THE MEG 2 DIRECTOR COMPARES JASON STATHAM TO JAWS REVENGE STAR

In an interview with The Guardian, the British director of The Meg 2 has compared its star, Jason Statham, to one of the stars of the final film in the Jaws franchise.

Of course, Ben Wheatley hasn't been comparing 'The Stath' to Lorraine Gary, he's been drawing comparisons to Michael Caine.

He was asked by Guardian writer. Tim Lewis, what the continued appeal of Jason Statham was with film audiences was. And that is where the Caine mention came about.

Jason ‘The Stath’ Statham in the original ‘The Meg’ (2018).

Ben Wheatley said: "It’s that he feels very genuine and real, and you need that person in a generation, don’t you? Michael Caine for a long time was that character who would play himself in everything pretty much, but he would crop up in shark films and also gangster movies and all these different things. Statham’s the same. And I think why The Meg worked so well was there’s a feeling that he’s trying hard to be tough, but he’s also vulnerable, that he can be hurt. That’s something a lot of cinema hasn’t got any more. The characters seem to be absolutely indestructible."

And like Caine, Statham often essentially plays himself - or at least with his own accent - and has of course played his own run of gangsters - like Caine did in Get Carter and Statham was even in The Italian Job remake.

Caine and Statham have also faced off against sharks, although one presumes Statham has actually seen The Meg, whereas yet, Caine has yet to watch Jaws the Revenge.

And we won't have long to wait until we see how The Meg 2 sizes up against the original 2018 box office smash, or the Steve Alten sequels, as it is set to start shooting in January 2022.

Words by Dean Newman

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