Simon Cowell couldn’t have given a more definitive ‘no’ than Steven Speilberg when it came to even thinking about a reboot of Jaws, which should make a lot of people jump for joy since it means there is a limit that people won’t cross when it comes to rebooting pretty much anything. That kind of feeling isn’t held by everyone, but seeing as how there have been so many different shark movies since Jaws came out it’s fair to say that the great white has left behind enough room for many wannabe successors to fill the void. In fact, there are too many shark movies out there to name them all, from the most ridiculous and horrific CGI creations to the most loved by the fans that went on to, well, do nothing still, except become a memory that people could laugh at. To be fair though, that’s a much healthier attitude than was created when Jaws was first released, since the scare that this movie put into people was insane, as it made people afraid to go near any body of water for fear that there might be something lurking beneath the surface just waiting for a tasty human to swim by.
No matter how successful a couple of the sequels were, they still didn’t manage to convince the fans that they should have been made since to be serious, sharks don’t take on vendettas against humans. Even in movies like The Shallows starring Blake Lively, a shark actively harming itself to go after a human isn’t something that’s going to happen. On top of that, the fact that the shark in Jaws sank the boat and kept chomping at the craft in order to get to Quint isn’t indicative of what a shark would do either. While I’m no shark expert, any animal is going to do everything in its power to avoid causing self-harm when it comes to getting a bite to eat. Plus, the idea of one different shark after another getting it into their heads to go after humans is something that might be terrifying, but it’s also a good way to rile up those that are easily susceptible to such ideas and might think that eliminating the possible threat is a good idea.
But kudos to Spielberg for saying no, since at least one idea is being kept from the reboot zone. Some might want to say that if he were offered enough money he might do something with it, but seriously, this is an individual that doesn’t really need the money or the further acclaim since he’s already a legend in the industry and his contributions to the business are such that trying to entice him with anything other than a great story isn’t bound to do so much as raise an eyebrow, hopefully. Spielberg isn’t done with the industry obviously, but keeping his own movies as they are and not tampering with them is great to see since it speaks highly of his integrity and his ability to stand his ground on this matter. To some, it might sound silly since integrity doesn’t always pay the bills, but again, Spielberg is in a pretty comfortable spot with his career and doesn’t need to pad it in any way.
The ideas that have come concerning shark movies over the years have been one goofy horror movie after another. Some of them have been interesting to be fair since an honest-to-goodness account of being on the open ocean with a shark that’s set on doing what it does is kind of terrifying. But from Deep Blue Sea to Open Water to Sharknado, the shark movies that have been coming over the years have just become more and more ridiculous, not to mention unreal in a manner that is hard to watch sometimes. That’s kind of the point with some of them, the silliness has been factored in and take over the top in a way that’s meant to make people laugh even as the manufactured gore freaks them out. Shark movies have become something of a joke these days, and it’s fair to think that Spielberg doesn’t want Jaws reduced to this.
We can sit and laugh at Jaws now since the decades that have passed and a quick Google search are fully capable of lessening the fear that some folks might still feel when regarding sharks. Sure, they’re living torpedoes with teeth than saw through flesh with alarming speed and ferocity, but sharks are a necessary part of their environment to be realistic. Jaws is one of the best shark movies ever made, if not THE best since it was one of the first that really made people terrified of the water, even if the reaction was a little more than had been expected.
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