Great Fun

Rating: 9/10 (4 March 2006)

A lot of people write off Steven Spielberg because of his commercial success, and, frankly, that's too bad. While it's true that much commercial film-making is pap, there are also filmic artists who can also deliver slambang entertainment. Steven Spielberg is the master of contemporary artful entertainment, counting the likes of John Frankenheimer and Alfred Hitchcock among his cinematic forefathers.
Jaws initiated that spell between the mid-1970s and early 1980s when, seemingly, Spielberg could do no wrong (well, except 1941). He had shown a sure hand and a feel for thrills in Duel, but nothing prepared audiences for the brilliance of Jaws. Everything in Jaws falls into the correct place and, even though it pales in comparison to the maturity of vision in ET and Close Encounters, it's likely one of the greatest action- adventure films you're likely to encounter.
What I think separates Jaws from its imitators and from lesser action films is its unwillingness to abide by conventions. Eschewing the lax characterization inherent in most thrillers, Jaws makes sure we understand the three leads, while never offering up scenes that serve only to establish character. Nearly every scene that allows us to delve a little deeper into Quint or Hooper also advances the plot (though I would argue it does so imperceptibly). The film moves like the shark--smoothly and forward. Even what appear to be divergences come around to forward momentum by their end. Take the scene in which the men compare scars: here we learn quite a bit about Quint and, at first, it seems that's the scene's entire purpose, but then the shark returns and damages the boat. Most scenes in this film operate in a similar manner. It's a basic screen writing concept, but one that keeps Jaws fresh with character insights and action.
Then there's also Spielberg's decision to postpone the visual arrival of the star for nearly an hour. People may have come to this film to see a shark, but instead they found a couple glimpses of fin in an otherwise land-based drama. Most movies of this sort put off the monster's arrival but precious few postpone it for so long. The story is enough to carry this movie--the relative success or failure of the film does not rest on the back of the shark. Think about it this way--Spielberg creates such a fascinating story about a shark without actually showing us the fish that, when we finally see the entire thing, we're amazed, but it doesn't really matter because we're entirely hooked already. That's impressive and admirable.
Since Jaws, Spielberg has gone on to make better films, but his greatness manifested itself here first. Jaws is a superb film and superb entertainment.