An
increasingly popular way for reviewers to critique movies these days,
especially those aimed at being big summer blockbusters, is to
concentrate first on whether the film is going to “earn out” as
well as expected against their budgets (often outrageously high due
to more and more dependency on CGI special effects). After that comes
an examination of the movie itself -- how good it is, how close it
came to doing what it set out to do, how entertaining it is or isn't.
(And if the money-making potential isn't there, then the reviews tend
to be more negative [though such an admission/claim is never openly
made]).
Seems
like a sort of ass-backwards approach to me. I say, review the damn
movie and let the box office do what it may – and not be adversely
affected by poor reviews (or vice versa).
Okay,
that little rant aside, let me get to THE MEG – which I enjoyed the
heck out of, no matter what its budget (though I suspect it was
pretty hefty due to the special effects). The latter did not
overwhelm the film, however. They were necessary to the story and
they were well done. Period. But at the core of the story, amidst all
the undersea and on-the-sea action involved in fighting the giant
prehistoric terror from the deep, there are people relating to one
another in various and interesting ways. There is humor, lots of it
stemming from the kind of banter that happens within a group of
people who work together and face stress together, there is a bit of
romance, some guilt and blame passed back and forth, some heroics and
betrayal ... and all the while there is the menace of the megaladon
shark, risen from the depths and angry and hungry as hell.
Jason
Statham turns in another solid job as a slightly flawed action hero,
and even gets a chance to flex his acting chops a bit. (Calm down, I
said “a bit” - I'm not calling him the next deNiro [as if
anybody'd want to be anymore] or Olivier or anything like that.) A
Chinese actress named Li Bingbing at first comes across as merely a
pretty scientist type (like we saw dozens of back in all those 1950s
horror/sci-fi flicks) but then progresses to become a very appealing
female lead, in contrast to other more flamboyant actresses in the
cast. The rest of the cast in general is quite good, including a
little 8-yr-old charmer named Shuya Cai, as Li Bingbing's daughter,
who steals every scene she's in (and whose presence in the film's
storyline is fine and natural, as opposed to “the little girl in
peril” stupidly injected into the most recent, highly disappointing
JURASSIC WORLD entry).
All
in all, if you're looking for a well done, balls-out, high-energy
summer popcorn flick, THE MEG – in my humble opinion – delivers
the goods.
Strongly
recommended.
