My wife and I have been using Moviepass for the past year. Slowly, but surely, Moviepass has gone downhill. We went from being able to see almost any first run movie one year ago (one per day) to having complete blackout days. Moviepass is dying a slow death. We paid for a year in advance, so we are still using it when we can. Yesterday, our options were limited to two movies. The Meg or Slenderman. Neither film necessarily appealed to me, but The Meg seemed better than Slenderman which is sitting at a paltry 3.2 on IMDb. So, The Meg it was.

Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) is a washed up deep sea researcher. After his mental health was challenged following a deep, deep sea rescue, Taylor opted for a simpler life in Thailand. Taylor is pressed back into service to pull off another deep sea rescue mission when researchers at a rig off the coast of China are faced with a damaged submersible deep beneath the China Sea. Taylor may have passed on the mission. However, his ex-wife Lori (Jessica McNamee) is among the crew trapped at the bottom of the ocean.

After completing the mission, the research facility is faced with another problem. It seems a megadalon shark has managed to find it's way to the surface where it wreaking havoc. A team from the research facility is faced with tracking and killing the massive creature which is leaving a path of destruction in its wake. Taylor is joined by the project manager Zhang (Winston Chao), his daughter Suyin (Bingbing Li), DJ (Page Kennedy), the Wall (Olafur Darri Olafsson), Jaxx (Ruby Rose) and the project financier, Morris (Rainn Wilson). Together, they must battle the massive beast in an epic battle that casts a nod to the Jaws franchise of the 1970s.

It's probably a bad pun, but I'm going with it anyway. The Meg jumped the shark. In an attempt to create an homage to the 1970s Jaws franchise, John Turtletaub delivers an over-the-top film filled with contrivance and predictability. The film has an interesting perspective, but manages to use a heavy hand rather than giving us characters we can care about and a plot that we can...well, sink our teeth into. In terms of action, suspense and special effects, the film delivers. If you are in for mindless fun, you won't be disappointed. Just don't expect to care about the outcome. Heck, you may even find yourself rooting for the shark.

Our little Jaws is all grown up. We have gone from a remote control animatronic shark to a full-fledged yacht-sized CGI-mastered beast. The special effects in The Meg appear to have eaten most of the 150 million (plus) budget. With a box office hovering around 50 million, this film probably won't lose money. Particularly among the 1970s crowd eager to see an old franchise with a new look. While the inspiration for this film was centered on the characters and the beach where they resided, this film takes place in the middle of the China Sea, centered on the research facility and workers. While campy, the original had much better characters and exceedingly greater tension. We get a brief Jaws-like scene near the end of this film, but nothing like the massive seat-gripping terror of the film that almost certainly inspired this one. Having said that, the graphics were rendered well, successfully transporting us to the bottom of the ocean or into a battle with nature that looms large.

Jason Statham is an action star. He always seems to find films with high speed action. And flat characters. It almost seems a curse. If I see his name in the credits, I seldom expect much in the form of character development. The few attempts at it in this film felt flat. But Statham is Statham...when it comes to action, he delivers. Wilson was decent as a mildly likeable sleazebag billionaire. Li is an attractive love interest, but only mildly interesting. Masi Oka makes an appearance as Toshi. I loved him in the Heroes series. I also like Cliff Curtis from the Fear the Walking Dead show. Both have smaller roles in this film. Overall, the casting was okay. For a film of this type, Statham was probably the right choice.

Several of the cast members in The Meg are shark bait. Most are eaten whole. But there are quite a few scenes where characters are killed by the shark. The film easily earned a PG-13 rating from the MPAA and may have been flirting with an R rating for the violence. The film isn't excessively gory, although an arm is pulled from the water in one scene. The film has a bit of strong language and plenty of tension. Overall, the PG-13 rating is wisely applied. All things considered, I would probably only limit this film from children who are prone to nightmares. No need to have kids waking up with the shark sweats.

The Meg felt to me like a poorly conceived attempt to revive the Jaws franchise of the 1970s. Turtletaub is no Spielberg. While the film had great action, awesome CGI and plenty of scares, it lacks character development and credibility. Jaws was scary because it seemed plausible. The Meg takes things too far. The film is interesting to watch, if only for the visual appeal. It is a tense, larger-than-life film. But you have to go in expecting mindless fun. The characters are flat, the story contrived and the concept unbelievable. Take it for what it is. It might be fun to watch on the big screen, but the quality of the story is one I would recommend for a rainy day streaming. Only if its free. 5.5/10.

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