7 Ways The Meg Was Much Better Than You Expected

It’s always a risk with child actors. For every Macaulay Culkin, there’s fifty young Anakin Skywalkers. And although The Meg won’t become the Christmas classic that Home Alone is, Shuya Sophia Cai puts in a great performance as Meiying here.

With a couple of the scenes revolving around her (rather than making her simple background cuteness), Meiying had potential to derail the movie’s steady flow. Instead, she holds her own and sparks great chemistry with Jason Statham. This relationship, completely believable in its mutual fondness, is what the romantic sub-plot hinges on. While Li Bingbing and Statham’s energy often crackles together, it would be hard for audiences to go along with this if the Meiying scenes fizzled.

Just like the gore and the shark itself, Meiying is utilised perfectly. Her first appearance gives her a solid gag, but then she’s brushed away as tension builds, brought back as needed. This stops her crowding the screen, disrupting scenes and deflating the tension, as so many child stars do.

Her relationship with her mother is also the perfect foil for the motherly themes between the animals that runs through the film. All in all, Cai could be a future star.