Jessica McNamee – Tripping Through Gateways

A few years ago deep dive rescuer Jonas made a critical decision that cost him his job. Jump ahead to the present and a deep sea exploration team has become trapped deep in the ocean after discovering a hidden world teeming with life…including giant Megalodon sharks. They bring in Jonas to conduct a rescue…but after the rescue it appears they are not the only ones to return to the surface.

Is the Meg a great film? No. Like the books it is inspired by, it is cheesy. The film is full of over the top characters (at one point Rainn Wilson’s excitable billionaire notes that Statham’s Jonas has a heroic walk, but seems to have a bad attitude).

This is pretty much…what if Jaws was a big action movie. And you know what? It is a lot of fun. I had a whole lot of fun watching this one. It is action packed and has a rather engaging cast. This second part is important because these characters are not particularly deep, but the cast tends to imbue them with enough personality to make for an entertaining and cheesy ride.

No, it is not a great film. The Meg is not a classic, bt it is dumb and goofy fun.

Chips was an action/drama from 1977 about motorcycle cops Ponch and Jon. I know I watched it as a kid, but beyond Erik Estrada and the other guy? Don’t remember much. But when it was announced that they were making a comedy movie based on the show, it seemed like an odd choice.

Written and directed by Dax Shepard, the update begins with Ponch as an FBI Agent who is sent undercover to bust a drug ring suspected to involve crooked motorcycle cops. He is teamed up with the highly inept Jon, who is trying to save a marriage he does not get is over. Ponch and Jon are constantly at odds to an annoying degree. In what I suspect was intended as a “positive” message, Jon criticizes Ponch of being homophobic which leads to, unsurprisingly, a whole lot of “Eeeew! NOT GAY” type of jokes.

The jokes don’t land and the characters lack chemistry. By the time Ponch and Jon are a team, it feels entirely unearned. The jokes are forced as well. This is a shame, as the cast is the one high point of the film. Michael Peña has great comic timing. And Vincent D’Onofrio is the villain. And yet, neither get to bring their skills to the rather uninspired script. Dax’s Jon is particularly flat. His real life wife, Kristen Bell just has a sweet persona and it is hard to buy she is this terrible marriage destroying wife.

Chips obviously aimed to fall into the same company of 21 Jump Street…but it misses that mark by a great distance.

Tag: Jessica McNamee

Need a Way Bigger Boat (The Meg, 2018)

…And Dip (Chips, 2017)