By Kyle Laugh
Directed by Jon Turteltaub (Producer of National Treasure I & II, Rocketman and director of Cool Runnings). Screenplay written by Dean Georgaris (Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life, Paycheck and The Manchurian Candidate), Joe and Erich Hoeber (Red I and II, Whiteout, Battlefield).
Starring Jason Statham (Crank, Transporter, Expendables), Bingbing Li (The Forbidden Kingdom, Resident Evil: Retribution, Transformers: Age of Extinction), Rainn Wilson (The Office, House of 1000 Corpses, Cooties) and Ruby Rose (Orange is the New Black, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, XXX: Return of Xander Cage).
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.
The Meg was one of those films which had a massive build up too it. A large marketing campaign, a diverse cast which also includes some easily recognizable names such as Jason Statham and the likely more popular (thanks to his portrayal of Dwight Schrute on The Office) Rainn Wilson. These are a few of the key combinations mixed in with the use of sharks, aided the film in becoming incredibly successful.
First and foremost, the film had a lot of similarities to Jaws in my opinion, most notable being a scene where they defeat the shark which seems to have been causing all their problems with the end result being that they find out the hard way that they’ve killed the wrong one thanks to an almost immediate attack coming from the megalodon itself.
The biggest things I was able to take away from The Meg were a few stories of personal betterment which came from lead character Jonas Taylor, played by Statham and a tremendous amount of comedy, Both aspects were well played throughout the film but what was really neglected was anything to do with horror.
Considering its PG-13 rating, this little factor may not come as a shock to you but was something that irked genre fans the moment it was announced, leading them to attack the film, it’s writers and anybody involved with it thanks to their early comparison of the film to that of Jaws which we all know, is one of the classic horror films we all love and to have such a comparison is going to excite some, upset others but ultimately when it comes to fruition that it’s going into a completely different angle, you’re going to get ridiculed or will end up upsetting a lot of people who were willing to pay good money to see an “updated” version of Jaws.
That being said, I personally can’t complain about this film. Having an affinity for Rainn Wilson, no matter what role he plays, typically means that I’m going to enjoy anything he does. Of course, to nobodies surprise, he does an excellent job in the role of a rich man who supplies the crew with the funding required in order to take out the megalodon terrorizing them and those around them.
His comedy stylings and all around attitude in the film are hilarious and alone, worthwhile of a rental or purchase of the film.
Over all, the film is fairly predictable but offers a lot of fun interludes which build up the side stories. These are done to give viewers a better background for all the characters involved, especially for Statham’s character who’s past issues return to haunt him. This forces him to make hard decisions which could easily get him or others killed which makes for an interesting and entertaining dynamic.
Be it horror or not, this is an awesome film to show a newbie to the genre prior to the inevitable Jaws screener you will force them to sit through.
6.5 Out of 10.
TRAILER
This week on Beyond The Void Horror Podcast is back to review Sleepaway Camp (1983) & Sleepaway Camp 2 Unhappy Campers (1988)! They break down both with loads of trivia and bad humor. See what they think about these movies. You can listen here or you can Listen/Subscribe on iTunes here!