The Meg - Review

Release Date: August 10, 2018​​

It's a Big Shark...

I saw the trailers for this movie and thought, how the hell are people excited to watch this? It looked like the dumbest, most over the top premise for a movie ever. Like a blockbuster-sized Jaws with a giant CG shark. After watching the movie, I can confirm that The Meg is indeed a modern and crazy version of Jaws, but surprisingly in a good way.

Does the movie have good dialogue? Not a chance. Does it have fun comedic moments that hit every time? Nope. The movie is at its best when it's not working quite right. The story is passable, the characters paper thin, but it still ends up being a movie that is kinda fun to watch. The overall mediocre quality creates a consistent experience that is easy to accept. A lot of bad movies are atrocious throughout or have parts that stick out as exceptionally bad. The Meg is not bad, but it's not good either. So when you have a movie that is consistently middle of the road, it's easy to enjoy. That's how movies like The Mummy(2017) and other "popcorn flicks" work.

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The difference between The Meg and other popcorn movies is small but distinctive. While other movies are held back by poor choices, The Meg uses tropes and cliches to its advantage. It also helps that there is a giant shark that continually bites things throughout the movie. I am honestly surprised how entertained I while watching. The tropes used for the characters make it easy to buy their relationships with each other. Even though none of it is particularly acted well, it works.

​Jason Statham carries the movie well and his relationship with the little girl is definitely a high point. There is no one in the movie that acts above the rest, so it creates an equal playing field for all the actors. Scenes that are cringe-worthy don't come across as too bad because nothing is that great.

​It's weird to talk about this movie because it is not good. But it is definitely better than movies like it. I guess adding the shark element really did make the difference. It owns the crazy premise and makes it work. There are a couple of Jaws homages that are cute and it feels like a movie you can watch on any screen. You don't need to see it in a theater, but if you have nothing else to do, why not.

6/10
​I need more movies with Statham and kids cause it works