As with "Jaws", when all of a sudden you thought it was safe to go into the water, you have "The Meg". In some ways, with the exceptions of a handful of films, this has been a lackluster summer film season. But now that we are in the dog days of summer, the quintessential summer flicks are beginning to catch up, especially with this film.
Five years ago, expert sea diver and Naval Captain Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) encountered an unknown danger in the unexplored recesses of the Mariana Trench that forced him to abort his mission and abandon half his crew. Though the tragic incident earned him a dishonorable discharge, what ultimately cost him his career, his marriage and any semblance of honor was his unsupported and incredulous claims of what caused it-- an attack on his vessel by a mammoth, 70-foot sea creature, believed to be extinct for more than a million years. But when a submersible lies sunk and disabled at the bottom of the ocean-- carrying his ex-wife, Lori (Jessica McNamee) among the team aboard-- he is the one who gets the call. Whether a shot at redemption or a suicide mission, Jonas must confront his fears and risk his own life of everyone below including Suyin (Li Bingbing), Jaxx (Ruby Rose), DJ (Page Kennedy) and others on a single question: Could the Carcharodon Megalodon-- the largest marine predator that ever existed-- still be alive...and on the hunt?
Others to round out the cast are Rainn Wilson as Morris, Cliff Curtis as Mac, Winston Chao as Zhang, Sophia Cai as Meiying, Suyin's daughter, Robert Taylor as Heller, Olafur Darri Olafsson as The Wall and Masi Oka as Toshi.
This was intensely directed by veteran Jon Turteltaub ("Think Big" '89, "Cool Runnings" '93, "While You Were Sleeping" '95, "Phenomenon" '96, "The Kid" 2000, "National Treasure" '04, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" '10, "Las Vegas" '13) plus others and TV. What I certainly appreciate about this filmmaker is the fact that one cannot pigeon-hole him, hence his resume. He is about as eclectic a director as they come which serves him, because he then becomes that much more marketable which is where anyone in this biz wants to be. He can truly make his characters, through his actors, come to life. It was thrillingly written by Dean Georgaris, Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber based on the novel, "Meg" by Steve Alten. I've never read the novel which are typically superior to the screenplay, however this version of the novel kept me captured from minute one to the end of the credits. This was like a combination of "Jaws" and "Jurassic World" which I felt wasn't a copy, but rather a homage to other films about over-the-top creatures. Is this film an Academy Award type of film? No, but for the reason it was made and for what they gave the audience for that summer flick that soars, this film absolutely delivered. Of course, the visual effects predominantly created by Double Negative, SPI (Sony Pictures Imageworks) and Scanline VFX were seamless and didn't dominate the story like they have a tendency to do. And I gotta tell you, this was the first film I'd seen in 4DX/3D and it absolutely rocked! I had always wanted to see a film in the 4DX format, but I was really waiting for the right film. So when I noticed this film being presented in the 4DX format, I had to take it in, and it was almost as much fun as the film. With the wind, water and jerking of the seat, it was like a ride at Disneyland.
If you want to see the quintessential summer flick where you can sit back with your popcorn and totally escape into something that keeps you right on the edge of that proverbial seat of yours, then this is the film for you. This film is presented in the IMAX, 3D and 4DX process, but just for the experience, the 4DX will simply blow you away, especially if you've never been through it. As with all the formats, all films don't look that great in them, but this definitely is enhanced in the 4DX format. Enjoy this roller coaster ride! I know I did!
Out of 4 Stars: 4 Rated: PG-13 113mins.
No comments:
Post a Comment