'The Meg' Review

There's a slasher film from the 1980's called Pieces about a chainsaw-wielding murderer who wreaks bloody havoc on unsuspecting students on a college campus. The film came with a very tongue-in-cheek tagline that read: "Pieces, it's exactly what you think it is", a tagline that could easily be applied to Jon Turtletaub's The Meg. Loosely based on the book by Steve Allen, The Meg follows a group of individuals at a deep-sea research facility who unwittingly unleash a gigantic prehistoric shark from beneath the Mariana Trench. Only rescue diver Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) can defeat the monstrous Megalodon, dealing with his own troubled past along the way. Yep, The Meg is exactly what you think it is.

The film was infamously written as an R-rated killer shark movie before being toned down to PG-13, and at times you can't help but feel as though it could have benefited from a stricter rating. There are moments when the titular Meg goes in for the kill that feel significantly toned down for a shark movie, even Jaws had a little more gore and that was also PG-13. However, The Meg still manages to keep itself afloat even without hardcore gore, thanks to some truly entertaining action sequences and a hefty amount of aquatic suspense. Sure, there are times where it's bite doesn't feel as powerful as it should, but the film packs just enough tension to keep you right on the edge of your seat when need be. If you were already iffy about swimming in the ocean then The Meg will ensure that you never go near a beach again.

As for our ensemble of characters, they initially feel like your usual ragtag group cliché's. From the bratty billionaire (Rainn Wilson), to the wise-cracking token black guy (Page Kennedy), and of course Statham's troubled protagonist Jonas, who (like most troubled protagonists) we first find as a washed-up alcoholic. However, it comes as a pleasant surprise when we realise that we can't help but like these character and become invested in them somehow. In theory most of the characters are shallow clichés, but charming performances from the likes of Cliff Curtis and even Ruby Rose allow us to get behind this group individuals and actually feel something when they're in danger. The cast seem to have a genuine chemistry together, particularly Statham and female lead Li Bingbing, who share a playful love/hate relationship. As well as that, young actress Shuya Sophia Cai stands out as one of the films saving comic reliefs, she gets some of the best one-liners.

While there are undeniably plenty of silly moments throughout, especially the climax where Statham goes head to head with The Meg, the film never pretends like they're not silly, in fact, it revels in this fact. The scene at the beach alone is full of hilarious little snippets before culminating in a nail-biting shark attack sequence. If you're able to enjoy the madness of it all as much as the film itself does then you'll have an excellent time at the cinema, but if you're looking for a more serious shark-attack film then maybe you should look elsewhere. Even still, the film boasts some really impressive CGI that should please even the most cynical of viewers at that. I mean, if you can't appreciate how beautiful some of the underwater sequences look, or how truly terrifying the actual Meg is, then I'd say you're really fun at parties.

At the end of the day, the film knows what it is and never plays itself too seriously. The humour is tongue-in-cheek, there are one-liners galore, and the whole cast seem to be having a really fun time. In order to enjoy a film like The Meg it's important to watch it for what it is, that being an action-packed summer schlockbuster that takes pride in its schlocky B-movie nature. And while there are times when it feels as though it could play more into that B-movie vibe, it does just enough to hold itself afloat, resulting in a thoroughly enjoyable summer creature feature for the whole family to enjoy.