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PaperclipPerfector  4hr ago (text post)   176 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for May 1, 2026

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Finished watching Jaws on Netflix before it went off the air. I found it disappointing, which is surprising considering its reputation (the first summer blockbuster, recommended by both Roger Ebert and Critical Drinker, etc.)

I think the problem is that I couldn't connect to the characters. Chief is too much of a coward, both morally (fails to stand up to the Mayor) and physically (afraid of water). Quint has potential, but in the end he comes across more as a greedy asshole than as a truly passionate shark hunter. And the research dude is just there. I don't care what happens to these people; none of them are awesome enough to keep my interest. Combine that with the slow pacing (the shark is famously not shown until the final act to build suspense) and I was left looking at my watch wondering how much longer the movie would be.

It only really gets good in the last twenty minutes when they are directly battling the shark, and by then it is too late.

Very interesting. I watch it every year. There are to my mind some absolutely brilliantly constructed scenes. When Alex Kintner gets eaten, that whole set-up prior (the sounds of the beach radios disappear as the camera goes out to Alex's distance, returns when the camera is back on the beach, etc ) is so well done. The whole movie is so full of granular detail of this sort that when I hear people say they dislike it I wonder if either they're watching a different film or they are used to more, I don't know, motion or action. I love JAWS , almost as much as I love Close Encounters. The same things are happening in that film. The cuts, the shot setups, it's just so rich. If you didn't like the JAWS film characters you should definitely avoid reading the novel.

I'm not saying you're wrong to dislike these films, but to me they're both eminently rewatchable.

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