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If you’re looking for some movies to really get your teeth into this summer, Peacock has a feast of fearsome finny fun for you: to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the original movie, all four Jaws movies are now streaming on the service in the US.
That’s a big deal for fans of the franchise who previously had to subscribe to multiple best streaming services to watch all four films. Indeed, for those in the UK and Australia, you’ll need a subscription to Prime Video, Paramount+ and more to be able to do the same, which I’ve listed out below.
The first movie is the most famous and the best of the bunch, of course, but all four are well worth watching – albeit for very different reasons. The first movie effectively invented the summer blockbuster and is widely regarded as a milestone in modern cinema; Jaws 3-D, not so much. But whether you’re looking for a marine-based masterpiece or one of the later films where you’re on Team Shark, there’s lots to enjoy here.
Jaws
- Where to watch: Peacock (US), Prime Video (UK), Paramount+ / Binge (AU)
The original 1975 movie is a masterpiece, thanks in no small part to an up-and-coming filmmaker called Steven Spielberg. Based on the novel of the same name by Peter Benchley, Jaws is a gripping tale of a sunny tourist resort menaced by an implacable predator that taps into our primal fear of things with sharp teeth hunting us for their dinner. The effects may look a big shonky compared to today’s CGI-fests but Jaws still sinks its teeth into you: Empire Magazine suggests it could be Spielberg’s finest moment, which is high praise indeed.
Jaws 2
- Where to watch: Peacock (US), Prime Video (UK), Binge (AU)
You’ll never guess what’s in the water… that’s right! A shark! Roy Scheider returns as Chief Brody in a second and reasonably successful instalment of toothy terror, and while director Jeannot Schwarc is no Spielberg – his mid-80s Supergirl has just 8% on Rotten Tomatoes, one of the lowest film ratings I’ve ever seen – if you approach Jaws 2 as a big silly scare it’s still plenty of fun. As Newsweek put it, “It’s better than most sequels. It’s formula-ridden but slick, and the special effects work as intended.”
Jaws 3-D
- Where to watch: Peacock (US), Prime Video (UK)
If you’d told me that Jaws 3D would outlive not one but two 3D crazes I’d have laughed, but it’s true. Jaws 3D, renamed Jaws III for the 2D version that’s streaming now, is pretty terrible and quite a lot of fun as a result. I’ve laughed a lot at the gratuitous use of 3D effects just for the sake of using 3D effects: what was funny then is even funnier in 2D now.
Can a film about a shark jump the shark? Film-Authority.com thinks so: it “makes a laughing stock of what was scary just once upon a time.” And I love ScreenRush‘s take: “No movie with Dennis Quaid holding a basset hound’s ears to keep them out of his water bowl while pouring himself some coffee can be all bad. Jaws 3-D comes pretty close.”
Jaws: The Revenge
- Where to watch: Peacock (US), ITVX (UK), Paramount+ (AU)
Despite the title this isn’t about a tourist town police chief swimming after a shark and trying to bite it. The setup here is that Chief Brody’s widow is convinced that an angry shark is targeting her family. “This time,” the posters said, “It’s personal.”
Remember a few moments ago I said Supergirl’s 8% Rotten Tomatoes rating was the worst I’d ever seen? I was fibbing. Jaws: The Revenge has 2%. “Jaws is looking a bit long in the tooth these days,” the Chicago Tribune chuckled. And Gene Siskel, also in the Tribune, was very clear about who he wanted to see churned into chum. “Let’s put it this way: When you see and hear the nasal Lorraine Gary on screen you want the shark to eat her.”
“A lot of the time, the people in this picture just stand around looking very sad, as if remembering happier days,” the Orlando Sentinel wrote. “Watching this sorry film, you know how they must feel.”
