There Is Only One Shark Movie: Jaws -- Spielberg

Rating: 10/10 (20 May 2007)

In Amity, New York, there is a new police chief in town: Chief Brody. And he has one mission: protect the people of Amity. So when a great white shark invades the beaches of his city, he is left with no choice but to take desperate measures: the shark must be captured and destroyed at all costs. Let the adventure begin.
What can you say that hasn't already been said about a film that is not only one of the top horror films of all time, but also one of the top films of any genre (even in the top 100)? There really isn't very much, but I just have to sing my praises for this film anyway.
"Jaws" comes to us from director Steven Spielberg, whom I've had my issues with. I've often found him to be a weak director, not a risk taker and obsessed with little boys. His films can be categorized into two columns: those about aliens, and those about Jews. "E.T.", "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "Jurassic Park" are alien movies. So is "Jaws" -- an alien creature invades a peaceful small town. A town where the chief has two young boys (although this is played down).
I actually watched "Jaws" for the first time rather late in life, but was already a fan before I ever saw it. I am and have been a huge fan of Kevin Smith since 1995 when I saw "Mallrats" opening day. Smith has used "Jaws" references in almost all his films, putting the injury discussion scene into "Chasing Amy" and naming many of his characters after Jaws characters. "Mallrats" gave us Brody, Bruce, Quint... and later we'd have Hooper. (Bruce is the name of the shark.) And we have a young Richard Dreyfuss. How does that not make a movie by itself? Robert Shaw is great and Roy Scheider was fine, but Dreyfuss really steals the show. And a score from the legendary John Williams? Never a bad idea. Especially now in hindsight, thirty-two years later. Even if you haven't seen "Jaws", you know the theme song.
Oh, that Richard Dreyfuss. The scene where he is slamming coffee to compete with Shaw's beer, and crushes the cup... awesome. Best cup/can crushing scene ever, even more so than "Lone Wolf McQuade". And who can deny this film is very quotable ("head, tail, the whole damn thing" and "you're gonna need a bigger boat" come to mind). That makes a film iconic, when quotes from it show up in popular culture.
How do you end a review about the greatest shark movie ever? A movie that vastly eclipses "Shark Attack 3: Megalodon" and "Hammerhead"? You simply can't do it enough justice. This film is everything a movie should be, and it has a shark. What more do you want?