Bruce Almighty

Rating: 8/10 (3 May 2009)

This blockbuster about a shark feasting on crowds at a summer resort launched Spielberg's career into the stratosphere. The success of this film can be attributed to the chemistry among the three stars: Scheider as the police chief, Shaw as the shark hunter, and Dreyfuss as a marine scientist. Shaw, who met with an untimely death three years later, is particularly memorable as the cantankerous Quint. Of course they are just supporting actors to the real star: Bruce the shark. Spielberg does a masterful job of generating suspense and terror. Williams adds to the tension with the throbbing theme music that is quite effective if unoriginal (he lifted it from Dvorak's Ninth Symphony).