Already in theaters?  Yeah, I go to the multiplex like A Normal when I miss a screening. Here’s a peek at my thoughts about The Meg!

Big Ass Shark!  Who doesn’t love a blockbuster shark movie during the summer?  Well, folks who are looking for either a fun B-movie blast or a serious action thriller. The Meg is a fun but forgettable shark movie that never quite figured out what it wants to be when it grows up.

Bingbing Li and Jason Statham give good action movie, with their knowledgeable, tough but caring divers Suyin and Jonas. I especially like that Suyin is more than capable, and does her fair share of rescuing, instead of being the stock female character in distress.

Rainn Wilson tries his best to balance billionaire idiot Morris, but the script seems to want to make the character both comic relief and mini-villain.  Just doesn’t work; every time he does something Big Bad, it feels disingenuous, as if they wanted some reason why these characters would stay out in the middle of the ocean.  Okay then – make Morris be all super serious!  No problem!  Except big problem, because the character just ends up neither a fun comic nor a satisfying baddie.

There’s not much blood here, so folks looking for a sharky gorefest will be sorely disappointed.  Most deaths are done with rapid cutaways and loads of CGI.  The shark itself looks pretty sweet, but other than attacking submersibles, don’t expect much actual death and destruction on screen.

Pity. Great premise, even if the film says a Megalodon can get between 70 and 90 feet – the largest was estimated at  60 feet – hey, bigger shark for the big screen.  But with a screenplay that wants to scare you and keep the violence to a minimum? This story just ends up as forgettable popcorn fare. Grade: C