THE MEG Blu-ray Review

THE MEG (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital)

Release Date: November 13, 2018

Studio: Warner Home Entertainment

Video: 2.39:1 1080p Widescreen

Audio: English Dolby Atmos (TrueHD 7.1 Compatible), English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English DVS 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1

THE RATINGS

The Movie Itself - ★ ★ ½ ✰ ✰

Video Quality - ★ ★ ★ ★ ½

Audio Quality - ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Special Features - ★ ★ ✰ ✰ ✰

Overall - ★ ★ ★ ½ ✰

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THE FILM ITSELF Our Reviewer's Take
Did none of you learn anything from the Tank Gang?!?!

Reviewed by Gavin King

Big, loud blockbuster films make the world go 'round, zero doubt about it. Americans love their big dumb fun, so to speak, and I can't say I disagree with the majority vote. I'm a sucker for junk food cinema - films that don't add much of anything new to the originality department and quite frankly don't make much sense at all, but above all make for one hell of an entertaining time at a matinee showing. They're films in which you as the viewer can just sit back, relax, gorge on extra-buttered popcorn, and relish yourself in all of the gleefully thrilling antics. Warner Bros. Pictures' The Meg looks to fit into that category, following an unholily gigantic shark, the Megalodon as they call it, who seeks to make all insanity break loose through its razor-sharp Jaws, enormous size, and frightening demeanor. But fear not, my fellow moviegoers! Worldwide action hero Jason Statham is here to save us all... at least in the hopes that this S.O.B. shark doesn't target Mr. Statham as his next snack. 

In all seriousness, though, The Meg feels like one of those films that looked fun by its trailers (thanks for nothing, marketing) then ended up being something of a disappointment in full-length theatrical form. I'm certainly positive The Meg has its audience, and rest assured I'm more than happy that they got a kick out of it - just look at its surprising box office stats. But to my eyes the film just feels a slab too bogged down in missed opportunities, and we can all blame that on the ultra-safe PG-13 rating (albeit not as harshly affected as films like Venom). The film is fine as cheesy popcorn fluff but does almost nothing to separate itself from the billions of other action-rounded outings, especially in today's age of bombastic spectacle cinema.

And I heard I was needed?

Forgiving past all of the humorous misinterpretations and parodies that compared the film's shark to Family Guy's Meg Griffin, The Meg tells the fairly straightforward story of a mammoth shark, classified as the Megalodon, whose size and ferocity could cause eternal havoc if not killed soon. The world's only hope is a dude named Jonas (Statham) who, along with his ragtag folks, sail out to the eye of the ocean to spear this ugly bastard once and for all - and inevitably save millions of families from monstrous medical bills that the Meg itself could have reared its ugly end on. (I'm talking scars, cuts, bleeding... you get the idea.)

So, the good news is that the core storyline at hand is for the most part undemanding. This isn't some Annihilation-esque think-a-thon - in all honesty, it's really the complete opposite. The Meg is simply one of those movies that requires viewers to turn their brains off and just lean back and revel in a shark on steroids, people making really dumb decisions, and Jason Statham being, well, Jason Statham. All of this is not necessarily a bad thing when done in the appreciable way, and many, many movies have proved this formula to work very well, even if it is still a formula and some of the tropes are things we've already seen tons of times before. But The Meg doesn't chomp as strongly as others, in part due to flimsy acting, missed opportunities, and an unshakable sense of boredom throughout the feature's second act. For the most part most of everything the film treads in away from action spectacle is stuff we've seen regurgitated for the umpteenth time to a point where it gets old. 

Let's talk.

And it doesn't help that Jon Turteltaub isn't a director with much prowess, either. His previous bringings to the cinema table were the guilty-pleasure National Treasure films and... lest us forget... 3 Ninjas. There's nothing wrong with giving a mediocre director a second chance or more, but you also can't just let the man say to himself, "Mm, as long as folks enjoy what made my other films cool, then I can get away with it." You almost wish in this case Turteltaub would have went for more absurdity in the meeting sequences, which instead we're left with boring, sleazy, same-old-same-old monotonous talking-to's. What's even more frustrating is that this is the stuff that's supposed to lead us as to the Megalodon's motivations (I mean, it's a shark, but come on, it isn't just pulling a Rampage for nothing) and why we're supposed to root for our story's heroes in the first place. I'll tell you what would have been nice; exaggeration. People in meeting rooms yelling and why-ing and arguing as to why this or that is happening. Instead what we're left with is just overlong exposition-filled sequence-builders that hurt the film more than help it.

Yet as unimpressive and routine as those build-ups are, this is still a turn-your-brain-off sorta movie, and what we have isn't bad. Quite entertaining at points, honestly. It's just too much of a damned shame most of the meat doesn't add up to a fully satisfying whole, which is what truly enjoyable movies do. Still, though, where The Meg bumps itself up is in the form of its perilous real-life realizations. There's a fun little scene where tourists and sun-bathers and such are soaking up a nice day on the beach, both on the hot sand and in the cool ocean. Then they realize the Meg itself is coming. Rearin' up its ugly jaws. The sudden realization of instant panic and all-around danger is arguably the best scene in the entire film. Not a strong swimmer? Hope you had a nice life. Out towards the farthest depths of the ocean? 'Twas nice knowing you. It's too bad The Meg doesn't have more fun ideas like this. The film is entertaining enough as a lazy Sunday afternoon diversion but it's not all that much more than that. It isn't a film I'd come close to calling bad, but it isn't one I feel obligated to label "good", either. Also, what's up with that Thai cover of Toni Basil's Mickey?


THE MEG Blu-ray - Video Quality

The Meg's video presentation represents pretty much everything a recent digitally-shot feature should boast. It's sharp, boasts good, firm colors, and proves squeaky clean. Close ups bring plenty of spot-on detail, especially when it comes to facial facets, like pores and such on Jason Statham and the like. The BD's bitrate is a little on the low side (averaging at about 18-19 mbps), but it doesn't strike a deficit in crispness and well-rounded detailing, which is always a good thing. There are plenty of vibrant colors scattered about, considering the film takes place in, for the most part, sunny daytime locales. Whether on the boat on the hunt for the Megalodon or in the celebrational light of a party on the beach, the presentation doesn't hesitate to bring forth plenty of dominant, buoyant, and lifelike hues and tones. There's some attractively deep blues in play during underwater sequences - which would also be one of the presentation's biggest challenges, since maladies like banding and problematic black levels could hurt the scene visually. I'm happy to announce that none of those prove annoying in the slightest, since black are true and deep throughout and banding wasn't visible to my very critical eyes. In fact, the only slight nitpick I could sniff out was the sight of very sparing source noise in a handful of scenes. But small issues are small issues and the rest of the presentation trumps all. It should please videophiles and make fans happy to say the least.

THE MEG Blu-ray - Audio Quality

The Meg's Dolby Atmos soundtrack is everything you could have ever hoped for. It's loud, bombastic, deep, balanced, and above all the definitive action-movie track. Consistent each-speaker involvement? Check. Deep, throaty, complimentary bass? Check. All aural elements in harmonious balance? Check. Simply put it's a crowd-pleasing audio presentation. When that damn shark makes its presence known, it, well what else, makes its presence known with incredible bass and stage involvement. Gunfire hits hard towards the 1 hour 10 minute mark and metal rips and tears with pounding authority. Each speaker - yes, even those precious overheads - is in some way involved in the onscreen mayhem, and believe me when I say you just gotta hear it to believe it. And, better yet, the track isn't just about batclap crazy action sonics. Listeners will feel immersed onboard the Charlotte, inside claustrophobic submersibles, and during the clamor and chatter of an all-active beach party. Ambient effects are just as well-designed as the speaker-pulsaters and, to top it off, spoken dialogue never gets quicksanded by the rest of the elements. The track is a trademark action-oriented beast. What more could you ask for?

THE MEG Blu-ray - Special Features

- Chomp on This: The Making of The Meg (1080p, 12:09) Your typical EPK fare. This piece discusses the casting of Jason Statham, stuntwork, shooting on the water, and more.

- Creating the Beast (1080p, 10:25) An "as the title suggests" piece which looks at the research, visual design, and uniqueness of designing the Megalodon as fearsome and giant as possible.

- New Zealand Film Commission (1080p, 1:53) More or less an advertisement for how much the Meg crew enjoyed filming on the vastness of New Zealand.

THE MEG Blu-ray - Overall Recommendation

The Meg is dumb. Dumb fun? Not quite. People enjoyed this movie, and I'm happy for them. There are plenty of folks out there who are gonna go out to The Meg as simply a good time at the movies. But to my eyes this one just doesn't quite grasp the bridge that meets the "one hell of a time" meter. There's some entertaining facets here and there but it's also somewhat boring, tired, and routinely put together, with expositionary build-ups we've all seen before and weak character arcs. The Blu-ray (from Warner Bros.) is well put together, though, lacking in substantial and quantitative special features but serving up great video and excellent audio. Recommended when the price drops, for those interested.

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