Awesome.

Rating: 10/10 (25 May 2009)

WARNING: Contains plot spoilers.
The small island town of Amity is hit by a number of deaths in the sea. Martin Brody, the local chief of police is convinced that the deaths were caused by a shark. He tries to warn the Mayor who refuses to take action fearing losing tourist money. But when a small boy is killed by the shark, they hire Quint, a professional hunter. Brody, Quint & Matt Hooper, a marine expert, set sail in a small fishing boat in order to catch the shark. But the shark proves to be a formidable adversary.
"Jaws" is the first true blockbuster, one of the greatest money-makers in cinematic history, the definitive killer shark film. Its success at the box office surprised the whole world & spawned a whole host of killer animal films, from the excellent – the Australian killer wild boar flick RAZORBACK – to the downright cheesy – the Italian rip-off KILLER CROCODILE. "Jaws" made the name of then unknown director Steven Spielberg, who had previously made the brilliant DUEL.
"Jaws" has gone down in history as one of the best horror films ever made (although there have been a few critics who are not impressed, perhaps having been poisoned by the vast army of rip-offs that have come out, including the sequels). Much of its success is due to Spielberg's uncanny knack of creating suspense & his mastery of red herring shocks. He makes the film go one way but then pulls back at the last minute with a red herring, at other times he distracts you before ramming the shocks home (the scene where Richard Dreyfuss investigates a sunken boat only to have a severed head pop out is a classic example of this).
Once the main actors hit the sea in the small boat, the film turns into a sort of imitation of Moby Dick, with some embellishments thrown in by Spielberg. There's a wonderfully creepy scene where Robert Shaw, in one hell of a performance, tells of his experiences onboard the USS Indianapolis, of having survived the initial sinking only to face numerous sharks. It's a scene that really begins to make your skin crawl. The shark's first true appearance (up until that point, you have only seen the shark's fin or its POV), with the shark popping out of the water to scare the crap out of Roy Scheider, is one good shock jump. The film's pace starts to hit overtime when the shark effortlessly destroys the boat & goes after Scheider, who attempts to ward it off with a pistol & rifle, only to kill the shark by blowing it up.
The film has some great acting, most notably from Scheider (who portrays a likable everyman-type hero) & Dreyfuss (as the marine expert). But Shaw steals the limelight from his companions, as the obsessed Quint, who tries to make up for his past wrongs by going after the shark with everything he's got, not caring if he dies in the attempt.