The Meg (2018)

No one is expecting a film starring Jason Statham about a giant prehistoric shark to be "good." The reason you go is for dumb fun. And for that The Meg delivers. It's plot is structured exactly how all these movies are structured. You know just what to expect. It gives the "thrills" you come for.

But, the writing and acting are all pretty bad. Characters say and do stupid things, in fairly cliched ways. And the action is rather muted. There is really very little (if any) human blood in this film. Every death is telegraphed so that the tension is sucked from each scenes. On second thought, perhaps The Meg doesn't even deliver on what one would hope for from a film like this.

Points for the films diverse cast and use of international settings that don't rely on centring the western characters. Also points for.... I can't really think of much else the film gets points for. It is a rather inert beast.

One has to be pretty damn generous with the lowest of expectations to get much of a kick from this monster.

The Meg
Starring: Jason Statham, Li Bingbing, Rainn Wilson, Ruby Rose, Winston Chao, Masi Oka
Director: John Turteltaub
Writers: Dean Georgaris, Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber