The Meg: 7 Reasons It's The Best Dumb Movie Of 2018
5. Predictable Cannon-Fodder Characters? Check!
You know when you're watching a movie and you can instantly tell which characters are being set up for the chop further down the line? Yeah, The Meg is one of those movies.
Very early on, we're introduced to an impressively diverse and noticeably distinct cast of characters, but the fact that they're all painted in such broad strokes (most are simple stereotypes) only makes it easier to predict who's going to live and who's going to die.
The movie tries to be clever and throw you off the scent, but more often than not, your guesses will turn out to be accurate; the guy who always acts like an a-hole and the guy who writes a note to leave for his wife probably aren't going to make it through to the credits.
You could argue that part of the appeal of dumb-fun movies is anticipating these deaths with bated breath (when the camera suddenly pulls back to a wide shot of a guy floating on the water, you know something's about to go down), and if you're of this mindset, The Meg is the type of movie for you.
And on the plus side, a lot of the deaths in the movie are really-well executed and fun to watch, with some effective emotional beats thrown in where prudent.