The Meg is another in a long line of shark-attack movies. In this case, the species of shark has long been thought extinct, and the shark itself is big. Very big.

The premise is an underwater expedition that posits -- and then proves -- the existence of a hidden layer of ocean beneath the depths of the Mariana Trench, where a great deal of unknown aquatic life has existed for countless generations unaffected by man. The expedition also discovers the existence of the megalodon, a species of giant shark that's been extinct since the Ice Age. Well, no, for the purposes of this movie, not really.

The expedition, after tangling with a meg down below, inadvertently shows one the way to the surface, where -- apparently unaffected by things like changes in pressure or light -- it proceeds to eat people, boats, whales and whatever else finds its way near its maw. (Not the dog, though; rest assured, the dog is safe.)

The film stars Jason Statham as Jonas Taylor, an expert at deep-sea rescues who's turned to drink after an apparent encounter with a meg years five years earlier (before, lest we forget, the meg was released from the depths). There's also a group of ocean experts, including Mac (Cliff Curtis), Zhang (Winston Chao) and Suyin (Li Bingbing).

The Meg is OK, so far as popcorn movies go. It's entertaining if you enjoy the shark-attack genre, but there's a bit more humor than circumstances seem to call for, and there's some questionable science that exists solely to further the plot. One also wonders if a shark so large that it can eat a whale and still have room for its calf a few minutes later, would work so hard for tiny, human-sized morsels that can't even begin to sate its hunger.

Ultimately, The Meg is more Deep Blue Sea than Jaws.