When Jaws was released in 1975, it became a phenomenon, the highest grossing movie at the time, based off of the best-selling book by Peter Benchley. Today considered a classic, the critical and financial success of the movie inspired three sequels. The second film received mixed reviews; reviews to the last two were horrible, the fourth sequel in particular being considered one of the worst movies of all time.
No doubt, Jaws is a good movie, though just not necessarily a great one. The film takes place on the fictional Island resort, Amity Island, getting ready for their summer season. However, a young woman named Chrissie Watkins is killed by a shark. Police Chief Martin Brody (Roy Schneider) and marine animal expert Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) wish to temporarily close down the beaches so that the shark problem can be taken care of, but the mayor refuses because keeping the beaches open will bring in a lot of money for Amity. But when the shark strikes again, the major permits it, and Brody and Hooper team up with professional shark hunter Quint (Robert Shaw), to head out to the high seas to confront the terrifying creature.
Mostly original to itself, the plotline to Jaws has now been copied and parodied too many times, including by its sequels. What viewers should know, however, that the movie does not that much takes into account of the book written by Benchley. When the book became a huge success, selling thousands of copies, movie producers saw a chance to make a movie. The film version concentrates more upon the shark itself, rather than the human characters.
No one thought that Jaws would do well; it was released in the summer and at the time, movies hardly ever did well in the summer. Instead, Jaws turned the tables. It became the highest grossing film at the time, and terrified audiences.
A mostly effective drama thriller, Jaws may seem today like a cheap flick. But it sure wasn’t when it was first released, mostly because it made an efficient use of not showing the shark that often, which got the main praise for the movie, but you need to take into account the other aspects of the film.
No doubt, Jaws was mostly engaging, though not always completely
pleasurable. Today considered the ‘father of the summer blockbuster’, Jaws was good, but could have used a bigger boat after all the rave reviews I have read. If the film was character driven, the end of the film was not character developmental. Overall, the focus was on the shark, and thus gave the audience what they wanted.
I guess, in essence, I liked Jaws, though definitely not as much as the reviews have praised it as being.
I guess, in essence, I liked Jaws, though definitely not as much as the reviews have praised it as being.
Jaws also introduced the then late 20’s director Steven Spielberg into Hollywood, and today has become one of the most famous directors.
*** ½/5
No comments:
Post a Comment