‘The Meg’ is another generic summer action movie, but it is still enjoyable

Posted on August 17, 2018

By MARK VIOLA

Last week I complained that the marketing campaign for “The Meg” left me confused over whether the film was going to be an action thriller — as one would expect with actor Jason Statham (“Fate of the Furious”) in the lead — or a screwball comedy, which was how the trailers made the film look.

Fortunately, the movie, directed by Jon Turteltaub (“National Treasure”) and based on the 1997 book by Steve Alten, is the former and not the latter. That being said, the film does a good job of not taking itself too seriously, which would be a mistake for any movie whose story revolves around a deep-sea diver going up against a 70-foot shark.

he end result is a relatively generic movie that is one part action flick and one part monster movie. It’s no “Jaws” to be sure, but it does manage to stay pretty entertaining throughout its length while also making us care just enough about the characters that there is a level tension to keep us engaged. Yes, there is that dreaded “tension” word again, but at least “The Meg” produced it by not being utterly predictable. Although the movie won’t be one I remember when I think back on the films of 2018, I’d still pick it over “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” or “Skyscraper” when looking for a popcorn action movie.

Subscribe to our e-Edition and read the rest of the story. Already a subscriber? Click here to sign in.