The Meg Review: 4 Ups & 5 Downs

3. Jason Statham's Charismatic Performance

Even more appealing than the titular giant shark is Jason Statham, whose laid-back, charismatic performance as protagonist Jonas Taylor is the easy highlight of the film.

Statham knows exactly what sort of movie he's in and is just having a ton of fun here. He's not averse to cracking some goofy one-liners with a wink at the audience, but at the same time it never undermines his credibility as an action hero.

It helps that The Stath was a real-life competitive diver in his younger days, ensuring he seems extremely capable during his aquatic run-ins with the megalodon. As capable as he can be when battling a 70-foot CGI shark, anyway.

Statham's one of those under-appreciated talents who really deserves stronger material then he generally gets, but he's easily the most compelling and likeable character in the entire movie.