The film has its moments of tension, like when Brody (Roy Scheider) feeds fish into the ocean and, as he is chatting, quite unexpectedly the head of a giant shark pops up out of the water next to him. "You're going to need a bigger boat", Brody then ominously warns Quint (Robert Shaw), skipper of the rickety old fishing boat they're in. This sequence shows up in the second half, where most of the film's tension is. And the cinematography in this second half is quite good.
But overall "Jaws" is a silly, made-for-kids adventure that is not remotely plausible. The shark keeps coming back to the crew's boat, as if the shark is out for revenge. Referring to the shark, Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss), the third of three crew members, says: "he's chasing us; I don't believe it." No, I don't believe it either. Natural predators are not capable of revenge.
Of course, to advance the plot and keep the audience engaged, the unlikable and stupid three-man crew does all the wrong things. On-board chaos results. But the film's shallow (pardon the pun) premise and plot sells the popcorn, no "deep" themes needed.
The story setup is way too long. Lots of talky dialogue, crowds of beached whales (or rather sunbathers), a parade, and a greedy mayor who is more of a villain than the shark render a boring first half. Director Spielberg could have used the shark to chop off most of the script's first half.
"Jaws" is a big budget Hollywood production with some tension out on the open waters. And it has some good underwater footage. But a too simplistic premise, precious little subtext, vapid setup, and unlikable, overwrought characters sink the film into the dregs, the production appeal veering sharply toward viewers pacified by frothy, Disney-ish cheese.
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