The summer is almost over, but if you missed The MEG, you missed on the must-see dog days movie. No, I’m just kidding, but The MEG is a film that’s a guilty pleasure. It’s not good, but it was never meant to be good. It’s a classic B-movie…that so happens to have a $100+ million budget.
The film begins with rescue diver Jonas Taylor, played by Jason Statham, who is blamed for losing five lives in a deep-water submarine rescue that didn’t go according to plan. Years later, there’s an underwater research facility. The submersible is attacked by something, so the staff turn to Mr. Taylor, who spends his days pretty boozed up in a local bar in Southeast Asia. Taylor goes in, rescues most of the submersible crew, but someone again dies. Well, he sacrifices himself. You’ll have to see. They’re attack by something that Taylor alleges fouled up his first rescue that got him canned.
Spoiler: it’s Megalodon, the massive and very extinct 70-foot shark that prowled the waters during the time of the dinosaurs. The rest of the film is more or less like Jaws. Everyone gets on a boat to chase it down. They have to shoot it with a tracking device (it’s a barrel in Jaws), and people unsurprisingly fall into the water at lest than optimal moments, where some get eaten, and yes—the shark makes it towards shore where scores of sunbathers make an all-you-can-eat buffet for the creature.
And that’s the point: it’s supposed to be a fun movie, not a good movie. It doesn't take itself too seriously. It’s about a freaking prehistoric shark for goodness sake. It’s very much a polished B-movie. It’s not necessarily so-bad-it’s-good territory, which are often featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000. It’s a good ole’ fashion creature feature. The only issue is do you wan to pay the $13-17 dollars, depending where you live, on the ticket. Admittedly, I probably should have waited for this to be available on Netflix, but it’s worth seeing if you’ve finished everything else on your watch list.
"The Office"'s Rainn Wilson, "John Wick II"'s Ruby Rose, Cliff Curtis, and BingBing Li co-star.
