In a Nutshell
A ridiculous film involving Jason Statham and a prehistoric Shark. Perfect viewing for all the family.
[imdb]http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4779682/[/imdb]
Review
This film is a shining example of marketing ‘done right’. Against a soundtrack of Under the sea by Bobby Darin, The Meg’s trailer erratically hops between funny one-liners, big fat close-ups of Statham’s face, over-the-top dramatic action sequences, and typically tense nail-biting scenes involving a shark’s open mouth. Lovely. Now I can settle in and let this film be what it wants to be – a self-aware action-packed shark movie, filled with light-hearted humour and jump scares. Expectations managed – disbelief suspended.
The film kicks off with rescue diver Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) failing to successfully rescue some of his team, who are under attack by what we can only assume was the Meg. Leaving a handful behind in order to save the rest, he is branded a coward and a failure. Fast forward some time and it looks like those pesky scientists are at it again! Trapped at the lowest point of the ocean floor (never properly explored before), a new team are unable to move their small ‘submarine’ because something large has hit them.
The crew are part of a research team involved with an underwater research facility, Mana One. Zhang (actor Winston Chao) and his daughter Suyin (actor Bingbing Li) seem to be running the show, but it’s all financed by a typical ‘rich white guy type’, Morris, played by Rainn Wilson (who we all know and love as Dwight from the American Office). Suyin goes down to save her team but Statham has been hired by Zhang (and flown in all the way from Thailand) just in time (funny that) to save Suyin and (most of) the crew.
A film filled with nail-biting and punch-the-person-next-to-you’ moments
This is where it gets fun. The Meg (please don’t ask me to explain the ‘science’ supporting how this came about) was able to escape the part of the ocean floor in which it had been living and is now on a proper rampage (a bit like Statham on Crank). The rest of the movie follows the ‘scientists’ and crew trying to capture the shark, escape from the shark, capture the shark and escape from the shark. God, it was fun.
Just to break up this dance sequence between the crew and the Meg, the writers threw in a plot twist (spoiler: there are 2 Megs) and even managed to throw in a wee cheeky romance between Statham and Bingbing Li. Twas all very romantic……so it was.
The film delivered on what is important in any shark action movie, the ‘nail-biting and punch-the-person-next-to-you’ moments. It was no Jaws, and I’m not even saying it really compares, but it did cause my knees to involuntarily fling up into my face. In particular, when the team go out on a boat in the middle of the ocean to try and tranquilise and subdue the Meg, I felt sick. Within about 20 minutes, the cast had all taken turns falling into the water and surviving at least 100 near misses with Meg.
This could have been boring, but it wasn’t. At one stage, Bingbing Li’s character even thought it prudent to fit herself into a small, rounded all plastic shark-proof cage in order to get a close-up shot at the Meg. No point telling you what happens next, but my blood pressure was right up there with the best of them.
Cheap silly scares, but that doesn’t mean it still isn’t a lot of fun!
Let’s not forget though, these are ultimately cheap scares. Steven Speilberg’s Jaws, on the other hand, still fosters a real fear in me, that a shark attack is possible every time you get into open water. The Meg tries to cultivate jump scares instead, complimented with a side of chirpy dialogue. Every ‘jumpy moment’ was well timed and neatly choreographed, without being too obvious. Considering we are more desensitised these days, the movie did well to keep the audience flinching.
The Meg can be witty and charming if you manage to suspend your disbelief. Firstly, you have Statham, who, by the looks of it, only tripped into acting. Statham is a comfortable lead for this sort of film who managed to keep all action sequences entertaining. Bingbing Li was a good choice as a main supporting actor to Statham. Her presence was sober yet still cheesy – so it balanced things out nicely.
I really liked some of the other characters for their light-hearted presence and entertaining moments, in particular, characters The Wall (Olaf Darri Olafsson) and Toshi (Masi Oka). When they meet their untimely death (oops, spoiler), I was heartbroken that the fighting octopus handshake would die with them! The audience was mostly tickled each time the ‘scientists’ gathered in a room and tried to be serious. If I had any understanding of science at all, I am sure I would have been tickled too.
Verdict
When it comes down to it, this film did exactly what it promised, delivered laughs, numerous jump scares and some reliable Statham cheese. You can even go out to the bathroom or take a call from your mate (who is in the middle of a break-up) during this film, and I promise you, you won’t miss a damn thing. Good reliable nonsense – for when life is all getting a bit much!
