Movie Review: The Meg (2018)

The Meg (2018) directed by Jon Turtletaub

Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) was a deep sea rescuer. His last rescue mission had his crew saving men from a sunken submarine. The submarine was attacked by something big enough to crush the hull. It looked like a giant shark to Jonas. Jonas had to make the hard call to leave behind two of his crew who died when the sub exploded. He lost his job, his wife, and his career. Five years later, his ex-wife  is working for a scientific exploratory station in the middle of the ocean. Her submersible is caught far below the known ocean floor and has only eighteen hours of oxygen left. The rich financier and the project head find a semi-drunk Jonas living above a bar on a tropical island (where else) and convince him to save her, because he is the only one who can! Jonas reluctantly agrees, only to face his old nemesis, a megalodon shark over 70 feet long.

The plot is a blend of many different cliches, the sort you expect in a mindless summer action film. The big surprise is how the story keeps going on and on. At first, I expected the focus to stay on the ex-wife in the ultra-deep. That story line is quickly resolved but then the mega-shark escapes and a whole extra story is provided. That seems to conclude only to lead into more big shark shenanigans and even more cliches. If you are able to put your mind in neutral, it's a fine ride.

The acting varies. Statham is charming as always though he doesn't do much martial arts (they do have the gratuitous shirtless scene). A little girl hits all her cute marks. The rest of the cast, including Jonas's new love interest (the mother of the little girl, naturally) are okay but not outstanding. This movie isn't really about acting, though. The big shark doesn't get a lot of screen time and occasionally looks a little to CGI, but otherwise is fine.

If you want to see a great and entertaining shark movie, Jaws or Deep Blue Sea are the high water mark. This is a fun, not entirely serious, not entirely believable shark movie that's worth at least one watch.

Mildly recommended.