Critical dud but financial success story The Meg gets the Honest Trailer treatment, shining a spotlight on its decidedly PG-13 shark carnage. It took over 20 years for Hollywood to finally adapt Steve Alten's 1997 novel Meg, although it wasn't for lack of trying. At one point, Hostel helmer Eli Roth was even set to direct the project, before it once again fell through. The final product ended up being directed by Jon Turtletaub, the filmmaker behind the National Treasure movies starring Nicolas Cage. Whether the film was worth the wait depends on who one asks.
One entity definitely not unsure if The Meg movie was worthwhile is U.S. distributor Warner Bros., as the Jason Statham-fronted shark flick has hauled in a massive $527 million worldwide on a reported budget of $130 million. For a movie many were convinced early on would flop, that's quite the profit. Unsurprisingly, a sequel is already in development, according to executive producer Catherine Xujun Ying of China's Gravity Pictures, which co-produced the film and distributed it in China.
Related: How The Meg Compares To The Real Megalodon
With The Meg swimming over to Blu-Ray and DVD today, Screen Junkies has opted to give the film its Honest Trailer treatment. Given the outwardly silly concept of a giant prehistoric shark emerging from deep in the Mariana Trench to snack on humanity - and the not too serious marketing campaign focusing on action and excitement - The Meg would seem to be a perfect fit for a Honest Trailer. Then again, as Screen Junkies points out, the film doesn't entirely live up to its marketing. Check out the full video below.
The Meg's first big problem is its PG-13 rating, which seems entirely unsuited to a movie about squishy humans desperately trying to survive an ongoing battle with a shark so massive it's awe-inspiring. This complaint found in the Honest Trailer actually echoes one made by both director Turtletaub and star Staham, who both wish the film had been allowed to be bloodier and gorier. The original script was written with an R-rating in mind and included such scenes of carnage, but unfortunately, said scenes were never filmed, so an R-rated cut can't happen.
Other big problems with The Meg - which is by no means worthless, as even the Honest Trailer admits that it straddles the line between being entertainingly silly and just downright bad - are its inconsistent tone, and its tendency to repeat itself. The movie swings back and forth between bombastic action sequences and attempts at actual emotion following several deaths, a switch that can be jarring. Plus, there's the repetitive nature of events in the story, such as Jonas Taylor (Statham) having to mount essentially the same deep dive rescue of a ship's crew from The Meg twice, and two helicopters mounting different attacks on The Meg that accomplish little. There are even two Megs, almost making it feel like if Jaws and Jaws 2 were combined into one film. Here's hoping these issues are corrected for The Meg 2.
More: Richard Dreyfuss Thinks Jaws Can Be Improved By Adding a Digital Shark
Source: Screen Junkies
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