The summer blockbuster, now an institution in any film fan’s life, owes its existence almost entirely to Steven Spielberg’s 1975 classicJaws. Though it was far from the first shark movie,Jawsinspired a tidal wave of imitators, gradually making the deep-sea predator a cinematic subgenre. Almost 50 years later, audiences aren’t satisfied with a 4,000lb great white. EnterThe Meg, which dares to introduce a much larger shark.
The Megpremiered inAugust 2018, immediately establishing itself as a strong player at the box office. The film brought home over $530 million at the box office. The sequel was a forgone conclusion. Fans and newcomers can look out forThe Meg 2: The Trenchthis August.
RELATED:The Meg 2: Everything We Know So Far
What isThe Megabout?
The Megfollows Jonas Taylor, aformer rescue diver who abandoned his vocation after an unidentified sea creature killed two of his crew. After spending five years as a drunken loner, Taylor is summoned by his ex-wife and a crew of scientists to attempt a rescue mission near the deepest part of the Mariana Trench. Eccentric billionaire Jack Morris has employed a father-daughter team of oceanographers, Minway and Suyin Zhang, to head his underwater research facility, the Mana One. Taylor’s ex-wife Lori and fellow scientist Toshi embarked from Mana One in a submersible but lost contact with the vessel. Before Taylor starts the rescue mission, Suyin gives it a shot.A giant squid attacksher submarine, but an even deadlier beast saves her life.
Taylor mounts the rescue of Toshi and Lori. As he struggles to evacuate both scientists, Taylor is attacked by a giant megalodon shark. Taylor rescues Lori, but Toshi gives his life so that they canescape the shark’s jaws. With the submersible returned, Taylor and the rest of the Mana One crew must develop a plan to kill the prehistoric sea beast. The “Meg” is on the loose, overturning fishing vessels and killing anyone unlucky enough to swim into its path. Countless lives are endangered, and it’s up to the Mana One and Jonas Taylor to defeat the oversized shark. It’s a classic quest to kill a gigantic beast at sea, with all the advanced technology of the modern day.
How doesThe Megend?
The first plan to kill the Meg is to track it down and shoot it with poison. Suyin enters a shark-proof cage to kill the beast. She succeeds, eventually claiming the Meg’s life. The group doesn’t celebrate for long as a larger Meg emerges from the deep,eating the first megalodon. The new Meg kills several scientists, destroys the Mana One’s new vessel, and forces the crew to regroup at the undersea research facility. Jack Morris assures his employees that he has informed all the local governments, making the Meg their problem. Morris hires a mercenary team in secret. They accidentally blow up a whale with depth charges. The Meg eats Morris while the mercenaries flee in terror.
Jonas Taylor and the scientists resolve to kill the Meg themselves. While the Meg attacks a crowded beach and kills hundreds, the crew uses a whale call to summon it. Jonas wrecks his submersible into the Meg and stabs it in the eye. Its blood attracts afeeding frenzy of normal-sized sharks, who pick apart and devour the Meg. Taylor and the surviving scientists celebrate their achievements and plan a vacation after a successful hunt. As the camera pans into the water, a megalodon shark can be heard. Though the crew killed two Megs, more have escaped the trench.
Is the ending different inThe Megbook?
The ending ofMeg: A Novel of Deep Terrordiffers from the film in a few ways, but the spirit is maintained. Jonasstill kills the shark, though the novel depicts him igniting his submersible’s oxygen supply to burn it from within. He’s then rescued, along with his crew, by a passing tourist vessel. Jonas and his fellow survivors capture the last megalodon pup. They call it Angel and begin studying the only member of a species long believed to have been extinct. Both versions ofThe Megopen the door for more giant sharks to emerge from the trench and continue the franchise.
The Megis a simplefilm about Jason Stathamfighting a large shark. The story isn’t really the draw. The characters are all broad archetypes, the events are predictable, and the sequel will likely be much the same. Jonas Taylor will return to fight another megalodon shark inThe Meg 2: The Trenchlater this year. The concept is so simple that fans could see a dozen films in which Statham tests his mettle against increasingly massive ocean predators. Jonas Taylor defeated the first two Megs, but can he take on the next? Tune intoThe Meg 2: The Trench.
