TL;DR – A film that knows how to be a bit silly while still playing it mostly straight about a shark that suddenly not extinct.
Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars
Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene
Review –
Last year there was a film that came out about a killer shark destroying the
world, and not just a shark but a megalodon. I wanted to go see it, but the
timing never worked out and I think I was going through Jurassic
World fatigue at the same time. Well, this week with the release of Godzilla and after playing Sea
of Thieves I had been interested to give it a look and what would you
know the very day I was pondering The Meg
popped up on Netflix. Well never one to look a gift horse in the mouth I knew
now was the best time to check it out and wow, it did not disappoint.
So to set the scene, off the shore of China a billionaire Morris (Rainn Wilson)
has built Mana One a purpose built deep ocean observatory. Its goal is to study
the life in the oceans around the Mariana Trench but to also investigate a
theory of chief scientist Zhang (Winston Chao). He believes that the trench is
actually deeper and there is a layer of cold water creating a thermocline
(barrier) protecting an undisturbed ecosystem underneath. So they send down
Lori (Jessica McNamee), Toshi (Masi Oka), and The Wall (Ólafur Darri Ólafsson)
in a submarine and lo and behold Zhang was right. However, just as they start
to explore this new region they are attacked by something large and fast,
sending them crashing into the ocean floor. With time being on the line and few
people qualified they call in Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) a rescue diver who
is now out of the game after a rescue went wrong and people blamed him for the
deaths of his team.
This
is one of those films that is walking a very thin tightrope. On the one hand,
it knows what type of film it is and it is playing into that genre, but on the
other hand, it can’t get too silly because it is not a parody or satire film. There
are a lot of calculations that go into making a film that is silly fun but
still playing it straight and on a whole, I think The Meg gets that balance right … for the most part.
Part of what helps the film immensely is how the cast is clearly here for it,
and at times is having real fun with this more schlocky film. When you cast Jason
Statham in your film you kind of know what you are going to get, so it is
important that he is a good fit for your film and here he is. He has that
complete earnest sincerity that works through his gruff delivery, and that is
just the right fit for the film. Rainn Wilson is clearly having a ball as the billionaire
Morris and chewing on every bit of scenery that he can get his hands on. But it
is also a role with a lot of range, and I liked that they subverted a lot of
the tropes that usually goes along with that kind of character before going
nope he is 100% that kind of character. Also, if there was one star-making turn
in this film it was Sophia Cai as Meiying the daughter of Suyin (Li Bingbing)
the main scientist. I think she steals nearly every scene she is in.
Another
highlight is the visual effects, that did more than a serviceable job bringing
the shark and other creatures to life. I have always had not so much a fear
(though that is there) but a healthy respect for sharks being the apex predator
of the oceans. But those shots of the shark appearing from the dark below was terrifying
every time. There was a lot of detail in the sharks themselves that while not
the best animated giant monster, was still a serviceable one.
Overall the story was fine, with the kind of story beat that you expect in a film
like this. There is the first encounter, the accidental release, the hunt, the resolution
of the hunt, the oh God we got it wrong, and the big final act set piece. There
are the requisite ‘meet all the people here who will mostly be dead by the end
of the film’ moment. There are some people that will clearly survive no matter
what happens, and those you expect to die generally end up dead. I did find it
interesting how the film has some subtle additions to make it more engaging for
the Chinese market (also to score one of those coveted Chinese releases). There
are digs at Taiwan, the irresponsible media, also self-absorbed capitalists.
While the story was nothing you wouldn’t expect, it was still fine. However, I
did find that by the time of the big third act battle sequence I had started to
check out, I think the predictable narrative just kind of ran out of steam.
In the end, do we recommend The Meg? I mean sure. Look if you are catching it on Netflix or on TV then you’ve got nothing to lose. It is a mostly solid big monster film, it is not the best in the genre by a wide margin, but it is also by no means the worst
By Brian MacNamara: You can follow
Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV,
he’ll be talking about International Relations,
or the Solar System.
Have you watched The Meg?, let us know what you thought in the comments below,
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us Here. Check out all
our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy
day.
Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and
production companies of The Meg
Directed by – Jon Turteltaub
Screenplay by – Dean Georgaris, Jon
Hoeber & Erich Hoeber
Based on – Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror by Steve Alten
Music by – Harry Gregson-Williams
Cinematography by – Tom Stern
Edited by – Steven Kemper
Production/Distribution Companies – Gravity Pictures, Flagship Entertainment, Apelles Entertainment, Di
Bonaventura Pictures, Maeday Productions & Warner Bros. Pictures
Starring – Jason Statham, Li Bingbing, Rainn Wilson, Cliff Curtis,
Ruby Rose, Winston Chao, Page Kennedy, Jessica McNamee, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Robert
Taylor, Sophia Cai & Masi Oka
Rating – Australia: M; Canada:
PG; Germany: 12; New Zealand: M;
United Kingdom: 12A; United States: PG-13
