Chomp on this.

The Meg is directed by Jon Turteltaub (National Treasure) and written by Dean Georgaris (The Brave) and Jon and Erich Hoeber (Red). Jason Statham (Crank) stars alongside Bingbing Li (Transformers: Age of Extinction), Rainn Wilson (The Office) and Ruby Rose (Orange is the New Black). "After escaping an attack by what he claims was a 70-foot shark, Jonas Taylor must confront his fears to save those trapped in a sunken submersible". Watching Jason Statham fight a giant shark sounds great, but will it BE great?

All of its flaws aside, The Meg is the ultimate shark movie. It delivers on every level; fans of shark movies will have a great time watching it. I had a really fun couple of hours watching The Meg; it was spent gasping, screaming (internally) and laughing. It gives Dwayne Johnson's Rampage and Skyscraper a run for their money at being the year's dumbest, but most enjoyable film. Jon Turteltaub's The Meg is never as sophisticated as Jaws or even The Shallows but creates bigger threats and stakes without going too far (i.e. Sharknado). It was never going to be one of the best films of the year, but it might just be one of the most satisfying. 

For the first 20 minutes, the film moves at a slow pace; they are filled with a brief flashback and lots of business and science jargon. A better tease of the megalodon at the start would have been cool. The Meg is a high concept film: there is a giant shark on the loose. Once the film kicks into gear (when Statham's Jonas embarks on the rescue mission), The Meg is an exhilarating, thrilling and occasionally silly joyride. The writers could have written a script that included excellent character and story development, but instead opted to keep things simple with the giant shark encountering gradually bigger groups. The writing team likely divvied up each shark encounter amongst them. Nothing is really explained that thoroughly but the lazy writing never gets in the way of the film because it is so entertaining. E.g. where did the second megalodon come from? how did the shark escape from beneath the ocean's surface anyway? The writers made an attempt at explaining these things, but the explanations were not too logical. 

The Meg could be split into three shorter films. The first being when Jonas rescues the stranded team, the second being when Jonas and his crew try to kill the shark and the third being when the shark swims towards the shore. Each of The Meg's segments resemble different shark films: Suyin (Li) goes inside an underwater cage (47 Metres Down), the entire team are stuck on a capsized, sinking boat while the shark is nearby (The Shallows) and then there is the classic Jaws-esque moment as the shark heads towards the crowded beach. Films like 47 Metres Down and The Shallows have focused on one event and no more than two individuals whereas The Meg sees the shark encounter, hunt and kill many different humans. This is what makes The Meg so epic; it might just be the biggest shark film ever made, literally. The writing could have been stronger; it could have focused on one character's fears and safety, but instead did not really have a focus. For those wondering, Jason Statham's Jonas leads a team so it isn't exactly Jason Statham vs the megalodon after all.

A film just short of two hours that featured solely Jason Statham and the shark would not have been as enjoyable. Even though this would have made for a more coherent and well-structured film, Statham is not a strong enough actor to play a role that would have been emotionally and physically demanding. For some weird reason, somebody on set thought it would be a good idea for Statham's Jonas to be American. Statham's American accent is one of the worst accents I have ever heard someone attempt to put on. Statham struggles to hide his distinct voice. Statham often seems miscast in his role. Jonas is written as somebody heroic but scarred by their previous encounter with the shark whereas Statham comes across as moody, macho and fearless. Although at times the script plays to Statham's strengths (he has some great one-liners), he is much better suited as a gritty villain. 

The Meg should be applauded for its diverse cast that is sure to appeal to the international box office. This thing has the potential to make lots of money. Bingbing Li is very good as Suyin. She delivers a spirited and warm performance. The bond she has with her on-screen daughter, played by Shuya Sophia Cai, is one of the best things about the film. Shuya Sophia Cai is a scene-stealer and has many adorable moments. Ruby Rose does not have the best acting chops and this film proves that once again. Her character is annoying but Rose's screaming and crying were some of the film's (unintentionally) funniest moments. Page Kennedy is funny (intentionally). Rainn Wilson, Cliff Curtis and Robert Taylor all fail to deliver performances that are memorable. While there is some hope with Li and occasionally Statham, the cast of The Meg are easily overshadowed by the 95-foot creature. 

The Meg herself is an incredible computer-generated image. The shark is well-realised and terrifying. The visual effects team must have spent most of their time perfecting the shark because most scenes were blatantly shot using a green-screen. None of that really matters though when the monster audiences are paying to see is genuinely scary. A small portion of the film is spent teasing the shark but the audience gets to see her in all of her glory for the majority of the film's running time. The Meg has some great moments; from her staring at Meiying (Cai) to jumping out of the water to take a bite out of the other megalodon. Turteltaub may struggle to direct his humans, but he certainly knows how to create awe-inspiring moments with his shark. The Meg vs Pippin was a funny addition. All a shark movie has to get right is the shark and The Meg excels. 

While The Meg has some big problems, luckily the meg herself is bigger. A disjointed narrative? The shark is great. Underwhelming performances? The shark is great. A slew of silly moments? The shark is great. The Meg could have been (and possibly is) the dumbest and silliest film ever made, but as long as the shark was impressively terrifying then I would have been satisfied. I call it the ultimate shark movie because it is bigger (literally and figuratively) than any shark movie that has come before it. It may not be the most sophisticated of films and could easily be referred to as a low-brow Jaws, but The Meg is a 100 tonnes of fun. Switch your brain off and round the summer movie season out with a fun couple of hours out in shark-invested waters. The Meg is beastly, terrifying and pretty breathtaking...and that's just the shark herself. 

60

/100

What did you think of THE MEG? What is your favourite shark film? - COMMENT BELOW