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The Meg Movie Review: Jason Statham takes on a prehistoric shark

Jason Statham movies are normally a good watch. After dealing with a number of bad guys in his previous films, Statham, in The Meg, takes on a 70-foot shark out to chomp on everything. Although the movie is a bit over the top, the logic-defying sequences make the movie a fun watch.

The movie revolves around the story of Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham), the world’s best deep-sea rescue diver. After a rescue attempt goes sour, Taylor decides not to return to the sea. His claims that the ship, during the mission, was attacked by a mysterious creature are dismissed by doctors who call him crazy.

Five years on, while chilling in Thailand, he is approached by an old colleague, Mac (Cliff Curtis) and, Mac’s new boss, Zhang (Winston Chao) to go explore the unexplored seabed. Meanwhile, exploring this new world, a submarine is hit by something and leaves those on board are crippled. The rescue window is open for about 18 hours.

Reluctant to head into the waters again, Taylor finally decides to go after he discovers that his ex-wife Lori (Jessica McNamee) is on board the sub. The movie then takes a dramatic turn when a portal is opened through which huge sharks, hitherto ‘extinct’, are unleashed.

The first half of the movie is gripping. It takes us deep into the ocean onto the world of marine biology. The story keeps the audience hooked with its thrills and spills and the occasional spine-tingling sensation evoked when biggest of the sharks called ‘Megalodon’ (The Meg) sets loose in the open waters. The half ends on a scary note as Statham is inches away from being the Meg’s snack.

The second half, however, is a quite a drag. But the thrill remains as the protagonists try to kill the giant shark. The climax is poor as the director and the writer don’t have a proper plan to end the film. It is quite chaotic and this ruins the way the movie plays out.

Statham as Jason Taylor is good with his badass attitude which comes off extremely heroic–especially when he rescues Suyin (Bingbing LI) from a shark cage while the 70-foot beast is lurking around. His ‘just keep swimming’ scene in which he takes on the Meg with a harpoon is quite good too. His role does look two dimensional but he’s done justice to his role.

Bingbing Li as Suyin also delivers a mature performance as a fellow diver and a scientist. Her calm nature is total opposite to Statham’s heroic carefree attitude. Her chemistry with Statham is good along with her daughter Shuya Sophia Cai who is also calm.

Rainn Wilson as a billionaire marine biologist and Cliff Curtis as his aide are quite good even though their role is a bit subdued in the film along with various other who get eaten by the meg.

The story, inspired by a novel, has a different storyline from the book. The story is weak which makes part of the movie a drag. It has originality but its logic-defying sequences are, at times, hard to swallow. Some movies can get away with it but The Meg, with some ‘illogical’ scenes, makes one wonder what the directors were thinking.

The sound, music and cinematography are flawless. The CGI is just as good as it makes the shark look real and dangerous. The underwater scenes, including the one that features the giant squid, is quite a watch. Overall, the movie is average.


Run Time: 115 minutes
Director: Jon Turtletaub
Genre: Action
Cast: Jason Statham, Ruby Rose, Rainn Wilson, Bingbing Li

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