OnScreen Review: "The Meg"
Ken Jones
- Chief Film Critic
It’s August, which means that summer is winding down at the box office, the major summer blockbusters have all been released. The summer market typically takes a downturn in August, but there is usually one last popcorn action flick that gets released in early August. This year, that film is The Meg. Oddly enough, The Meg is one of my earliest internet movie fascinations… back in the 90s! This adaptations of a 90s bestseller has languished in development hell for at least 20 years. Over that time it has seen multiple script rejections and directors attached to it. Now, in 2018, The Meg is finally pulled out of development hell and has reached theaters. And the result is rather unspectacular.
On the surface, the appeal of The Meg should be obvious: a prehistoric, 75-ft megalodon shark is unleashed on the world when an underwater research facility accidentally frees it from the deepest, previously undiscovered section of the Mariana trench. The exploratory sub that is initially attacked by the shark causes the crew to reach out to deep sea rescuer Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham), who believed he once encountered a similar creature years ago. Taylor and the crew race to capture or kill the prehistoric behemoth before it causes more damage and threaten the lives of thousands of people.
Let’s get the obvious out of the way: This film is not Jaws. Nothing like stating the obvious, but it still warrants mentioning. It is also not Deep Blue Sea, or Sharknado. Both of those movies had something distinct about them, even if it was just Samuel L. Jackson getting bitten in half or pure campiness. Statham and giant shark seems like a solid enough foundation to build a movie on. Unfortunately, the film does add much to that.
Jon Turtletaub is the director here. If there is one word that could be used to describe Turtletaub as a director that word would likely be “formulaic.” And The Meg is pure formula. Rich billionaire (Rainn Wilson) finances a state of the art facility. Research goes horribly wrong. Member of the crew reach out to the only guy who can save their people who are trapped. The doctor on board thinks the hero is actually a coward because of a prior history. There’s Meiying (Shuya Sophia Cai), the precocious little girl who gets to hang out on the station because her grandfather runs the facility and her mother works there. After having an adorable interaction with Meiying, who asks if he’s really crazy or not, there’s quickly a developing romantic relationship between Statham and the girl’s mother, Suyin (Li Bingbing).
I could go on, but I’ll refrain. Basically, you can see everything coming in the movie before it actually happens. To be fair, there were a few moments that elicit some chuckles and the cast for the most part if perfectly fine with no standout performances. Statham gets to be Statham and save the day. All of the cast, which includes Ruby Rose and Cliff Curtis among others, get to go through the paces. That the banter between Statham’s Jonas and little Shuya Sophia Cai’s Meiying is one of the best parts of the script should tell you all you need to know. Also, try not to think too hard about the scientific and narrative logic of this movie, particularly with how Statham’s Jonas Taylor could have encountered a megalodon before when there was a thermal layer of ocean water keeping them at the very, very bottom all this time. The film explains how the meg escapes this
The scares and the thrills are mostly easy to see coming, there is nothing particularly tense or spine-tingling about the interactions with the megalodon outside of the inherent response of fear that comes from seeing a fin circling in the water. The fact that a fair number of the jump scares are geared toward 3D definitely hampers the 2D viewing experience. There is a noticeable way that some of the shots are framed that made it obvious that a particular shot was intended to make a 3D viewing audience jump, which doesn’t lend itself to holding up well for living room viewing long-term. Generally speaking, too, there is very little visually that makes this film pop. Obviously, underwater visuals are going to be murkier, but there is a crowded beach scene, scene on the deck of a boat, and other moments where the movie at least could have looked great. Frankly, instead of spending the money to go to the theater to see this movie, go find The Shallows and watch that. It’s a terrific thriller and it looks absolutely stunning.
The Meg is a disappointing conclusion to a long journey to the big screen. When a film is in development hell, there probably shouldn’t be high expectations for the end product when it finally gets made. I went to see The Meg mainly because it was performing better than expected its opening weekend. I was hoping to see a movie that either was so bad it was good, so bad it was truly awful, or was a pleasant surprise. Instead, it’s completely middle of the road summer action fare. Apparently there is word that the film would’ve been far bloodier but the studio was aiming for a PG-13 rating. It shows. It’s not worthy of the slings and arrows of a scathing review. It’s not worth going out of your way to see either. It’s a completely forgettable generic summer movie. It could just as easily be called "The Meh." Bigger is not always better. Sometimes bigger is just bigger.
Rating: 2 out of 5 star