Jon Turteltaub’s The Meg isn’t a terrible movie–that would imply some sort of drive, of ambition–it’s just so intent on doing it’s damnedest to not offend that it’s just a bit boring.

That’s not to say that there’re no thrilling or humorous moments–there are–but they’re scattered among a pretty generic plot that’s so rife with cliché
s that they’re more of a threat than the megalodon could ever be.

And that’s not to say that a clichés are a problem in and of themselves–cliches become clichés because they work and are an proven shorthand filmmakers typically use to get across ideas.

But the thing is, when you watching better movies you typically aren’t quite aware of the cliches, though the The Meg the minute begins you’re introduced to Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) as he works desperately to evacuate a group of people a submarine under assault from an unseen threat you know where the movie is going.

And where you think the movie is going? That’s exactly where it ends up, which wouldn’t be so much of a problem if you couldn’t predict it literally every step of the way.