JawsMovie Reviews

Poster art for "Jaws."

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Avg. Critic Score: 79 out of 100 Generally favorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
12 Iffy for 12+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 100
    ReelViews | James Berardinelli

    The first is the best. When it comes to this kind of thriller, no movie has been able to top Jaws, although many have tried. And, as the years go by, it seems increasingly unlikely that anything will come close. Read full review

  • 100
    Empire |

    It was the complete nightmare that invented the "summer blockbuster", launched the genius on a global scale and delivered an astonishingly effective thriller built on a very primal level: fear. Read full review

  • 100
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    One of the most effective thrillers ever made. Read full review

  • 100
    Entertainment Weekly | Ty Burr

    Steven Spielberg overcame the lumpy plotting of Peter Benchley's novel to create an efficient, graceful fright machine in Jaws. Read full review

  • 90
    Variety |

    Robert Shaw [is] absolutely magnificent as a coarse fisherman finally hired to locate the Great White Shark; and Richard Dreyfuss, in another excellent characterization as a likeable young scientist. Read full review

  • 80
    TV Guide |

    From the outrageously frightening opening--in which a beautiful young woman skinny-dipping in the moonlight is devoured by the unseen shark--to the claustrophobic climax aboard Quint's fishing boat, Spielberg has us in his grip and rarely lets go. Read full review

  • 80
    The New York Times | Vincent Canby

    If you think about Jaws for more than 45 seconds you will recognize it as nonsense, but it's the sort of nonsense that can be a good deal of fun, if you like to have the wits scared out of you at irregular intervals. Read full review

  • 75
    Chicago Tribune | Gene Siskel

    What this movie is about, and where it succeeds best, is the primordial level of fear. The characters, for the most part, and the non-fish elements in the story, are comparatively weak and not believable. [20 June 1975] Read full review

  • 40
    Chicago Reader | Dave Kehr

    Steven Spielberg's mechanical thriller is guaranteed to make you scream on schedule (John Williams's score even has the audience reactions programmed into the melodies), particularly if your tolerance for weak motivation and other minor inconsistencies is high. Read full review


Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 12+ Five-star movie could scare the pants off kids.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that although the small screen lessens its impact, this movie can terrify as much as it entertains. It's not as gruesome as today's horror movies, but it may be too intense for sensitive preteens, especially those who have a fear of swimming in the ocean.
  • Families can talk about the fact that this movie is considered the first official "summer blockbuster." What other blockbusters can you think of? What do they have in common? Also, how does the movie build suspense? 
  • What's scarier -- a monster you can see, or one you can't? Why?
The good stuff
  • message true1 Positive messages: An edge-of-your seat suspense flick with heart but little substance.
  • rolemodels true1 Positive role models: The three male leads are clever, determined and like-minded.
What to watch for
  • violence false4 Violence: Only violence of the nature-versus-human variety, but it gets fairly gruesome, with thrashing, foaming blood, and severed body parts. This is scary stuff. That's one big man-eating fish, who escalates suspense by remaining hidden a good portion of the ti
  • sex false2 Sex: A bit of semi-revealing female skinny-dipping.
  • language false3 Language: A hearty fistful of expletives.
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: Not an issue
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false2 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Lots of adult social drinking and a drunken beach party.

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