E's Reviews: The Meg


We’re gonna need a bigger...everything!

THE MEG was directed by Jon Turteltaub and stars action superstar Jason Statham as Jonas Taylor, Li Bingbing as Suyin, Rainn Wilson as Morris, Ruby Rose as Jaxx, Winston Chao as Zhang, and Cliff Curtis as Mac. If the banner above isn’t a hint, this film is about a gigantic prehistoric, thought to be dead, shark. 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. And when that shark inevitably makes it to the surface, all hell breaks loose and it’s up to our cast of heroes (and a very serious Jason Statham) to take out the shark before it puts us right at the bottom of the food chain.

Before I go into specifics, I want to admit that I was absolutely hyped for this film. Steve Alten, who writes the series of novels this is based on, is one of my favorite writers. When I heard they were making it into a movie, I got even more excited, so I’ll try to be as unbiased as possible...try to.
The acting in this film is actually pretty good. The cast work really well together and they have some pretty good back and forth conversations that are really fun to watch on screen. There’s enough blood and gore in this movie to satisfy horror fans (albeit to everyone’s dismay on the PG-13 rating). The camera work looks nice, giving us some pretty good wide shots of the action. The underwater sequences were actually pretty tense, especially when you don’t know where the shark is coming from. The twist midway through the film leading into the third act was great (although fans of the books know it’s coming). I thought Jason Statham was incredible, even with his surly, serious look. There’s a young child actress who portrays Suyin’s daughter that I thought was adorable. The CGI was well done and not overbearing. All in all, it looked great and the acting was above average when you put it all together.

If anyone goes into this movie expecting it to be an instant classic or an Oscar winner, you’re in for some disappointment. This movie is extremely cheesy. The script is silly. The acting is sometimes over the top. The action sequences are sometimes very unbelievable. There are JAWS references in this movie which actually make it that much more enjoyable. This film is nothing more than a fantastic, great, fun summer blockbuster for people to go to, sit down, eat some popcorn, laugh and enjoy the action on screen. It’s one of my favorite films of this summer and I’m already looking forward to seeing it a second time. Is it perfect? No. But a movie of this caliber, a monster movie that has cult B-movie written all over it, doesn’t need to be. It’s self aware, and that is what made it that much more fun. Take your friends, go check it out. It’s out in theaters right now!

Final Score: 7.5/10

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