The Original Summer Blockbuster

Rating: Null/10 (11 June 2004)

***** POSSIBLE SPOILERS *****
This is it! The film that launched a revolution in film making and made Steven Spielberg a household name!
As we begin yet another season of summer blockbuster entries, I can't help but give credit to the movie that started the trend. I was just a little girl, growing up on Long Island, when I begged my mother to take me to see JAWS and afterward, it took me another 2 years before I would venture out into the ocean again!
What I love about JAWS is that it was more than just a casual popcorn horror flick. It has good acting, drama, suspense, action and even some humor. It's hard to believe that it was filmed on a restricted budget and plagued by equipment failures and delays that extended the filming several months beyond it's schedule. In fact, you may be surprised to learn that Spielberg originally planned to release JAWS in the late summer of 1974. The countless delays caused filming to run into the fall of 74. Rather than open the film to a winter audience, Spielberg chose to wait until the height of the following summer to release JAWS where it would have the strongest impact. This proved ingenious. The summer blockbuster was born and the rest is box office history!
With today's technological advancements and computerized special effects, not to mention the overblown, unoriginal, popularity of remakes, it may surprise some that nobody has ever attempted to remake JAWS. However, after seeing the film, you'll quickly realize that this is because nobody could ever match the action, horror, chilling suspense, and tension between the characters than in the original. The acting is first-rate, particularly by the late Robert Shaw. The cinematography is quite good considering the challenges the film crews faced filming out on the ocean. Even "Bruce", the robotic shark that was built for the film, with all of his mechanical failures, is quite convincing in his scenes. One in particular is near the climatic ending where the shark breaks into the sinking ship, opens his mouth wide, threatening Chief Brody, and you see pieces of torn flesh and blood from his previous victim in his teeth! It still gets me, even today!
The bottom line is, if you want to see a really entertaining summer film, definitely rent or buy this one! You will not be disappointed!
Rating: 9.5/10