Review | The Meg film review: Jason Statham, Li Bingbing battle giant shark in big-budget B movie
Just when you thought you’d seen the last film about a monster from the deep, another one swims into cinemas. This time, the crew of a sub become trapped at the bottom of the ocean – not ideal when a Megalodon is lurking about
2.5/5 stars
Some Hollywood pitches are so simple, you have to admire them. Jason Statham meets a Megalodon is one such idea. The British action star from The Transporter and Fast and the Furious franchises takes on a giant prehistoric shark – what more can you want out of a summer blockbuster?
Well, quite a lot as it happens. Director Jon Turteltaub’s The Meg is a shark movie that doesn’t offer any major scares, despite boasting a monster 25 metres in length. A big-budget B movie (US$150 million), it’s also full of unintentionally bad dialogue that will have the audience cackling with laughter for the wrong reasons.
The setting is a brand new, billion-dollar marine underwater research facility, stationed 300 kilometres off the coast of China. Owned by a wealthy entrepreneur, played by Rainn Wilson, this hi-tech base is soon in trouble when a miniature submarine with three crew members is trapped at the bottom of the ocean.
Called upon to help is diver Jonas Taylor (Statham), still drowning his sorrows on a beach in Thailand after a rescue gone wrong. He was convinced that a creature sabotaged the sub he was trying to save, a theory that gains credence when all aboard realise that “The Meg” is responsible for this new horror.