I’m not going to spend a lot of time peeling back the layers and delving into the mysteries of Hollywood’s new gigantic shark movie, THE MEG, because there are none. What you see is what you get and THE MEG is big, dumb, summer fun. It’s nice to take a break from spaceships and superheroes and get back to the corny monster movies that have been making June through August fantastic since 1975.
One thing you should know about THE MEG is the movie has languished in development hell for nearly 20 years. Steve Alten sold the rights to his novel to Disney’s Hollywood Pictures in 1996, but after three years of no movement the rights went back to Alten. Six years later, in 2005, New Line Cinema entered the fray and a year later the project stalled and again the rights went back to Alten. It seemed the author, who famously lost his job at a wholesale meat plant four days before his agent scored a seven-figure book deal, would probably never see his 90-foot prehistoric shark on the silver screen.
Not so fast. Take the success of the 2016 Blake Lively shark flick, THE SHALLOWS, toss in John Turteltaub – the guy behind the NATIONAL TREASURE movies, add action-movie superstar, Jason Statham, and boom – you’ve got the greenlight. Having read MEG: A NOVEL OF DEEP TERROR during the summer of 1997, I can say I’ve been waiting for this movie for a long, long time. Alten’s penned at least 15 books since he originally sold the rights to Disney, and I’ve had two kids and now entertain a head full of grey hair. It’s about freaking time, Hollywood. That’s all I have to say.
The movie doesn’t follow the book completely, but that doesn’t really matter. All you need to know is there are scientists exploring the never-before-seen depths of some bottomless trench in the Pacific Ocean. They encounter a shark that makes Bruce from JAWS seem like a harmless guppy and they need Jason Statham (Jonas Taylor) to slap on his scowl and squint, as well as his six-pack abs, so he can save their behinds before it’s too late. Like I said – big, dumb fun.
THE MEG isn’t a great movie and it’s definitely does not tread on any new territory, with the exception of its colossal shark. But it works. It’s cheesy and it’s campy and the filmmakers and actors have embraced all of that with gusto. What’s left is nothing but a good time. THE MEG is worth the full price ticket and is one of the summer’s most entertaining flicks.
GRADE: B-
