The Meg is a science fiction film that was released on August 10, 2018 that's based on the 1997 novel by Steve Alten, Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror. The movie follows a group of scientists who encounter a 75-foot long Megalodon while on a rescue mission at the floor of the Pacific Ocean.
Plot[]
Rescue diver Jonas Taylor is attempting to save the crew of a damaged nuclear submarine when he sees the hull of the sub being rammed by a giant creature. Two of his crew are trapped in the damaged sub; Taylor is forced to flee, realizing that attempting rescue would result in the death of everyone on the deep-submergence rescue vehicle. Moments later, the nuclear sub explodes. Taylor's account of the story is dismissed by fellow survivor Dr. Heller, who believes that Taylor turned coward due to pressure-induced psychosis.
Five years later, billionaire Jack Morris meets Dr. Minway Zhang at a $1.3 billion underwater research facility called Mana One, which Morris has financed. Zhang and his daughter, Suyin, an oceanographer, supervise a mission to explore what could be an even deeper section of the Mariana Trench, concealed by a thermocline of hydrogen sulfide. The mission submersible is piloted by Lori, Taylor’s ex-wife, accompanied by scientists Toshi and "The Wall". Their theory proves true as they discover an abundance of never-seen flora and fauna below the thermocline. A large creature collides with the submersible and causes it to lose contact with Mana One.
An old friend of Taylor's, Mana One operations manager James "Mac" Mackreides, suggests sending Taylor down to attempt a rescue. Despite Heller's objections, Zhang and Mac venture to Thailand to recruit Taylor. Suyin attempts the rescue in their absence but is attacked by a giant squid. Before the squid can crush her submersible, it is killed by a gigantic 25-metre (82 ft) long, 150-tonne (170-ton) shark. Taylor, having agreed to help, reaches Mana One and saves Lori and The Wall, but Toshi realizes he needs to sacrifice himself if he wants his friends to live. When the shark returns, he shuts the hatch to the bigger sub, allowing the others to escape while he diverts the creature's attention.
Back at Mana One, the crew discovers that the giant shark is a megalodon, the largest shark ever discovered and thought to be extinct for two million years. While discussing how to deal with it, Suyin's daughter Meiying witnesses the shark outside the observation ring, as it bisects a humpback whale in one bite. The crew realizes that it followed them through a temporary break they caused in the thermocline, allowing it to escape. The team resolves to go out and first track the meg and then kill it with poison, with Suyin in a shark-proof tank. However, the mission goes awry when after the shark is injected, the meg is large enough to swallow the cage and in doing so, cracks Suyin's mask, making her lose oxygen. Taylor then gets her out as she blacks out only to have the meg return. However, it gets snagged on the wire connecting the cage to the ship, stalling it long enough to kill it. In their moment of triumph, a second much larger megalodon emerges, killing The Wall, devouring the dead megalodon and fatally wounding Zhang. Heller sacrifices himself to save Jaxx.
Morris enlists a mercenary team to depth-charge the shark, but Morris falls overboard in the failed attempt (a whale was killed) and he is killed. Receiving no assistance from surrounding governments, Taylor and the remaining Mana One crew resolve to track and kill the shark on their own. The megalodon is en route to a crowded beach on Sanya Bay in China. It kills several beachgoers before the Mana One crew projects audio of a whale call to divert the shark's attention toward them. Taylor then chooses to sacrifice himself to kill the Megalodon after Suyin is put out of action to save the others. Taylor manages to cut the megalodon's abdomen with his sub, as well as stab it in the eye with poison. Other sharks, attracted by the megalodon's blood, approach and devour the immobilized megalodon. One of the sharks starts swimming towards Taylor. Before it can eat him, Suyin hits it with her sub. Taylor rejoins Suyin, Mac, Jaxx, and DJ, and he and Suyin consider taking a vacation together.
Cast[]
- Jason Statham as Jonas Taylor
- Li Bingbing as Suyin
- Rainn Wilson as Morris
- Winston Chao as Dr. Minway Zhang
- Ruby Rose as Jaxx
- Jessica McNamee as Lori
- Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as The Wall
- Robert Taylor as Heller
- Sophia Cai as Meiying
- Masi Oka as Toshi
- Cliff Curtis as Mac
- Page Kennedy as DJ