The Meg
By Jonny Numb
For all the clickbait thinkpieces over the past year debating where drama stops and horror begins… and for as much semantic nonsense has been expended by mainstream critics trying their damnedest to surgically extract, say, Get Out from the genre… something like The Meg is pretty refreshing.
Don’t get me wrong – there aren’t many inspired moments within its near-two-hour run time.
And it won’t win any awards, though, on second thought, with the “Outstanding Achievement in Popular Film” category debuting at next year’s Oscars, it could very well upset the likes of Black Panther.
But I digress…
The Megalodon Surfaces
The Meg‘s refreshing because it exhibits what Hollywood can achieve at its unpretentious best: a straightforward creature feature (in this case, a prehistoric “Megalodon” rises to the surface due to scientific fuckery in a deep-sea rift) that leans on all the spectacle $130 million can afford, while operating within the trimmed-down carnage container of a PG-13 rating.
It works better than it should, especially considering how over-saturated the “giant killer shark” subgenre has become over the past decade. Granted, most of these efforts (the Sharknado series being a prime offender) didn’t have the scope or effects budget that the backing of a major studio could afford, and, well, therein lies the disproval of the old adage, “less is more.”
Sharks have become a default villain in horror and adventure cinema alike since Spielberg incited the “summer blockbuster” with Jaws in 1975. Their prevalence, however, has come with a consequence: each cheapo, CGI-rotten rip-off diminishes their power to strike fear into the hearts of filmgoers.
For the first three-quarters of The Meg – until a climactic beach sequence drains the suspense from the proceedings – director Jon Turteltaub (veteran of family fare like Cool Runnings and 3 Ninjas) takes a page from Spielberg, setting up characters and conflicts with great efficiency and teasing with brief glimpses and noises to establish the threat of the Meg. Even in standard 2D theatrical exhibition, this comes across with enough effect to carry a giddy thrill over what’s to come.
Based on the novel by Steve Alten, three credited screenwriters make a hash of motives and backstories, but each actor in the eclectic ensemble (any movie with Jason Statham, Rainn Wilson, and Ruby Rose gets a pass from me) gives their characters such vibrant life that I enjoyed the perfunctory boardroom arguments over “what to do” with the discovery, even though Turteltaub and company treat this as the obligatory table-setting it is.
Meg’s Next Move
Fortunately, the well-integrated and diverse ensemble cast (including standouts Li Bingbing and Shuya Sophia Cai) isn’t tainted by the sort of gratuitous hateful streak that turns other films into glorified drinking games. Each character has their personal and ethical quandaries to confront, and while many of said quandaries are, at best, only half-realized, everyone is generally likable to the point where the unpredictability of the body count only adds to the suspense.
By The Meg’s end, I was looking forward to the continued adventures of this motley crew. Maybe put the Crank guys at the helm of The Meg: High Voltage, and make it a vehicle for Statham’s indestructible hitman, Chev Chelios.
Hollywood, are you listening?
3 out of 5 stars
The Plot Sickens: Check out Jonny Numb’s review of Hereditary!
Crash Analysis Support Team
Jonny Numb
Jonny Numb (aka Jonathan Weidler) never learned how to swim, so he could care less if you close the beaches. He co-hosts THE LAST KNOCK podcast with Billy Crash, and can be found drowning in Twitter and Letterboxd @JonnyNumb.
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(The Meg poster art from Warner Brothers.)