I must admonish myself for venturing into unabashed “ the book was better” territory, but goddamn. Respect Your Source Material, It Got You Here.Where do things come from? How do they get there? To keep things spoiler free: Sometimes “just because” is not a good enough answer. “Surprise Shark” is not the same thing as “Out of Nowhere Shark”.Unfortunately, this also robbed the character of the unique position of intrigue she occupied in the novel. In an effort to distance themselves from the problematic features of the 1997 version, they drained all semblance of the character into a generic package. Movie Version: Bland marine explorer that is reduced to dispensable plot device. Book Version: Conniving reporter that pulls the strings and is, admittedly, sexed up to cringe-worthy levels. Putting a female character in pants does not equate a Strong Female LeadĮgregiously, Jessica McNamee’s character experiences a slash in substance that renders her almost useless.Somehow, “The Meg” managed to be just as shallow in character development (albeit in different ways) and lost ground in the areas where Alten had previously excelled. He is able to take a fantastical and improbable situation and ground it in a sense of reality. While his character development leaves something to be desired, Alten can spin an exciting yarn and has a great gift for action. His female characters are defined by lengthy and, frankly, off-putting descriptions of their bodies. His heroes are ultra gruff and super masculine.
Steve Alten is a card-carrying member of the Good Ole Boys of Sci-Fi Club. I will keep my discussion of “Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror” brief, as this is a film review, but it’s worth noting. Why? Because the novels should not have done it better and yet, somehow, they did. I fight hard to stay away from “ the book was better” crowd, but “The Meg” was a struggle. This is, perhaps, the first time that I have ever allowed my love for the original source material to cloud my enjoyment of a film. The film is directed by Jon Turteltaub and principle cast members Ruby Rose, Rainn Wilson, Page Kennedy, Bingbing Li, Cliff Curtis and Masi Oka alongside Statham, make for a refreshingly well-rounded ensemble. The film centers around the struggles of marine badass Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) as he and a group of ocean researchers face off against a 70-foot prehistoric Megalodon.
“The Meg” is an adaptation of the late ’90s novel “Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror” by Steve Alten. All shark movies should be enjoyed from an inner tube, floating in the water. Rolling Roadshow puts on one hell of an event and I’ll be the first to admit that my opinion of “The Meg” was quite possibly saved by how great the film-watching experience was. Reviewing and screening this bad boy has been my Super Bowl. “Meg”: A favorite book adapted into an intriguing new movie.
Jason Statham in “The Meg” | Photo credit: Warner Bros.
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