Ever since "Jaws" blessed the movie screens in 1975, few things go better together than sharks and summer blockbusters. So, when former "Gossip Girl" Blake Lively teamed up with another special effects-assisted great white shark for "The Shallows," the trailer lead to a good amount of hype.

Here are the four best things that helped the film live up to that:

1. Blake Lively, obviously.

Just when I was beginning to think Blake had stepped out of the limelight to continue to focus on her growing family, she emerged to star as the smart, fearless woman of The Shallows. Serena van der Woodsen may officially not be the first thing I think of when I see the blonde beauty that is Blake Lively.

2. The meticulous details

It didn't hurt that the main character happened to be a medical school dropout and knew quickly how to treat her shark bite wound. But this knowledge did not make the fact that she sewed herself with her earring and necklace any less cringeworthy or impressive. The way she also times how long it takes the shark to reach one safe zone to the next was a fascinating added detail.

3. The ultimate demise of the shark

I knew it was pretty likely Blake's character Nancy would make it out alive in the end, but as all her options were slowly eliminated as the movie progressed, I was entirely unsure how. The way the shark eventually is lured to the bottom of the ocean and speared to death genuinely got my heart racing.

4. It's entertaining in the simplest of ways

In the end, this movie is exactly what the audience wants to see: an appealing young woman spending the majority of the movie fending off a serious threat, only to end up alive and well. It's a satisfying, uncomplicated movie that provides the thrill we all seek, yet also the joy in watching the character you've been rooting for find her way home, safe and shark-free.