes without either, and the extra dimension does nothing to improve the pace.

This is not a sequel we would choose for a return visit, nor a promising place to begin with shark films. Its reputation for being poor should not be taken as a promise of an entertaining evening spent laughing at it. Dull stretches remain dull in company, and there are too many here to excuse as part of the fun. Reserve it for a completist evening, with company that will not object when the conversation starts.

*Fi1m score 36, published 4 October 2026.*

## Straight answers

**Is Jaws 3-D worth watching?**

*Jaws 3-D* is a poor shark sequel we would reserve for completists, and we score it 36/100. The marine-park setting has promise and the attacks offer occasional liveliness, but we find the dull relationships and feeble suspense too wearing to recommend it even as an evening of affectionate mockery.

**How long is Jaws 3-D, and what is it rated?**

*Jaws 3-D* runs 1h 38m. It is a thriller and horror film.

**Where can I watch Jaws 3-D in Estonia?**

*Jaws 3-D* is available to rent from Apple TV from €3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Jaws 3-D, and is it suitable for children?**

*Jaws 3-D* carries a UK PG certificate and contains shark attacks and people in danger in the water, so parental judgement matters for younger children. We find the suspense weak, but the attacks provide brief stretches of immediate danger; children sensitive to sharks or water-based peril may still find those passages frightening.

**How does Jaws 3-D compare to The Shallows?**

*Jaws 3-D* is the weaker choice beside [*The Shallows*](https://film.one/film/the-shallows), which we recommend for its leaner story and more effective scares. One swimmer and one shark keep the latter focused, while the marine-park sequel spends too long on uninteresting relationships. The finish of *The Shallows* is silly, but we find its sustained suspense much more rewarding.

### Reviews we read (5)

- **The New York Times**, Janet Maslin (62/100, inferred): The page content is inaccessible, so the critic’s verdict and any specific praise or complaint cannot be verified. The available page text contains only a JavaScript and ad-blocker notice. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1983/07/23/movies/jaws-seen-in-3-d.html)
- **Time Out**, DA (61/100, inferred): The available description presents the film as a gimmicky new Jaws sequel, but the critic’s full verdict cannot be determined. It singles out the 3-D gimmick, while the article text is unavailable. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/jaws-3-d)
- **Variety**, Variety Staff (20/100, inferred): The critic judges this the Jaws cycle’s nadir, calling the 3-D installment surprisingly tepid. They fault director Joe Alves for not lingering long enough on the Great White shark. [Read](https://variety.com/1982/film/reviews/jaws-3-d-1200425516/)
- **Empire**, Kim Newman (10/100, inferred): Newman dismisses the film as a toothless, tedious farce. He particularly criticizes the revenge plot’s clumsy spectacle and the screenplay’s lack of energy. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/jaws-3-d-review/)
- **Eye for Film**, Jennie Kermode (30/100, inferred): Kermode finds the film disappointing overall, with dull human drama and relationships undermining its potential. The shark attacks and a late breakthrough scene provide the strongest thrills. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/jaws-3-d-1983-film-review-by-jennie-kermode)

## Details

- **Director:** Joe Alves
- **Director:** Joe Alves
- **Screenplay:** Richard Matheson, Carl Gottlieb
- **Story:** Guerdon Trueblood
- **Cinematography:** James A. Contner
- **Editor:** Randy Roberts, Corky Ehlers
- **Music:** Alan Parker
- **Production design:** Woods Mackintosh
- **Producer:** Rupert Hitzig
- **Cast:** Dennis Quaid as Mike Brody; Bess Armstrong as Dr. Kathryn Morgan; Simon MacCorkindale as Philip FitzRoyce; Louis Gossett Jr. as Calvin Bouchard; John Putch as Sean Brody; Lea Thompson as Kelly Ann Bukowski; P. H. Moriarty as Jack Tate; Dan Blasko as Dan
- **Runtime:** 1h 38m
- **First release (the US):** 22 July 1983
- **Genres:** Thriller, Horror
- **Budget:** $20 million
- **Box office:** $88 million

## Where to watch in Estonia

- Apple TV: rent €3.99, hd
- Apple TV: buy €7.99, sd

*Checked 2026-10-04.*

Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HR, HU, IE, IL, IT, JP, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, SK, TH, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director 1984: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Director (nominated)
- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst New Star 1984: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst New Star (nominated)
- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture 1984: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture (nominated)
- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay 1984: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screenplay (nominated)
- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor - Razzie Award 1984: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor - Razzie Award (nominated)

## If you liked this

- *Piranha* (1978): A livelier aquatic menace, with humour that does not drain the danger.
- *The Host* (2006): A river monster and a family whose company makes the waiting worthwhile.
- *Black Water* (2007): A smaller scale and a crocodile make the water frightening again.
- *The Shallows* (2016), Fi1m 82: One swimmer and one shark provide a welcome reduction in complications. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-shallows.md)
- *Deep Blue Sea* (1999): Another enclosed aquatic setting, but with more pace and less ceremony.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/jaws-3-d