Review: The Meg
I'm going to throw this out there. When I first heard of this project and it's titular creature, my imagination conjured up a shark so comically huge its fin splashing could topple cities. Admittedly, that's way too far, but that didn't stop my initial disappoint during this evenings screening when I realized the Megalodon is in fact a puny 70 feet long. That disappointment quickly dissipated though when the British national treasure, Jason Statham, came face to face with the fierce predator...and a cult classic was born.
Based on Steve Alten's series of pulpy paperbacks, The Meg kicks off with hero Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) on a deep sea rescue operation when the diving crew are suddenly attacked by a mysterious giant mammal. On their return however, no one believes Jonas' story, claiming he suffered simply from deep sea pressure-induced psychosis. Flash forward five years and the crew of the Mana One Reseach Station find themselves on the brink of discovery; perforating the supposed sea floor and finding brand new species of fish amidst an unexplored oceanic landscape. When they too (!) are attacked by a mysterious giant mammal and stranded on the sea bed, the Mana One station calls upon the only person who can save them and might know something about the mammal itself...you guessed it. The Stath.
While the trailers for Warner Bros. aquatic epic have been wildly tongue-in-cheek, they're not really representative of the tone of the film. Presented as a much more comedic film in the advertisements, The Meg is actually quite the opposite. All the performers play it straight, the dramatic music aims for serious suspense and director Jon Turtletaub (Last Vegas, Cool Runnings & National Treasure) lays the melodrama on thick. It's got its fair share of one-liners and jump scares to contrast, but it's an odd cocktail that doesn't quite work as well as intended. It's only when the film has established Taylor, his heavily cliched past and his relationships with other characters does the film get to what we all came for; a giant prehistoric shark unleashing itself on the shores of the world. And in the film's second hour, after the arduous character stuff, it's an absolute blast.
By the numbers filmmaking as it may be, Turtletaub gives the audience exactly what the want over and over again for the film's finale. The Meg devours whales and swimmers, tears up boats, smashes up rigs and causes wanton destruction above and below the ocean surface. It's certainly easy to see where Warner Bros. sank the $150 million budget as helicopters collide, high-tech submarines duel and Statham gets up close & personal with the titular shark. Honestly, for the last forty minutes I had a huge grin on my face watching this in the packed theater, where the rest of the audience just laughed and cheered alongside Taylor as he fought the giant killer. So flaws aside, it's certainly a thrilling cinematic experience to say the least.
It's a pity the film is somewhat marred by mid-movie pacing problems and the fact that it's nearly two hours long (seriously, a giant shark B-movie doesn't need any more than 95 minutes) but by the time the end credits roll, the film has earned its place in the nature-run-amok cinema hall of fame, alongside Deep Blue Sea, Piranha 3D and Alligator. It may take awhile to get there, but in the end The Meg is a film I can see myself returning to over and over again for years to come. And here's hoping we'll get a sequel with TWO MEGS!