Review of Jaws (1975) by Ethan P — 11 Feb 2016

I had this idea that Jaws would be one of the coolest movies I'd ever seen. It isn't. And when I discovered that it wasn't the awesome thing I'd imagined, I struggled to figure out why. It's not flat or boring. It has spectacular scenes of suspense and flesh ripping violence that are thrilling and unpredictable (The thrills are placed just where you don't expect them). It looks spectacular with its ideal summer beach setting and bursts of explosive, bloody violence. The scenes that actually show the shark are pretty amazing. It sounds incredible with the terrifying, classic score by John Williams. It doesn't have bad characters. Chief Brody is a very likable, decently complex character (One of my favorite scenes is when he plays with his son at the dinner table). The narrative is absorbing, the dialogue is sparing and sharp, the ideas it brings up are terrifying and provocative. It looks at the political and scientific impacts of the shark attacks. It ruins Americans' favorite activity, a beach vacation, and plays on one of their worst fears, a lack of security. It doesn't just have awesome action, it also has fascinating science and adventure, when they search for the shark and cut the old one open to discover what it ate. It doesn't have a bad director. Steven Spielberg wrapped all those awesome elements into a cohesive and iconic movie. He's brilliant with his placing of clues and use of suspense. It's a really good movie in a lot of ways, but somehow the feeling I got after watching it was just "ehh".

And I think that's because of the ending. I didn't like the old fishermen, he was a little too coarse and stereotypical. He shouted sailor songs, crushed beers, told war stories and it just wasn't realistic. Part of the terror of the movie was it felt like it was Small Town, USA, like it was real and it could happen anywhere. It was a legendary beast in the most ordinary of settings attacking average Americans. The sailor isn't an average joe, like the rest of them. He's a theatrical caricature of a hard drinking, story telling sailor and it feels off. The final chase sequence is also drawn out way too long. Their journey lasts for two days, we see the shark about a million times and at a certain point you just want it to wrap up. The final scene where the Shark devours the fishermen and the Shark blows up is undeniably pretty awesome, it just took too long to get to that point. I struggle to criticize Jaws because it has a lot of brilliance and I can barely point out anything wrong besides the fact that it didn't quite live up to the magnificent thriller I'd imagined it'd be, even if it came remarkably close. I also think it's really cool to watch such a pop culture landmark like Jaws or Grease, just to travel through time and see what was cool back then.