The Meg (2/10)

Title - The Meg
Production - Warner Bros. Pictures
Starring - Jason Statham, Li Bing Bing, Ruby Rose, Rainn Wilson, Masi Oka, Cliff Curtis
Writer - Dean Georgaris, Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber
Director - Jon Turteltaub
Release - 10 August 2018

The first 20 minutes or so of the movie was actually fine. It was a good setup for a monster movie, explaining a bit of the science behind the discovery which, in all honesty, I did not bother paying attention because it's all mumbo jumbo.

But then Statham's character met Li's and immediately she felt hot and bothered but in such a corny and cheesy way. I thought, Okay, minor set back but maybe just a one-off. Then a Statham in the shower scene was forced in just so we can see his naked upper body, and of course she had to stumble into the room. Here was the very point of the movie that confirmed that it was all going downhill.

There was no chemistry, she delivered her lines mechanically because she was more worried about delivering in English than acting - hence, there was no acting. And worst thing was, her friend just died and she's throwing googly eyes at him.

That went on to be the entire theme of the movie. Did not matter who died, she continued her horrible acting and deadpanned line-reading; unconnected to all the dire situations she was in.

Yes, it is unfair to based all my judgement of the movie on this one actress and her character and her incompetence in acting; but it is also unfair for me to have paid for the movie ticket and to suffer in the cinema because of her.

What about the Meg? First of all, it's a horrible title. It's not a pet, sticking with The Megalodon would have been better. Second, under Turteltaub's direction, there was no tension, no excitement, no suspense.

The scenes at the beach with all the extras all looked like they were back in the 90's making a stupid shark movie. All the scenes looked forced, and what a stupid notion that 500 people would be swimming in the exact same spot on a beach!

Rainn Wilson's caricature of a character was a given from the moment he appeared onscreen. Statham actually gave a serviceable performance as a hero of the story, while Cliff Curtis was the only other actor that was watchable.

This movie made me not want to go back to the cinema, and that is quite an achievement on its part.