Based on the 1997 book, “Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror” by Steve Alten, our J.P. checks out “The Meg” to see if it has enough bite to make it as a summer blockbuster.
THE MEG
Warner Bros. Pictures
- Opens wide: Friday, August 10, 2018
- MPAA Rating: PG-13 for “action/peril, blood images and some language”
- Run Time: 113 minutes
- Directed by Jon Turteltaub
- Produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Colin Wilson, Belle Avery
- Screenplay by Dean Georgaris, Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber
- Based on “Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror” by Steve Alten
- Starring Jason Statham, Li Bingbing, Rainn Wilson, Ruby Rose, Winston Chao, Cliff Curtis
Studio Synopsis:
A deep-sea submersible—part of an international undersea observation program—has been attacked by a massive creature and now lies disabled at the bottom of the deepest part of the Pacific Ocean…with its crew trapped inside. With time running out, former deep-sea rescue diver Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) is drawn out of self-imposed exile by a visionary Chinese oceanographer, Dr. Zhang (Winston Chao), against the wishes of his daughter, Suyin (Li Bingbing), who thinks she can rescue the crew on her own. But it will take their combined efforts to save the crew, and the ocean itself, from this seemingly unstoppable threat—a prehistoric 75-foot-long shark known as the Megalodon. Thought to be extinct, the Meg turns out to be very much alive…and on the hunt. Five years before, Jonas had encountered this same terrifying creature, but no one had believed him. Now, teamed with Suyin, Jonas must confront his fears and risk his own life to return to the ocean depths…bringing him face to face once more with the apex predator of all time.
J.P.’s Take:
Think of “The Meg” as “Sharknado” meets “Jaws,” with its hybridized genre blending atmosphere. It hinges on the fact that there is a prehistoric sea behemoth so powerful that it’s deemed unstoppable.
Your initial reaction is that of suspense, ala “Jurassic Park” or “Jaws,” with expository scenes of tension and apprehension to build up this savage brute. Although these scenes don’t go into anything heavily scientific, they do set up for the carnage that’s soon to follow. The very thought of an ancient shark, which lived millions of years ago and weighed several tons with a length spanning at least 90ft, is pretty frightening. It has the bit force of tens of thousands of pounds per square foot; it can chomp through an entire whale like a butcher knife. This feature film certainly has the makings of a serious summer blockbuster of “Jaws” proportions.
Well don’t expect “The Meg” to have quite the same effect as “Jaws.” Once the mystery is dispensed away and the thrills subside, you’re mainly left with an archetypical monster movie paired with cheesy comedy. Not a bad thing, just somewhat unexpected for a film of this kind. The humor is basically there to soften the blow between this gargantuan shark’s luncheons. Then again, this is directed by the capable Jon Turteltaub who seems right at home helming this outing.
Turteltaub, mostly known for directing more lighthearted adventures, such as the “National Treasure” film series and “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” pushed for the PG-13 family friendly mood here, which sets out to capture the same audience of “Jurassic Park,” “Deep Blue Sea,” and the likes. In some small way, you may even consider “The Meg” to be homage to creature feature type films in general. Essentially, it’s made up of the same kinds of thrills and spills expected of the genre. Midway in, you suspect that this flick knows exactly what it is and that is a b-grade motion picture meant to get a rise out its viewers … and it does so hook line and sinker with some outlandish moments. The prehistoric beast tosses around ships like toys and hunts down anything that gets in its way.
I must admit, however, about an hour or so into the flick, I had finally succumbed to the more whimsical side of things. As morbid as it may sound, I had a good laugh at the smorgasbord of beach goers that were being swallowed up by the Meg. There were moments where Jason Statham’s (playing Jonas Taylor) heroic banter seemed so cartoonish, yet he delivered his lines with cynicism and comedic timing. Another moment came when Taylor swims out to sea in order to lure the shark to tag it. All the while, he’s singing “just keep swimming, just keep swimming.” If you’re a fan of Pixar movies you’ll know exactly which animated feature that’s from (OK, it’s “Finding Nemo”).
The cast of course are all in on the crazy chaotic fun:
- Statham’s character of Taylor is injected with vim and vigor with a touch cynicism. I felt he was the perfect fit for the role.
- Li BingBing, who has been lighting up American silver screens for quite a while in such films as “Resident Evil: Retribution” and “Transformers: Age of Extinction,” plays Oceanographer Suyin Zhang. She provides the strong female role model and does so with intelligence and eagerness.
- Rainn Wilson (TV’s “The Office,” “Star Trek: Discovery”) is the eccentric billionaire Jack Morris, who is the benefactor for the Mana One research facility. He’s quirky to some extent and has some conniving undertones.
- Nearly stealing the movie is the youngest actress in the film, Shuya Sophia Cai, who plays Meiying, Zhang’s daughter. She’s as precocious as she is adorable.
- Providing more comedy antics are Page Kennedy as DJ, Mana One’s robotics expert and Olafur Darri Olafsson, whose character is called The Wall, joins DJ in some silly antics.
- Masi Oka (TV’s “Heroes” and “Hawaii Five-0”) as Toshi is in the movie for about a few minutes but gives the film some emotional weight for the times he’s on screen.
- Cliff Curtis (“The Dark Horse,” TV’s “Fear the Walking Dead”) plays Jonas’ good friend James “Mac” Mackreides. He’s mainly responsible for roping Jonas back into deep sea rescue diving and becoming the shark hunter.
- Ruby Rose, who was just announced to play Batwoman in TV’s upcoming “Arrow”-verse crossover and possible solo series on The CW, is the tech savvy Jaxx Herd.
- Robert Taylor is Dr. Heller, who believes Jonas is nuts.
- Jessica McNamee is Jonas’ ex-wife and ocean explorer Lori.
- Winston Chao is the noble Dr. Minway Zhang, father of Zhang.
All performed well enough to keep us glued to the screen.
At times, I felt much of the underwater cinematography came right out of National Geographic magazines. There were some surprises mostly towards the latter half of the film. Unfortunately, many of the surprises Turteltaub and writers Dean Georgaris, Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber manage to toss into the mix are few and far between. It’s not until the last half of the film those awe moments come to light
I’m not too sure how Steven Alten’s novel “Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror” compares to this film. Yet, I have the feeling it doesn’t quite resemble the same mood present by Jon Turteltaub. In essence, if you’re looking for a thrilling yet cheesy Saturday afternoon popcorn flick, “The Meg” may be right up your alley.