One big fish, one big cast, one MASSIVE movie!

Rating: 9/10 (30 July 2002)

Even though the shark may be fake looking, Mr. Director, the almighty Steven Speilberg, used that to his advantage and left it unseen for the best part of the film. With an opening scene (the now legendary 'First Attack') that rides high up in the ranks alongside the shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho', Speilberg, like the monster Great White in the movie, has proved himself a powerful force to be reckoned with. Apart from spawning three sequels (number two was okay, three and four, well lets not get into that shall we) Jaws is the ultimate monster movie which would only have its' perfect veneer tarnished if someone was to do a remake (Gus Van Sant's Psycho anyone?). The basic plot is that Satan's goldfish is snacking on the locals of Amity Island and it could cause a few problems as it is getting very close to the summer season and the tourists will be flocking in their droves to the island. It then comes down to three guys, Police Chief Martin Brody (Roy Scheider), Icthyologist Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) and a Captain Ahab style shark fisherman called Quint (Robert Shaw) to try to kill the beast. Speilberg uses the camera alongside John Williams' simple but classic haunting score to show the power of the Great White with exhilerating effect. While Quint's monologue of the events of what happened to the crew on the Indianapolis had audiences mesmerised, a couple of well positioned jolts in the movie had people leaping out of their seats with fear, Jaws has created what we have come to expect every year and that's the summer blockbuster. We only have Mr. Speilberg to thank for giving us this now annual event.