When I first saw the title of this movie months ago, I was unsure what it was all about. Then a couple of weeks ago it was being promoted more heavily and I realized it was a movie featuring huge shark with one of the best (to my opinion) action hero Jason Statham. My wife and I had our eyes on the film once it premiered yesterday. I wanted to see this on a large screen with great sound system, so we chose to see it in Epicentrum. Though it was a bit of a challenge to reach the cinema now that there was a new traffic system in place, I still managed to get there on time. Let us get on with the movie now, shall we?
Brief Story Line
An underwater research facility in Shanghai called Mana One which was led by Dr. Zhang (Winston Chao - Skiptrace, 1911 etc) and financed by billionaire Jack Morris (Rainn Wilson - Smurfs: The Lost Village, The Boy etc) was performing an experiment to dive deep under the sea using a special vehicle. The team who went there consisted of Lori (Jessica McNamee - CHiPs, Battle of the Sexes etc), the Wall (Ólafur Darri Ólafsson) and Toshi (Masi Oka - Heroes TV series, Hawaii Five O TV series etc). But unfortunately they were attacked by something and were stuck down with little oxygen.
Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham - The Fate of the Furious, Crank etc) who was experienced in saving people in the very deep sea was suggested to be called by a team member Mac (Cliff Curtis - Live Free or Die Hard, The Dark Horse etc) despite the reluctance from Zhang's daughter Suyin (Li Bingbing - Transformers: Age of Extinction, The Forbidden Kingdom etc). Things became more complicated when Suyin tried to help the people before Jonas arrived.
So could Jonas save everyone with the biggest prehistoric shark known to man and referred as Megalodon (the Meg) lurking beneath the ocean? Find them all in this science fiction shark movie.
End of Brief Story Line
This movie was actually pretty good in term of scaring people out of the sea. Yes the movie premise especially the second half was a bit similar to the 1975 Jaws movie, but the special effects here were obviously a lot better now. Although back at the time, I understand that the movie was so scary and realistic that some people actually were afraid of swimming (I think my wife was one of the "victim" of the movie when she first saw Jaws many years ago). Now from the angle of a movie where the shark was the main focus, this one did not disappoint in term of scaring us especially during the scenes where Megalodon was chasing its victim(s). It certainly made my wife and some of the audience screamed most of the time whenever it appeared. Problem was the movie was rated PG-13 which made it felt a bit lighter than I would have expected for a shark attacks movie.
What I like about this movie was the first half which felt like a rescue mission and developed into something else albeit predictable story. The movie actually felt a bit light to my opinion as it was not entirely scaring or thrilling us nonstop. Throughout the 113 minutes duration, some of the time the movie gave us occasional brief funny moment. I believe it was the aim of director Jon Turteltaub (previously directed National Treasure movies, The Sorcerers Apprentice, The Kid etc) to make the movie not too dark or heavy. Every now and then there would be some light humor that quite cheered us. But it did make the appearance of Megalodon felt not frequently enough to my opinion.
The movie also had quite a large cast in the supporting roles such as Ruby Rose (Pitch Perfect 3, xXx: Return of Xander Cage), Robert Taylor (Longmire TV series), Page Kennedy (Blue Mountain State TV series) but the one person who stood out from the rest was to my opinion the young newcomer Shuya Sophia as Meiying (Suyin's daughter). I personally thought she stole the show with her adorable comments and actions as a smart 8 year old girl. Jason Statham did not perform any of his usual martial arts skill but I thought it was pretty refreshing as he appeared enjoying playing this role. Meanwhile Li Bingbing and Winston Chao were quite OK, with Rainn Wilson very convincing in characterizing the kind of billionaire he was supposed to be.
Seeing this movie in a large studio with Dolby Atmos sound system was very satisfying as it gave the terror felt more so with the very huge shark on screen. Plus of course the sound effects were also very good. The movie did not have any mid or post end credit scene, unless you just want to enjoy listening to the song "Mickey". Oh this movie was an adaptation from the novel Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror written by Steve Alten though it was having a lot of difference in the plot, except for the same character of Jonas and of course the huge Megalodon.
Overall this was a movie purely for fun. It was to give us some kind of nice adventure with very big shark chasing human. It was not as completely scary and suspenseful from beginning till the end like Jaws or a survival movie with great acting like The Shallows. It was a summer movie with good special effects and something that would give you fun for almost 2 hours, though it might have probably been a lot enjoyable had the Megalodon was given larger screen time to scare us more. But anyway, if you are looking for something like this, want to see Statham fight a giant prehistoric shark and do not mind the so-so plot, then you surely could enjoy this movie. However, be warned that if you prefer your movies to be very logical or you want a very nonstop action, then this might not fully satisfy you. The choice is yours.
Mike's movie moments rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
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