How To Watch The Jaws Movies In Order

Not far off celebrating its 50th anniversary, "Jaws" is widely regarded as a classic and one of the greatest movies ever made. You'll find it in Empire's greatest movies, AFI's 100 years ... 100 movies list, and of course in our rundown of the best movies of all time. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the other films in thee franchise, but if you're a completist or just really, really love shark movies, then you might be curious about the best way to watch the quartet of movies in order.

The good news is it's super simple: The chronology of the movies matches up with the release order, so you can watch "Jaws," "Jaws 2," "Jaws 3-D," and "Jaws: The Revenge" in that order. Now that you've hopefully got them queued up and ready to go, let's take a look at the classic 1975 movie and its lesser (but still enjoyable) sequels in a bit more detail.

There are so many things that can be said about "Jaws." It is credited as being the first blockbuster movie, the reason why a whole generation was terrified to go into the water, and the film that launched the career of Steven Spielberg.

When a girl is attacked off the shores of the idyllic Amity Island, newly appointed police chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) is tasked with keeping the townspeople safe from whatever is in the water. Coming to blows with Mayor Larry Vaughn (Murray Hamilton) — who is insistent that the beaches stay open — Brody is forced to take drastic action and work with visiting oceanographer and shark enthusiast Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) and local fisherman Quint (Robert Shaw) to rid the town of the shark menace for good.

The beauty of "Jaws" is in its simplicity, yet when you really dive into it, there is so much that lurks beneath the surface. On one hand, it is a simple man versus beast adventure story. And on the other, it is a story of survival, of overcoming past traumas and the scars those things can leave, the clashes between keeping the law and saving political face, and the power struggles that exist viewed through the lens of masculinity. As well as being a hit with audiences, "Jaws" resonated with critics and picked up Oscars for sound, editing, and John Williams' legendary score. Awards recognition is always nice to have, but the real legacy of "Jaws" is in its power to still leave an impact on audiences today — just as it did in 1975.

Nowadays, it is almost a foregone conclusion that any financially successful movie will be followed by the inevitable sequel ... plus the threequel, the prequel, the requel and then the long-awaited legacy sequel. In the '70s, however, things were less set in stone. But it's not surprising that the success of "Jaws" in 1975 saw the studio's eyes firmly fixed on making more "summer dollars," trying to repeat the blockbuster effect.

"Jaws 2" sees the return of some familiar faces with Roy Scheider, Lorraine Gary (who plays Brody's wife, Ellen), and Murray Hamilton returning. For many of Amity's residents, it is business as usual, but Brody is forced to face his worst fears when a shark returns to the island's shores. When Brody's sons Michael (Mark Gruner) and Sean (Marc Gilpin) take their friends and some boats out to sea, they find themselves in immense danger, and it is up to Chief Brody to save them.

Trying to follow a masterpiece is never easy, but "Jaws 2" manages to be a perfectly acceptable sequel, and it particularly benefits from the presence of previous cast members. Where it is most interesting is in the way it explores Brody's PTSD. Not only does he face the unimaginable horror of having to relive what happened to him, but he has to deal with the parental nightmare of his sons being in danger — all of this while battling his own mind and traumatic memories. It is undoubtedly a step down — and severely misses the guiding hand of Steven Spielberg — but head into it with low expectations and you might be pleasantly surprised.

"Jaws 3-D" is something of an anomaly in the Jaws franchise, as the only movie that doesn't have any returning cast members. It still centers around the Brody family — Michael and Sean — and is directed by Joe Alves, the production designer for "Jaws" and "Jaws 2." However, it moves the action to a SeaWorld park, and this time, Michael and Sean are played by Dennis Quaid and John Putch, respectively.

Michael is chief engineer at the Florida park, and is visited by his younger brother. When a fault causes one of the ocean gates to get jammed, a shark somehow manages to get into the aquarium itself, wreaking havoc for the other sea creatures and the park's visitors. With very little connective tissue between "Jaws 3-D" and the rest of the movies, it is entirely possible to view it as a standalone, throwaway, incredibly silly shark movie. After all, it has a concept so bonkers that it almost serves as a nice precursor to the truly wild shark movies that would come out of The Asylum or the Syfy channel many years down the line.

With a measly rating of 11% on Rotten Tomatoes, and five Razzie nominations under its belt, there is no denying that "Jaws 3-D" is a bad movie on paper. However, there is an odd charm to the shoddy 3-D effects — something that looks particularly egregious on the Blu-ray transfer — and there is a very cool shot of someone being chomped from inside the jaws of the shark if you like that sort of thing.

It is no secret that the Jaws movies decline in quality as they go along. Based purely on Rotten Tomatoes scores, they plummet from 97% for "Jaws," all the way down to a woeful 2% for "Jaws: The Revenge" in 1987. Such is the legacy of this film — if you can call it that — that a disparaging quote from its star, Michael Caine, is almost more well-known than the movie. Sir Michael Caine famously said (via Raremedia) of "Jaws: The Revenge," "I haven't seen it, but I have seen the house it bought my mother, and it's marvelous!" By his, and almost all other accounts, "Jaws: The Revenge" is one of the worst movies ever made.

Perhaps wisely, "Jaws: The Revenge" ignores everything that happened in "Jaws 3-D." The focus this time is largely on Ellen Brody, with Lorraine Gary making a very welcome return to the role. When shark-related tragedy once again strikes the family, Ellen believes the beast to have a personal vendetta against them — something that seems to be confirmed when the shark follows her from Amity to the Bahamas.

It's hard to deny the numbers when it comes to "Jaws: The Revenge" — that Rotten Tomatoes score and the seven Razzie nominations (with one win for worst visual effects) speak for themselves. If you can overlook how utterly ludicrous the idea of a shark with a personal vengeance mission is, "Jaws: The Revenge" is still silly fun. Ellen having a revenge arc is kind of badass, and after being in the background for two movies — and non-existent in the third — it is nice for her story to have a satisfying conclusion.