Steven Spielberg's JAWS: Movie Review

2008-11-14 22:05:12

"Jaws" Movie Review. 9.5/10.
By Alex DeMattia. ALL ABOUT MOVIES.NET.

"Jaws" has become so ingrained in to Western popular culture that it's hard to find someone has at least hasn't heard about it, if not the famous dun-dun dun-dun music score. And the film is so simple - killer shark starts eating people in a tourist town during the summer, and it's up to three guys to catch it and kill it before it kills more people and does damage to the town's reputation who depend on summer dollars. There's a bit more to the story than that, such as the Mayor and Council who refuse to take action because they don't believe the threat is serious enough... that is until the shark eats a few people in front of everyone, but overall, that's it. And it works perfectly.

There are two main core elements that make this film work so well; the first is that you don't see the shark for the bulk of the film (what you can't see is more frightening) and even when you do, it's cut in to the film in just the right way to look deadly and not cheesy. The second is the three lead actors. They really carry the film, particularly Roy Scheider who plays a seemingly inept police chief who ends up having to find the courage the face the menace he's confronted with and destroying it.

The suspense scenes in this film may seem a little dated today, but they're no less thrilling. And combined with John Williams Oscar-winning score, you have something akin to the way films such as Pyscho work, generating a primal fear in the viewer that quite literally scares the hell out of you. And when Scheider finally gets to that moment to kill the shark, you are completely on the edge of your seat, almost covering your eyes to see if he's actually going to survive.

Spielberg isn't one of Hollywood's top directors for nothing. In "Jaws", his first blockbuster, he demonstrates a lot of the hallmarks that have made his film so successful over the years. But mostly it's just so well done. The thrills combined with some very good acting make for a solid commercial film worthy of artistic merit (it's rare to get both in a big film). Just as an example, the scene where Scheider is throwing bait over the back of the boat and the shark pops up out of nowhere, followed by his line, "you're gonna need a bigger boat!" is perfect.

This is a classic, great film and must be watched.

For the complete, original DVD review, click HERE.

Alex DeMattia is the lead DVD reviewer at ALL ABOUT MOVIES.NET.