“The Meg” is directed by Jon Tureltaub who also a few 90’s films like “Cool Runnings”, “Phenomenon”, “3 Ninjas” as well as “National Treasure” & its sequel. The film stars Jason Statham, Li Bingbing, Rainn Wilson, Cliff Curtis, Ruby Rose, Page Kennedy & Winston Chao. This film is based on Steve Alten’s 1997 Book, Meg: A Novel Of Deep Terror. Originally bought by Disney in 90’s, the film struggled to get made for years but after landing at Warner Bros., the movie was green lit in 2015 & is co produced by a Chinese studio after a majority of film was shot in China.

 

After a deep water mission in the Pacific goes bad, a rescue diver, Jonas Taylor (Statham) is sent in to save the crew before the submarine explodes. However upon finding the wrecked sub, he also encounters a massive creature which is the cause of the wreckage. Not being able save everyone, Jonas makes a difficult decision to leave behind those who couldn’t be saved. 5 years after that event, a billionaire has put together a research team that may have discovered what could possibly be the deepest part of the ocean in Mariana Trench. All is going well until they too are attacked by a massive creature. The billionaire and others recruit Jonas for help but they are all shocked when they discover that the giant creature is in a fact a megalodon, a giant shark thought to be extinct for millions of years. With time running out, Jonas and the team must destroy the 75 foot long beast before it reaches the mainland and causes more destruction.

 

Since Steven Speilberg’s 1975 classic “Jaws” terrified us of the deep water, a lot of shark movies have been  come since really haven’t been up to that standard with exception of “Deep Blue Sea” which wasn’t good as “Jaws” but damn entertaining. “The Meg” does the exact same thing. While it does come across like a cheesy 90s action movie, it is still very entertaining with all its elements of action, adventure, danger, horror & thrills. Jason Statham is toned down from his typical badass persona, he still gives a believeable perfomance. The look of shark is impressive and is menacing as a killer. While the movie is entertaining, it does have its low points, from predictable plot points, cliche characters & no human antagonist, it suffers from the same faults as an action movie.

 

Overall, this was an entertaining film from beginning to end despite having typical action movie faults. It’s doesnt fall into the same category as “Jaws” but it’s very similar to “Deep Blue Sea”, not perfect but good enough for a movie night.