Orca (1977)
Jaws
left in its wake scads toothless imitators (
Tentacles
,
Piranha
,
Alligator
,
Jaws II
,
III
and IV), none more pretentious and amusing than the whopping existential whale's slander
Orca
(1977). Orca the Jack the ripper whale (represented here for the most imply by a monster, watching eye) is evasion to avenge the death of his mate and unborn toddler at the hammy hands of overactor unexcelled Richard Harris. Orca should prepare landed his own TV series after this, for he's so playful when he's mad: he sinks boats, eats extras, burns down the sets, uses Harris as a human pinball between bubble rubber icebergs, and–ostensibly fed up with all the bad acting on shore–bites Bo Derek in two. Was
Flipper
ever this much send up? Charlotte Rampling issues grim warnings while modeling one designer dud after another (The Whalewatch Collecting perhaps?), while Will Sampson intones seventies-clearly mumbo-huge connected with Geezer vs. Nature. You'll root for Orca to kill them all.