Yes, ‘The Meg’ has been out for a few weeks but we still wanted to share our thoughts after, finally, watching this summer’s shark movie offering. In The Meg, our characters face a Megalodon, which is not in uncharted territory but new to the big screen. We meet the beast much sooner then the trailers led us to believe and the action is nearly non stop. However, The Meg may be a fun shark film but it could have been so much more, a cult classic later on.
In this movie scientists decide to set up shop by the deepest known place in the ocean with the theory that the bottom is not a hard surface and the ocean goes even deeper. This project is financed by Morris, played by Rainn Wilson in a role more annoying then funny. His lead scientists are father-daughter pair Zhang (Winston Chao) and Suyin (Bingbing Li) who are proved correct at the expense of almost three members of their crew. When the dive team gets trapped, there is only one person who can possibly save the day. Jonas Taylor is that man, played by action star Jason Statham.
The Meg has a great storyline paired with decent graphics making the shark look pretty real but it hits so many missteps, in the end it’s hard to enjoy. Rainn Wilson’s character should have been able to be more humorous then rude and pretentious because they wasted his talent. The giant shark was great but there weren’t many jump scares or attacks considering the creature. For example, multiple helicopters appear to aid in rescue attempts and not one is taken down by the Meg. Additionally, The Meg added a love story subplot which seemed out of place for a film like this. Statham’s character’s ex-wife is one of the people he rescues after the experiment goes wrong thanks to discovery of the giant, prehistoric shark. But, his character develops a rushed relationship with Bingbing Li’s smart, independent scientist which would be fine if there was necessary time and interest for a story like that.
Overall, we’d watch The Meg again but it won’t be our first choice where shark movies are considered. The Shallows and 47 Meters Down are far superior to this summer’s shark movie. Did you see The Meg or the others mentioned? Do you agree with us or are we just setting our shark standards too high?
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