The Meg Review
I saw this opening day.
That was a thing I did.
Hey, don't judge me. I like shark movies, The Meg was out, I didn't have anything to do, so I decided to go see it.
So The Meg is the inevitable non-Sharknado shark movie that comes out every summer (because there's also a Sharknado movie that comes out every year). This trend brought us an absolute masterpiece of this genre, The Shallows, 2 years ago. Last year, it also brought us 47 Meters Down, an unintentionally hilarious movie ( I'll let you decide if that's a good thing or not. It's on Netflix if you're interested). Whereas The Shallows was a very gritty film and 47 Meters Down at least tried to be one, I could tell that The Meg was going to be intentionally silly. I mean, it's about a Megalodon! If you have the intentions of watching a thought-provoking masterpiece, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. But let's be honest: no one in their right mind would think that THIS would be that type of movie. I just thought it would be a fun, somewhat tense, and somewhat enjoyably stupid shark thriller. And it certainly delivered. The Meg takes its ridiculous premise and just runs.... no, not runs..... swims with it.
In terms of intensity, it was relatively mild compared to The Shallows. But The Shallows has a level of intensity that many shark movies only dream of replicating. The Meg has its fair share nerve-racking scenes and some pretty effective jumpscares, however. The effects are top notch, which is especially good considering this film came from the studio who brought us Justice League. I can definitely say I felt much more suspense watching The Meg than I did watching 47 Meters Down, even though the latter was a more serious movie. However, this is certainly the most lighthearted movie in this genre that I've seen. It actually might be more of an action comedy rather than a thriller. One of the things I really like about this film is the self-awareness it has. It knows what it is and what it's trying to be: simply a fun movie about a ginormous shark. And it is fun, yet without losing its thrills. It can be hilarious at one point and thrilling at another.
The cast was pretty good. I know I say this a lot, but they really seemed to enjoy filming this movie. My personal favorite was the little girl, who was unbelievably cute and funny. I also thought Dwight Schrute was pretty funny as a billionaire (that's right, he plays a billionaire. I'm as confused as you are). However, there were some character development issues, as expected with this type of movie. It's scattershot in which characters are developed and which ones aren't. Jason Statham's character probably had the most character development, which is good considering that he's the main character. However, some of the side characters had it and others were quite literally (for lack of a better term) shark chum. Like seriously, some of the characters were just there to get eaten by the shark. This is something that even The Shallows struggled with. Or if you're tired of me referencing that movie, Jaws struggled with it too. Like seriously, what do you know about that girl who dies at the beginning? Or the guy in the pond? Nothing right? This movie also has that problem, but it honestly isn't a big issue considering what type of movie it is.
In all honesty, I don't really have too much to say about it. I did notice that the critics are split 50/50 about it. And to that, I say this: don't expect it to be a masterpiece. Unless you're determined to find its faults rather than the enjoyable parts of this movie, you should be able to have fun watching this movie. Just take it for what it is and enjoy.
SCORE: 7.5/10
The Meg gave me exactly what I wanted: a goofy movie about a huge freaking shark.
Also, here's some various shark memes for your enjoyment:
That was a thing I did.
Hey, don't judge me. I like shark movies, The Meg was out, I didn't have anything to do, so I decided to go see it.
So The Meg is the inevitable non-Sharknado shark movie that comes out every summer (because there's also a Sharknado movie that comes out every year). This trend brought us an absolute masterpiece of this genre, The Shallows, 2 years ago. Last year, it also brought us 47 Meters Down, an unintentionally hilarious movie ( I'll let you decide if that's a good thing or not. It's on Netflix if you're interested). Whereas The Shallows was a very gritty film and 47 Meters Down at least tried to be one, I could tell that The Meg was going to be intentionally silly. I mean, it's about a Megalodon! If you have the intentions of watching a thought-provoking masterpiece, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. But let's be honest: no one in their right mind would think that THIS would be that type of movie. I just thought it would be a fun, somewhat tense, and somewhat enjoyably stupid shark thriller. And it certainly delivered. The Meg takes its ridiculous premise and just runs.... no, not runs..... swims with it.
In terms of intensity, it was relatively mild compared to The Shallows. But The Shallows has a level of intensity that many shark movies only dream of replicating. The Meg has its fair share nerve-racking scenes and some pretty effective jumpscares, however. The effects are top notch, which is especially good considering this film came from the studio who brought us Justice League. I can definitely say I felt much more suspense watching The Meg than I did watching 47 Meters Down, even though the latter was a more serious movie. However, this is certainly the most lighthearted movie in this genre that I've seen. It actually might be more of an action comedy rather than a thriller. One of the things I really like about this film is the self-awareness it has. It knows what it is and what it's trying to be: simply a fun movie about a ginormous shark. And it is fun, yet without losing its thrills. It can be hilarious at one point and thrilling at another.
The cast was pretty good. I know I say this a lot, but they really seemed to enjoy filming this movie. My personal favorite was the little girl, who was unbelievably cute and funny. I also thought Dwight Schrute was pretty funny as a billionaire (that's right, he plays a billionaire. I'm as confused as you are). However, there were some character development issues, as expected with this type of movie. It's scattershot in which characters are developed and which ones aren't. Jason Statham's character probably had the most character development, which is good considering that he's the main character. However, some of the side characters had it and others were quite literally (for lack of a better term) shark chum. Like seriously, some of the characters were just there to get eaten by the shark. This is something that even The Shallows struggled with. Or if you're tired of me referencing that movie, Jaws struggled with it too. Like seriously, what do you know about that girl who dies at the beginning? Or the guy in the pond? Nothing right? This movie also has that problem, but it honestly isn't a big issue considering what type of movie it is.
In all honesty, I don't really have too much to say about it. I did notice that the critics are split 50/50 about it. And to that, I say this: don't expect it to be a masterpiece. Unless you're determined to find its faults rather than the enjoyable parts of this movie, you should be able to have fun watching this movie. Just take it for what it is and enjoy.
SCORE: 7.5/10
The Meg gave me exactly what I wanted: a goofy movie about a huge freaking shark.
Also, here's some various shark memes for your enjoyment:
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