I first saw Jaws in 1975 at the tender age of seven; it scared the hell out of me then, and is an exhilarating ride to this day. The Meg, on the other hand, is a formulaic, big-budget B-movie that fails to get the pulse pounding, despite it's prehistoric shark being three times as big as Bruce, Spielberg's iconic great white.
Jason Statham stars as deep-sea rescue expert Jonas Taylor, who is brought to a high-tech facility to help save three scientists who have become trapped in a sub at the bottom of the sea after being attacked by something unseen. Jonas's mission results in the successful extraction of two of the boffins (one of whom is his ex-wife), but in doing so, he releases a very hungry Megalodon from the depths.
Directed by Jon Turteltaub (Cool Runnings, National Treasure), The Meg is slick but completely vapid popcorn entertainment that proves that bigger isn't necessarily better. The plot offers few surprises and little in the way of imagination, and Statham is his usual stoic self, indistinguishable from any of his other movie roles. Bingbing Li adds a bit of glamour as pretty scentist Suyin (this is an American/Chinese co-production, so the film features plenty of Asian actors) and Rainn Wilson is fun as billionaire Morris (destined to become shark fodder), but most of the cast are forgettable. As far as the other stars are concerned - the Megs (for there are more than one) - they are fairly impressive CGI creations, but this being a 12A certificate, their attacks don't result in anything too graphic.
As a big fan of shark movies, I had such high hopes when The Meg was first announced; what a shame that the finished film is so unremarkable and lacking in bite.
