"Jaws" Just Couldn't Keep Its Head Above Water

Rating: 4/10 (16 April 2015)

This decidedly heavy-handed, $8 million monster movie (which earned back 25x its production costs within its first year of release) actually had me yawning uncontrollably within its first half-hour.
Following the very first shark attack (which was, by far, the best of the lot), Jaws' story steadily lost serious momentum as the dramatic edge of this tale spiralled hopelessly downward at a constant rate.
It's really hard for me to believe that Jaws actually thrilled audiences to pieces back in 1975. If you ask me - This Spielberg "Creature Feature" has got to be one of the most over-rated and undeservedly praised horror movies of all time.
And what made Jaws even more difficult to enjoy was that the principal characters were all impossible to like. I mean - As an example - Can you imagine a mayor (who was well-aware of the shark attacks) actually pressuring citizens to get back into the water regardless of the great risk that this posed to their very lives?
All-in-all - I'd say that Jaws came very close to being a total dud, in my books. And, besides the laughable, old-school shark effects, I thought that Quint's inevitable demise was one of the worst staged moments of ultra-violence that I've seen in a mighty long time.
In conclusion - Spielberg, as a director (then & now), is certainly far from being the genius film-maker that so many of his devoted fans make him out to be.