If you have not yet seen the film “The Meg”, perhaps your fear of giant sharks has impacted your life to the point where you need to seek professional help. You are missing out on one of the most important pieces of socio-political commentary of this century. I suggest you might allay your fears by looking at the Megalodon as a metaphor. Approach it as you might a poem, that is with a half of a marijuana cookie.
The Meg is an ancient creature, brought up from the depths as a by-product of a rich guy who wants more fame and fortune. The Meg is a misunderstood outsider. The Meg does not and can not bargain because he is used to dominating all other creatures since the beginning of time. There is no one more powerful. All polls agree. This is not fake news. Did I mention that The Meg has a very big mouth? It is always opening and closing without any real words coming out. The Meg just devours. That’s what Megs do.
The Meg is attracted to light only to destroy the source of this light. It is not hard to imagine the words, “You’re fired”, coming out of his mouth each time he kills. He is particularly partial to offing whales, which are, of course, an endangered species.
The dilemma the film addresses is: Should mankind study and respect a creature of this majesty despite the massive death toll it will bring or should the intelligentsia work to bring The Meg down by any means – bombs, guns, or harpoons through the eyeball. It is with a “Sophie’s Choice” kind of poignance we observe that choice is a forced/ false one as there are always more Megs and the remaining characters, indeed the entire world, may die in the next film.
Jason Statham, however, can not die. He could, but as a hybrid of John McCain and Bernie Sanders, it is highly unlikely that the franchise could continue. The mega-message here is that, no matter what, the franchise which is The Meg must continue. Statham is its biggest asset.
Like many female movie stars before him, he has probably had to insure his chest. The fact that he does his own stunts makes him a stand-in for the value of authenticity in opposition to The Shark who is made of plastic and gets all his information from the internet.
The meaning of time is also explored in the film. How many times will The Meg come back? Every four years? How much money did the film receive for featuring the over the top watches which appear in close-ups of every character?
When will the movie end? Isn’t this just Jaws in a time-machine? Who has the time to work out that much for one shirtless scene? Isn’t it time that there is more than one black actor per movie and isn’t there time to teach him how to swim? Is the shot of Statham harpooning The Meg a timeless tribute to Captain Ahab or is it just a way to make the film sexier than “Jurassic World”.
Like many works of art – The Meg leaves you with these big questions which you have to answer yourself. Then you may attend the sequel to see if you got them right.
polarflares 