The Meg Review: 4 Ups & 5 Downs

3. The Disappointing Lack Of Gore

No movie studio that wants a good return-on-investment would allow a $180 million shark movie to be released with an R-rating, so Warner Bros' decision to make The Meg a more family-friendly affair is understandable, but still frustrating.

Ideally, this movie would have struck a tone similar to Alexandre Aja's Piranha 3D, which made an art form out of superbly outrageous gore.

Instead, the restrictions of the PG-13 rating ensure there's an almost total lack of blood (human blood, anyway), and director Jon Turteltaub has to awkwardly cut away from several potentially gnarly death scenes.

It probably would've made more sense for Warner Bros. to cut the movie's budget down to a more manageable $100 million and give it the adult rating it so desperately needed.

Audiences wanted to see a giant shark turning the sea red as it munches its way through fleets of holidaying tourists, but sadly the end result is offputtingly tame.