The Meg (2018)

I was really looking forward to The Meg. I thought that maybe, just maybe, this film could be more Jaws (1975) than Sharknado (2013), something to follow on from The Shallows (2016) and remove the rancid aftertaste that was Deep Blue Sea 2 (2018) and into a new era where Shark Horror can reclaim its place somewhere near the top of the horror food chain. But, unfortunately, wishes are for birthday cakes and while not completely terrible, this film does not even come close the heights of Jaws, or even Orca (1977) and not nearly as good as The Shallows. Granted, it is miles ahead of Deep Blue Sea 2 and better than Sharknado, but that shouldn’t be any film’s claim to fame.

Perhaps I am being a tad harsh on this film. After all, if you leave your brain at the door it is mildly entertaining, although it is terribly cliché and the action is patchy. The storyline is, in some spots, preposterous and somewhat disjointed, but viewers seeking some mindless entertainment should get what they bargained for. Director Jon Turtletaub (Cool Runnings, While You Were Sleeping, National Treasure, Last Vegas), who is an odd choice for this film in my opinion, still does a fair job here, but it seems like he phones it in somewhat, as does most of the cast.

Jason Statham (Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, The Transporter, The Expendables, Fast & Furious 6,7,8) seems in his element during the action scenes, but somewhat uncomfortable during the dramatic and “romantic” scenes. Binbing Li (1911, Resident Evil: Retribution, Transformers: Age of Extinction) does a good enough job, though she seems grossly underutilized yet again in an American production. Rainn Wilson (Juno, The Rocker, Super, Cooties, TV’s The Office) is his usual entertaining self as an egomaniacal billionaire. Cliff Curtis (Once Were Warriors, Deep Rising, Blow, Sunshine, TV’s Fear The Walking Dead) seems strangely out of place as a somewhat meaningless character. Ruby Rose (Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, XxX: Return of Xander Cage, John Wick: Part 2) is yet again likeable but underused. Robert Taylor (The Matrix, The Hard Word, Coffin Rock, Focus, TV’s Longmire) does the standard unlikeable-character-come-good-by-the-end. Thing is, even with all these ‘name actors’, it still does not change the fact that the characters are so annoyingly cliché and the story painfully by-the-numbers.

Somehow, this film still ends up being kind of entertaining if you send your brain on holiday for a tad over two hours and just go with the flow. It seems self-aware enough, for us as viewers, to laugh with it rather than at it. Mixed with the fact that it seems no one is really trying too hard, it ends up being a somewhat confusing experience.

Some mindless fun, but nothing more.

5/10.