Jaws (1975) ⭐ Rating: 9/10

Jaws (1975)

⭐ Rating: 9/10

🌊 Review

Steven Spielberg’s Jaws is not merely a shark movie; it’s the film that invented the modern summer blockbuster and changed the industry forever. But what makes it timeless isn’t just its historical importance — it’s the masterful way Spielberg understands tension, character, and the primal fear of the unknown.

Famously plagued by production problems, including the malfunctioning mechanical shark, Spielberg was forced to rely on suggestion over spectacle. This restraint became the film’s greatest strength. The underwater point-of-view shots, the subtle ripples on the ocean surface, and John Williams’ menacing two-note score create unbearable anticipation long before we glimpse a fin.

The trio of Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, and Robert Shaw gives the film an earthy, lived-in humanity. Their conversations aboard the Orca — swapping scar stories, Shaw’s haunting monologue about the USS Indianapolis — elevate Jaws beyond creature feature into a story about masculine pride, fear, and camaraderie in the face of unstoppable nature.

Even today, few films capture dread as viscerally. Spielberg’s sense of visual storytelling — his timing, his patience — makes scenes like the crowded Fourth of July beach sequence almost unbearably tense.

✅ Verdict

Jaws is that rare thriller where every decision born of constraint made it more terrifying. It’s a master class in suspense, anchored by characters we truly care about — and it will forever make us wary of deep water.