When Jaws was released it became a phenomenon. This can be called the father of box-office hits—when it came out, Jaws was the highest grossing movie of the year (that was soon surpassed by Star Wars: a New Hope and several other movies today).
Jaws received universal acclaim. It follows a Great White Shark who terrorizes a beach resort, and an aging, eccentric shark hunter, a scientist and the police chief who go out in a boat to hunt down the shark. Suspenseful, the shark (the mechanical shark they used is real looking) is only showed briefly in a couple of scenes; therefore the scenes with the shark are tense, thrilling, suspenseful and exciting.
Yet I thought that the movie lacked some serious character development—no, the movie is not completely character driven as some reviews have stated. The plot, at least compared to today anyway, was too basic but still entertaining, and, after setting off in their boat, they manage to find the shark in the middle of the ocean and here comes man vs. shark.
Today, the movie feels outdated, but it sure wasn’t when it was released in the 70s. Nevertheless, Jaws is considered a classic, and Steven Spielberg, the then late 20s year old director, went on to become one of the best known directors in cinema history. Is this the greatest, or one of the greatest films made in film history? No, it is not. But it did set the stage for how movies are produced and released today, and it remains entertaining and a classic to the day. Still though, Jaws could have used a bigger boat after I’ve read all the amazing rave reviews about it.
Grade: B
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