Steven Spielberg's finest.

Rating: 9/10 (8 June 2006)

Jaws tells the story of New York cop Martin Brody, who has moved to a small summer tourist island to become the chief of police. His job is relatively easy until a large Great White Shark begins using the beach for a buffet on the 4th of July weekend. Brody joins forces with an oceanographer and a crazed sea captain with a vendetta against sharks to kill the creature once and for all. With its great acting, superb direction and intelligent dialogue, Jaws is truly one of the best summer blockbusters ever made.
Peter Benchley's chilling novel was an instant best seller, so it was only a matter of time before someone attempted to make it a movie. Thank God it was Steven Spielberg. At the time this film was made, Spielberg was still relatively unknown except for a few TV projects including the cat and mouse thriller Duel. Steven Spielberg brought his genius directing style and mixed it with the words of Benchley's great novel to make the first ever summer blockbuster. What I like most about this film is that it's not really a horror, and it's not really an action. There's actually a story to it. The intelligent dialogue makes the movie interesting to watch because of its blend of humour, fear, and desperation. Of course, there are two other main things that add to the effect of this movie. The first is the chilling score by John Williams. You don't even have to see the movie to know where it's from. The second is the fact that you don't really see the shark until the end. The tension just keeps building.
Obviously, a lot of the success has to be credited to the great actors involved in this movie. Roy Scheider is great as Martin Brody who is determined to kill the shark yet has a great fear of the water. Robert Shaw is beyond perfect as Quint, the Ahab-like captain who will stop at nothing to destroy the shark, even if it means his death and the death of those around him. Richard Dreyfuss is always good to me, but especially so here. His constant bickering with Quint makes for some awesome comic relief.
Overall, Jaws is one of the most entertaining films out there. It takes itself seriously yet it's still a popcorn flick. I recommend this movie to everyone.
9/10