The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Appetite for destruction Prehistoric-shark romp with Jason Statham takes a big, fun summertime bite
And the award for the guilty-pleasure flick of the summer goes to … “The Meg.” ¶ Sorry, “Skyscraper,” you had your chance, but your script and tone left a little something to be desired. ¶ And, thus, thank heavens for “The Meg,” which is basically “Jaws” on steroids and offers all the requisite spills, thrills and glorious over-the-top nonsense we need this far into the summer. ¶ Oh, and Jason Statham, which doesn’t hurt.
The English action star, who has been featured in the last couple of “Fast and Furious” movies, portrays deep-sea rescue diver Jonas Taylor. In the opening moments of “The Meg,” we watch as Jonas does his best to save a crew but, when threatened by some massive creature, makes a split-second decision to save about half the crew members, believing they all would die if he hadn’t acted.
Now, it’s five years later, and Jonas has left that dangerous underwater world, choosing instead a simple existence on the coast of Thailand that involves minimal work and maximum beer drinking. However, when a three-person team — that includes his ex-wife, Lori (Jessica McNamee, “Battle of the Sexes,” “CHIPS”) — becomes lost at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, he is compelled to help.
The endangered team is part of a crew at a high-tech research station 200 miles off the coast of China, led by Dr. Zhang (Winston Chao, “Skiptrace”), funded by billionaire Jack Morris (Rainn Wilson) and including, among others, Zhang’s determined and more-than-capable daughter, Suyin (Chinese star Li Bingbing) and medical officer Dr. Heller (Robert Taylor, “Kong: Skull Island”).
Heller is a former teammate of Jonas who still blames him for the loss of life half a decade earlier — and doesn’t believe they encountered any giant underwater beast at the time. As soon will be evident to all involved, however, that’s precisely what this effort in present day has unearthed.
The primary goal of the folks at this research facility has been to investigate whether they could go deeper than man ever had — through a layer in the ocean floor they believe to be penetrable. It is, they find, and they discover a huge unexplored ecosystem beneath it.
That all would be well and good were that ecosystem not home to at least one megalodon, a 75-foot shark from a prehistoric time thought to be extinct.
Soon, the meg follows the humans into the higher level of the ocean, putting everyone at risk, including Suyin’s young daughter, Meiying (Sophia Cai, who brings significant adorableness to the character).
They — and everyone in the region — have a big problem on their hands.
“Man versus Meg isn’t a fight,” opines Jonas. “It’s a slaughter.”
Well, with Statham’s daring character on the side of Man, the fight isn’t that uneven, although in the movie’s climactic sequence, a meg is looking at a real Chinese buffet in the dense beaches of Sanya Bay if it isn’t killed before it can feast.
Under the admirable direction of Jon Turteltaub (the “National Treasure” movies), “The Meg” serves up several very satisfying, if also silly, edge-of-yourseat action sequences. One of the earlier set pieces involves Suyin being submerged in what is supposed to be an unbreakable polycarbonate cage so she can attempt to shoot a batch of poison into the beast. That effort does not go totally according to plan, and popcorn-gobbling audiences will be better for it.
“The Meg” is notably strong visually, thanks largely to its director of photography, Tom Stern
The optional 3-D is almost shockingly good. This may be one of the few films worth the extra few bucks — and hassle of wearing the glasses — to experience in that format.
(“Sully,” “American Sniper,” “The Hunger Games”), whose constantly moving camera helps energize the affair.
Plus, the optional 3-D is almost shockingly good. This may be one of the few films worth the extra few bucks — and hassle of wearing the glasses — to experience in that format. (Don’t be surprised if “The Meg” conjures some vague fond memories of 1983’s “Jaws 3-D.”)
And, if not also shockingly good, the script from Dean Georgaris (“Paycheck”) and brothers Jon and Erich Hoeber (“Red”) — somewhat loosely based on Steve Alten’s 1997 sci-fi book “Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror” — is solid. For one, it goes in at least a few unexpected directions, such as making Morris not exactly the money-hungry, uncaring investor you’d expect. On the other hand, the choice to eschew a rekindling of feelings between Jonas and Lori for a budding attraction between Jonas and the initially hostile Suyin feels a little forced.
Of course, the human performers matter less here than the digitally created beasts — which, by the way, look terrific — but Statham is a great deal of fun in “The Meg.” And Bingbing (“Transformers: Age of Extinction,” “Forbidden Kingdom,” “The Message”) is certainly likeable enough, if not completely compelling.
Along with Wilson, a former star of “The Office,” other cast members who add a little something to “The Meg” include Cliff Curtis (“The Dark Horse,” “Fear the Walking Dead”), ”lafur Darri ”lafsson (“The BFG,” upcoming “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald”), Ruby Rose (“John Wick: Chapter 2,” “Orange Is the New Black”), Page Kennedy (TV’s “Rush Hour”) and Masi Oka (“Hawaii Five-0,” “Heroes”).
While “The Meg” doesn’t set up a next chapter, Alten penned several sequels to his novel, and it’s hard to see this not making enough money where Warner Bros. Pictures wants to go back in the water as quickly as possible.