Jason Statham and a huge CGI shark take centre stage in the new action blockbuster; which will be hoping to dethrone Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again from the UK number one spot when it comes out on Friday.
Most critics have agreed in early reviews that the film is nothing more than light entertainment, but many have also heaped criticism on its lack of excitement.
In a two-star review, Empire said it “could have been a winner” but is instead “about a shark as big as a football pitch [and] still somehow commits the cardinal sin of being boring”.
The Guardian were a little more friendly, giving a three-star critique and saying: “Not quite killer, but it’s rare to see a 21st-century blockbuster having this much fun – right through to its sign-off – with its own premise.”
Houston Chronicle were among the more negative, saying: “All those who like their summer movies as big as the Pacific and as dumb as a bucket of sand will appreciate The Meg, a sometimes ridiculously entertaining, if forgettable, killer shark movie.”
Den of Geek gave a 3.5/5 rating, saying: “Even if some of the Meg’s CG-generated moves look a little fishy from time to time, that’s almost part of the fun.”
Conversely, Time Out ranted: “The Meg proves only that, at least cinematically speaking, great-white movies may have finally jumped the shark.”
Statham himself came under fire from Washington Post, who compared him unfavourably with Dwayne Johnson.
“Unlike his action-movie rival Johnson, Statham does not have the charisma to carry this film,” they claimed.
“He gets the job done all right, but makes it feel more like work than play.”
The Meg has so far notched up a 50% score on Rotten Tomatoes, which will fluctuate as more reviews come in ahead of its release on Friday.
It is, ultimately, a PG-13 release – meaning some of the gorier moments the director wanted to include had to end up on the cutting room floor.
“There was some really good s**t that didn’t survive to the final cut,” he told Bloody Disgusting.
“We shot or even did a lot of visual effects for [gory scenes].
“We just realised there’s no way we’re keeping this PG-13 if we show this. It’s too fun a movie to not let people who don’t like blood and people who are under, say, 14 years old into the theatre.
“I was very hesitant to cut out a lot of blood and gore. I wouldn’t have if I thought it was wrecking the story but it wasn’t. It still looked okay.
“I’ll sit down privately with your audience and take them through some really nasty s**t.”
The Meg is out on Friday.