From the early invention of the camera, to its use in creating moving pictures, to the classic films of old, and all the way through the huge blockbusters of new, it is clear that all of cinema has been leading to this very event: The Meg.
The Meg is based on a book by Steve Alten, and is directed by John Turteltaub. The film follows a deep sea expedition crew that accidentally unearths the largest shark in history, the megalodon. The crew must try to kill the enormous shark before it makes its way to populated waters, as well as before it eats each one of them.
In the leading role of Jonas Taylor is Jason Statham. Taylor performs deep sea rescues and is called in when some members of the expedition team meet the megalodon and are trapped at the bottom of the ocean. Statham is playing his usual self in this film, but due to the ridiculous nature of the plot and how it is played out he fits perfectly. He is an over the top hero for an over the top movie and it works wonders. I actually found myself liking this cast quite a bit, which I didn't expect. There is very little character development so when people die it's never as emotional as it should be, but the cast is enjoyable and most of them know that they're in a stupid shark movie and act as such. Some highlights from the rest of the cast include Rainn Wilson, Ruby Rose, Cliff Curtis, and Bingbing Li. Rainn Wilson plays the billionaire that funds the expedition and its base of operations, and is the most aware of how goofy the film is. He can be annoying at times but its an annoying that fits the film well and I think he nailed his performance. Rose and Curtis play scientists working for the team and while neither turn in exceptional performances they were both enjoyable on screen, and provided some strong moments. Li plays the daughter of the head of operations and has some great chemistry with Statham, as well as impressing on her own in some scenes. The one cast member I found myself unimpressed with was Page Kennedy. Kennedy plays another one of the scientists and starts off as a solid character, but just falls into a repetitive and annoying pattern after a while that grows more and more obnoxious until the end of the film.
In terms of technical elements there are some bad and some good. The script is bad, but does manage to fall into so bad its good territory due to how ridiculous it gets. From a cinematography standpoint there were shots that surprisingly impressed me quite a bit. Some parts of this film are gorgeous. Only some parts though, as a lot of stuff shot underwater is pretty rough. There is an opening scene where Statham's character is trying to save a submarine crew, and almost every shot of the outside of the sub is way too dark, with some other deep water scenes suffering from the same issue. I understand that it's really dark that deep underwater, but keeping some realism in a film like this is in no way worth not allowing the audience to properly see what is happening on screen. There were also some scenes with randomly shaky camerawork, the opening scene as an example. Storywise there were some twists and turns that I surprisingly enjoyed. I won't spoil anything, but there's a point where it feels like the film has ended, and if it ended there I would have hated the film, but luckily it goes on and brings some more enjoyment. One final issue I have is that the film needed to be more over the top. Don't get me wrong, this film is ridiculous, but it sometimes loses sight of what it is and goes for emotion or a heavier tone, and it doesn't suit the rest of the film.
I can't say this is a good movie, and as weird as it is to say I wish it was dumber, but it is still quite ridiculous and makes for a really fun summer popcorn movie. If you like fun shark movies go out and see this, but if you aren't this is definitely not your cup of tea.
Rating: 2.5/5
Written by Matt McKenzie
The Meg is based on a book by Steve Alten, and is directed by John Turteltaub. The film follows a deep sea expedition crew that accidentally unearths the largest shark in history, the megalodon. The crew must try to kill the enormous shark before it makes its way to populated waters, as well as before it eats each one of them.
In the leading role of Jonas Taylor is Jason Statham. Taylor performs deep sea rescues and is called in when some members of the expedition team meet the megalodon and are trapped at the bottom of the ocean. Statham is playing his usual self in this film, but due to the ridiculous nature of the plot and how it is played out he fits perfectly. He is an over the top hero for an over the top movie and it works wonders. I actually found myself liking this cast quite a bit, which I didn't expect. There is very little character development so when people die it's never as emotional as it should be, but the cast is enjoyable and most of them know that they're in a stupid shark movie and act as such. Some highlights from the rest of the cast include Rainn Wilson, Ruby Rose, Cliff Curtis, and Bingbing Li. Rainn Wilson plays the billionaire that funds the expedition and its base of operations, and is the most aware of how goofy the film is. He can be annoying at times but its an annoying that fits the film well and I think he nailed his performance. Rose and Curtis play scientists working for the team and while neither turn in exceptional performances they were both enjoyable on screen, and provided some strong moments. Li plays the daughter of the head of operations and has some great chemistry with Statham, as well as impressing on her own in some scenes. The one cast member I found myself unimpressed with was Page Kennedy. Kennedy plays another one of the scientists and starts off as a solid character, but just falls into a repetitive and annoying pattern after a while that grows more and more obnoxious until the end of the film.
In terms of technical elements there are some bad and some good. The script is bad, but does manage to fall into so bad its good territory due to how ridiculous it gets. From a cinematography standpoint there were shots that surprisingly impressed me quite a bit. Some parts of this film are gorgeous. Only some parts though, as a lot of stuff shot underwater is pretty rough. There is an opening scene where Statham's character is trying to save a submarine crew, and almost every shot of the outside of the sub is way too dark, with some other deep water scenes suffering from the same issue. I understand that it's really dark that deep underwater, but keeping some realism in a film like this is in no way worth not allowing the audience to properly see what is happening on screen. There were also some scenes with randomly shaky camerawork, the opening scene as an example. Storywise there were some twists and turns that I surprisingly enjoyed. I won't spoil anything, but there's a point where it feels like the film has ended, and if it ended there I would have hated the film, but luckily it goes on and brings some more enjoyment. One final issue I have is that the film needed to be more over the top. Don't get me wrong, this film is ridiculous, but it sometimes loses sight of what it is and goes for emotion or a heavier tone, and it doesn't suit the rest of the film.
I can't say this is a good movie, and as weird as it is to say I wish it was dumber, but it is still quite ridiculous and makes for a really fun summer popcorn movie. If you like fun shark movies go out and see this, but if you aren't this is definitely not your cup of tea.
Rating: 2.5/5
Written by Matt McKenzie
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