schatz@bambi.UUCP (Bruce R. Schatz) (06/05/84)
the best thing about "Orca", which was clearly written in the aftermath of "Jaws", is that the monster is the good guy and wins in the end! for those who don't know the story: a ship captain kills a pregnant killer whale with baby and its mate seeks (rather effectively) revenge. the ending is great: after leading the captain into the Arctic ice-flow and killing his men one-by-one, the Orca sinks the ship and traps the captain on a small iceberg. the Orca then jumps on the iceberg, tips the captain into the water, circles him for a few minutes to fully understand his humilation and repent, then kills him by flipping him into the air and slowly swims into the sunset. the ending in the book was even better: the Orca tipped the captain into his mouth, held him there to repent, then let him go! although the special effects weren't particularly good, the acting, especially by the Orca, was fine. one of the second leads was Bo Derek, looking somewhat washed-out, in the role of the kid sister who gets her legs bit off by the Orca. as Joe Bob would say, "check it out".