During an expedition into the Marianas Trench, a group of scientists discover that the largest predator ever, The Meg, isn’t extinct like they believed. The group now looks to Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) to join the team and save their friends. This is his greatest test yet, is he ready?
Honestly, what do you expect to get from a movie about unearthing a megalodon? The answer: not much. Well, that’s what you get from The Meg. It’s a film that tries to be intelligent, but relies heavily on action and silliness to drive it forward. However, the action that does exist isn’t fully realized, or…it’s not quite possible to bring to life. I’m not sure there’s a way to have a group of people fight a megalodon and make it look cool–and The Meg is certainly void of this. What the film desperately needs in order to find success is out of reach, and that causes much of the film to fall flat.
Statham has solidified himself as a modern action hero, and that’s where viewers find him here, attempting to save the world once more from a ridiculous threat. Again, though, what the film needs in order to find success, a face off between Statham’s Jonas and the megalodon, doesn’t ever happen–and his ability to fill his typical shoes of grit and comedy just isn’t there. The Meg is missing so many things, and it sort of just exists as a result.
Furthermore, The Meg is mediocre in just about every way. One of those mediocrities is the cinematography. I feel like Director Jon Turteltaub and Director of Photography Tom Stern are given so many opportunities to shine throughout the course of The Meg, but they never take advantage of them. We are taken down to the Marianas Trench and throughout the beautiful landscapes of China, but everything just looks simple. I needed to be wowed in these moments; I needed to be able to feel the beauty that would exist here–and at every turn this team failed to enthrall viewers like they should have.
The one thing that I do like about The Meg is the ten seconds of relevant dialogue that they give to Rainn Wilson (Morris). I love that they gave him an emotional moment (regardless of what comes after). People often overlook the fact that he’s an incredibly talented actor simply because of his long-time role on The Office. While he’s subjected to the nonsensical dialogue and cheesy jokes that you’d expect to be written for him, he is given one small opportunity to shine as an actor, and he takes advantage of that moment. It’s small in the grand scheme of this film, but it’s nice to know that beneath the surface of this sort-of-stupid movie about a megalodon, the director and writers understand the fundamentals of filmmaking and the talent that Wilson possesses.
For lack of a better word, The Meg is basic. Most of the dialogue is either cheesy or boring, the action sequences aren’t anything to write home about, and the inability of this team to showcase the beautiful locations in which the film takes place is simply frustrating. I feel compelled to watch the sequel to The Meg, but I can’t figure out why they felt the need to make one after this massive failure.
Directed by Jon Turteltaub.
Written by Dean Georgaris, Job Hoeber, Erich Hoeber, & Steve Alten.
Starring Jason Statham, Bingbing Li, Rainn Wilson, Cliff Curtis, Winston Chao, Shuya Sophia Cai, Ruby Rose, Page Kennedy, Robert Taylor, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Jessica McNamee, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10
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