Year of Release: 2018
Director: Jon Turteltaub
Starring: Jason Statham, Bingbing Li, Rainn Wilson, Cliff Curtis, Winston Chao, Shuya Sophia Cai, Ruby Rose, Page Kennedy, Robert Taylor, Olafur Darri Olafsson, Jessica McNamee, Masi Oka
Genre: Action, Adventure
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 3
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Synopsis and Review:
Director Jon Turteltaub has followed his somewhat successful "Last Vegas", with "The Meg", a project that had been in the works for years (it was originally going to be directed by Jan de Bont, who of course made his name by directing "Speed" and "Twister"). The film is an adaptation of a book by Steve Alten (in reality his first book published), and follows the adventures of a team of oceanographers, who while exploring the deep sea, come across a gigantic, pre-historic shark, that goes on a rampage. This unstoppable creature goes in the direction of mainland, and the team responsible for its discovery, headed by the charismatic Jonas, go hot on its tail hoping to stop further bloodshed.
It's inevitable that a film such as "The Meg" will draw comparisons with the charismatic and iconic "Jaws" from Steven Spielberg, which came out in 1975 and is, to this day, a crowning achievement in his career, but also a lesson in suspense, thrills and effectively building menace, without really showing much of the antagonist. "The Meg" and director Jon Turteltaub know at heart, this film is an unpretentious, yet generously budgeted, large scale B-Movie, and as such, there's a relaxed tone to the film. However, the special effects and all the noise and spectacle (the film has influences from "Jaws", but also from James Cameron's "The Abyss"), can't hide the fact, that the film lacks clearly drawn out characters, or fails to capture any chemistry between all of them to generate much interest to the events taking place (much like Renny Harlin's "Deep Blue Sea"). It's a film that is wafer thin in terms of plot and characters, and ultimately instantly forgettable.
It's inevitable that a film such as "The Meg" will draw comparisons with the charismatic and iconic "Jaws" from Steven Spielberg, which came out in 1975 and is, to this day, a crowning achievement in his career, but also a lesson in suspense, thrills and effectively building menace, without really showing much of the antagonist. "The Meg" and director Jon Turteltaub know at heart, this film is an unpretentious, yet generously budgeted, large scale B-Movie, and as such, there's a relaxed tone to the film. However, the special effects and all the noise and spectacle (the film has influences from "Jaws", but also from James Cameron's "The Abyss"), can't hide the fact, that the film lacks clearly drawn out characters, or fails to capture any chemistry between all of them to generate much interest to the events taking place (much like Renny Harlin's "Deep Blue Sea"). It's a film that is wafer thin in terms of plot and characters, and ultimately instantly forgettable.
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