The Meg

Shark movies have been making a splash on various screens since the debut of Jaws (1975), which contributed to the summer blockbuster extravaganza standard we've grown accustomed to over the years. These finny flicks have tried to match the intensity and quality of that Steven Spielberg hit. However, Sharknado (2013), a made-for-tv disaster comedy feature, went into the silly over-the-top shenanigans with the concept of a tornado that engulfed many of those predators and launched them into victims. This brings us to The Meg, a monster action project directed by Jon Turteltaub (director of Last Vegas and The Sorceror's Apprentice) that appeared on my radar since its appealing marketing (1 trailer) showed some promising fun. It should be noted that this project was loosely based on the first novel in the titular series (which I haven't read nor even realized until after I watched it) along with being an Chinese-American co-production. It was released on August 10th to a mixed critical reception and has had a steady social media presence for a little while. I went to go check it out a few weeks after its release and left it liking it but recognizing some missed opportunities it had.

Plot: The story follows a group of scientists who encounter an enormous megalodon shark while conducting research down in the Pacific Ocean. If you've ever seen any shark or monster story, you have an idea of the events that transpire here but that's not necessarily a bad thing here. It's certainly aware of the premise and finds itself leaning into the cheesy tone while being the middle point of a little serious and over exaggerated territory. The predictable storytelling here is obvious but thanks to the cast of actors here, it's handled competently enough to satisfy fans of B-movie shark flicks.

However, there are some issues with the script that show up here that need to be addressed. While the plot certainly picks up when the giant megaladon arrives, there's too much time spent with the soon to be victims where cutting out some of the scenes would have aided in getting to the action aspects. Something that could definitely get in the way of enjoyment would be the characters lacking any investment and automatically knowing who's going to die in each scene. Despite those problems, the action sequences and actors help elevate the material.

Characters: The people to focus on are Jonas (Jason Statham) and Jack (Rain Wilson). Jonas is a rescue diver who's recruited by the scientists to aid them in an urgent mission. Jason is certainly a good solid lead here as he elevates the screenplay as much as he possibly can with his own charisma and having good moments of self awareness adds to the fun tone. Jack is a wealthy billionaire financing the research facility who cares about how dangerous activities could result lawsuits for him.  Rainn is the best actor out of this group for doing more with his role and having the most amount of fun, which shows as he's a delight in many of his scenes. Honorable mentions goes to Suyin (Bingbing Li) and Meiying (Shuya Sophia Cai) for being have good screen presence along with their contributions in the roles they serve.

Action: After getting through the cliched story points, the action scenes are quite good. The underwater segments surrounding the megaladon display the kind of effort you would expect. It recognizes some common physical conflicts that are found within the genre and does a serviceable job handling them. There's even some absurd logic akin to the Fast and Furious series inserted in there to help with the exaggerated effort. While Jason Statham doesn't punch the creature like I wanted him to, he's allowed some other moments to help compensate for that.

It should be noted that apparently there were a number of bloody gory scenes cut from this flick, which might affect some enjoyment given of the feature given the potential violence that could be had for such as simple premise. Both Jason Statham and Jon Turteltaub were angry at those cuts made to keep the PG-13 and, after having seen it, I don't blame them. But, despite that limitation, they managed to showcase solid tense water scenes with what they had left.

Overall Consensus: The Meg gives a standard monster thriller experience that’s bolstered by some solid casting, good action, and a fun cheesy tone, while holding itself back by weak characterization, loss of potential, and lack of urgency. ⭑⭑⭑1/2🎟* Runtime: 1 hour 58 minutes PG-13
*: Only if with a group of friends, otherwise 💻

Reasons to watch it: You like any of the aforementioned actors. You are a fan of cliched B-movie monster flicks. You enjoy any kind of action involving the ocean.

Reasons to avoid it: You dislike any of the aforementioned actors. You aren't a fan of cliched B-movie monster flicks. You are easily frightened by enormous sharks.