These days, it seems that we are inundated with shark movies, with a new one coming out almost every year. Most of these are cheaply made, have terrible acting, very shoddy CGI, and are intentionally cheesy and ridiculous. Of course, every now and then, we get one that tries a bit more, such as The Shallows. Granted, no shark movie can every hope to live up to Stephen Spielberg’s Jaws, which still remains the gold standard. Shark movies we get nowadays include the Sharknado series, Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus, Sharktopus, and Jurassic Shark. Hell, at the time of writing this, there’s a new one that premiered on the SyFy channel called Santa Jaws (yeah, seriously). Amongst these made-for-TV shark movies, now we have a big-budget version of these kinds of movies with The Meg.
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We follow rescue diver Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham), who is dealing with an incident from years ago. He was rescuing people from a downed submarine when he left some to die when the hull was attacked. While many, including Dr. Heller (Robert Taylor), think he’s crazy and a coward, Taylor believes something attacked them. Cut to the present where billionaire Jack Morris (Rainn Wilson) is meeting with Dr. Minway Zhang (Winston Chao). Dr. Zhang and his team have been constructing a giant undersea research facility called Mana One, which Morris paid for. Here, we also meet Zhang’s daughter Suyin (Li Bingbing), Jaxx Herd (Ruby Rose), and James “Mac” Mackreides (Cliff Curtis). They’re trying to explore the Mariana Trench, but things go south when a submersible they send in is attacked. Taylor is recruited to save the crew, but when a Megalodon shark is discovered, it’s all a matter of survival.
From the setup, the plot of the film is pretty basic. At one point, Statham even points out some of the cliches about his character. Apparently, this is based on a book of the same name by Steve Alten, which I have not read. While I’m unsure how accurate this follows the book, I can say this movie is one hell of a ride. I’m sure some will roll their eyes at this, but it’s just pure fun that shouldn’t be taken seriously. I mean, this is from the director of Cool Runnings, 3 Ninjas, and both National Treasure movies we’re talking about. This is really the kind of movie you don’t need to think too hard about. It’s just the perfect August movie: not a huge summer blockbuster but not totally dreadful either. It helps that this has a pretty solid cast, with Statham obviously being the best part.
That isn’t to say that the rest of the cast is bad, far from it even. Rainn Wilson is funny as always, Ruby Rose is pretty awesome, and Cliff Curtis is an enjoyable addition. Also, Winston Chao and Suyin do a great job, really selling the father-daughter relationship they have. There is a little girl here, namely Shuya Sophia Cai as Meiying, but rather than being annoying, she’s actually adorable. Of course, there are some pretty intense moments here, especially when the megalodon is masked in darkness. While it is primarily CGI, the shark is still a pretty intimidating presence, and you do get legitimately scared. It all leads to an exciting climax where the survivors have to try and kill the shark, and it’s awesome. There’s even a moment I won’t spoil where Statham officially enters the Action Hero Hall of Fame. I won’t say it, but you’ll know.
Overall, this is a fun summer movie to end the season out on. With a great cast, some fairly decent camerawork, and a fun climax, The Meg will please any shark movie fan.
