Ok, just to clarify, 2018 hasn’t been a good year for me in terms of films. Due to financial constraints and a mountain of other commitments, I’ve only seen three films this year.  Them being this, The Cloverfield Paradox and Ready Player One. Out of those three however, The Meg has been the best so far. It’s a glorious mix of a great Monster Film and a good B movie, however at some points the mix isn’t always a success.

Jason Statham (his character does have a name but you won’t remember it) is called to rescue the crew of an underwater research facility that’s been attacked by a massive prehistoric shark (a Megalodon). However, Statham’s mission becomes more complicated when the shark ascends to the surface and starts preying on civilians.

The Characters

If The Meg was a full-blown B movie then the characters would be almost perfect. They’re one dimensional and never appear to be more than they are. Jason Statham is Jason Statham, a tough, masculine one-liner machine. Rainn Wilson is the sassy billionaire behind the base’s finances, he’s bossy, cynical and charmingly blunt. Page Kennedy is the stereotypical black comic relief, he’s hip, cowardly and sarcastic. They’re poorly written characters but the film is aware of that and embraces their one dimensionality, making them fun to watch. This sort of humour may not be for everyone but if you think Page Kennedy splashing and screaming in the water with a rescue jacket on, while a 10-year-old girl tries to calm him down, is funny, you’ll love The Meg.

The main issue with the film is that it features the characters of a great B movie (like Killer Klowns from Outer Space) but the character development of a great Monster Film (like The Thing). There is a lot of time, particularly in the first act, dedicated to establishing the characters. If this was a serious Monster Film then, with some serious rewrites, these character-building scenes could work. However, with the characters as shallow as they are along with the ridiculous premise, they feel out of place and can be quite tricky to sit through.

In the first act, the film feels in part like a mediocre Monster Film as it tries to get you to care about these cardboard people but as the first act comes to a close, the B movie silliness ascends.

The Action and Tension

The visual effects for the Megalodon are very well done. You can feel its weight and muscle as it effortlessly chomps through glass and boats like a bulldozer. There are shots in the film where the Meg emerges from the sea with gallons of water dripping off it like Legendary’s Godzilla in his 2014 debut. This makes for some brilliant action. Whether they’re above water or underwater, our characters are essentially floating tidbits for the Meg, hence their efforts to defend themselves results in some thrilling as well as tense action sequences. If you loved the action in Kong: Skull Island, you’ll like what The Meg has to offer.

Like Jurassic Park and other classics of the genre, moments of tension and suspense are scattered evenly throughout the film. Despite the ridiculousness of the premise, the idea of a Megalodon entering our modern oceans is a scary one. Most of the first and second acts take place at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, in complete darkness. This puts you on edge as you never know when the Meg is going to appear and when it does, a good jump scare is guaranteed. Even in the action-packed third act there’re disturbing moments, including some eerie aerial shots of the Meg gliding through shallow water with hundreds of floating civilians.

Despite the boring attempts at character development, the B movie elements along with the more competent Monster Film elements create a pretty damn enjoyable film. If you’re willing to tolerate some boring talky bits, then I highly recommend it.

I give it The Meg solid 7 out of 10