Review of Jaws (1975) by Halfwelshman — 17 Aug 2012

Jaws is a masterpiece of tension-building and pacing, and in addition to being one of the first true summer blockbusters (a film phenomenon that it practically wrote the book on), it is easily one of the most entertaining films of all time.

Steven Spielberg was still only a young movie maverick with a few modest features to his name, but even at this stage in his career he demonstrates such a grasp of effective film language and good storytelling, and showcases just how much influence a certain Master of Suspense had on his directorial style.

Roy Schieder is incredibly likable as chief protagonist Brody, a city cop newly moved to an island town with his family, and there is some great tension and class-based conflict between Richard Dreyfuss's wisecracking hippie marine biologist Hooper and Robert Shaw's condescending salty seadog Quint.

The trio play beautifully off of each other, and are all engaging and interesting characters who grow as the film's narrative progresses. The "sinking of the Indianapolis" scene is one of the very best on film - a brilliantly emotion-fuelled character moment that shifts without warning from macho banter as the characters compare scars to the confrontation of a horrifying ghost from Quint's past.

This sequence makes for a refreshing change of pace from the rest of the film, and there are few scenes in modern blockbusters that compare in terms of bringing a real sense of humanity to proceedings - we are really allowed to get under the skin of the three men, making us question every one of our preconceptions about them.

One of the great blessings of Jaws was, strangely enough, that the huge mechanical shark dubbed "Bruce" by the crew very seldom worked the way it was meant to. Spielberg would have reportedly shown the creature much more if he were able, but it is the fact that we only glimpse the monster for much of the film that makes it so terrifying.

That, and the masterful combination of "shark vision" POV shots accompanied by John Williams' chilling and iconic theme music. Jaws may have established much of the modern blockbuster formula, but it is far superior to the vast majority of films of that ilk through near-flawless craftsmanship, infinitely quotable dialogue, great performances and a tense, exciting story that delivers at every turn.

It works as a character-driven suspense thriller, as a monster movie and at its most basic level, as pure entertainment. It's not only one of Steven Spielberg's best films, but one of the best films of the 1970s, and is deservedly beloved by audiences.

Sadly, summer blockbusters will never be this good ever again.