Please, let’s not debate this: yes, the shark does look fake. But here’s the weird part: for some inexplicable reason, it actually works for the picture, even enhances it. It’s movie magic in its purest form. I sometimes wonder (because I have too much spare time) what the film would look like if a real shark was stalking the crew of the Orca. I think the effect would be off-kilter. The shark (although a creature of nature) is symbolically Leviathan in the context of the movie. It has to be beyond normal, especially in comparison to the “reality” of Amity, its victims, and our heroes.

But the shark (and the narratives) don’t quite work at all for the sequels (duh). I enjoy JAWS 2 for what it is: a slasher paradigm with the shark in place of Jason Voorhees stalking teens in the ocean. JAWS 3 is bland and forgettable, and God help all who were involved with JAWS THE REVENGE, a film so cockeyed the only reshoots they did after miserable test screenings were to have Mario Van Peebles survive. So upset and bewildered by the Iran-Contra affair, the American people allowed this insanity to happen.

Mayor Vaughn: “Martin, it’s all psychological. You yell barracuda, everybody says, “Huh? What?” You yell shark, we’ve got a panic on our hands on the Fourth of July.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzewQ66gsSc