By 
A HODEPODGE AND PATCHWORKED
SHARK FRENZY SEQUEL
Back in 2018, Warner Bros. Pictures released the film The Meg to moviegoers everywhere, sinking its teeth into its viewers with such aquatic predators of the deep and larger-than-life heroics in the face of carnage and mayhem. Directed by Jon Turteltaub, the film, which starred Jason Statham, Li Bingbing, Rainn Wilson, Ruby Rose, and Cliff Curtis, followed the exploits of a group of scientists who encounter a 75-foot long megalodon shark while on a rescue mission on the ocean floor of the Pacific Ocean. The Meg faced mixed to negative reviews from critics, but was deemed a box office success to the masses, with the feature drumming up roughly $530 million at the box office worldwide against a production budget of $130 million. Now, several years later, it’s time to dive back into the deep blue water of the ocean and venture further into its depths as Warner Bros. Pictures and director Ben Wheatley gear up for the follow-up sequel with the release Meg 2: The Trench. Does this movie sink its teeth into its cinematic appeal and appetite or is it just a haphazard and messy endeavor that leans too heavily in its goofy feeding frenzy antics?
THE STORY
Becoming quite the eco-warrior of late, Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) has been patrolling the ocean, working with the team of the Mana One research station to deal with underbelly of corporate pollution, sabotaging companies that are dumping their poisons into the water. At the Oceanic Institute in China, researcher Jiuming (Wu Jing), who is being backed by wealthy financier Hillary Driscoll (Sienna Guillory), is putting the finishing touches on his exo-suit design, which would allow an upcoming visit to a trench 25,000 feet below the surface of the ocean. Jiuming hopes to learn more about the world of deep and lures Jonas into such a dangerous expedition into the known, but during the journey down, the team, which includes stowaway 14-year old Meiying (Sophia Cal), Jonas’s stepdaughter, discovers a breeding area for megalodons as well as finding an illegal mining operation run by the mercenary Montes (Sergio Peris-Mecheta). In time, the team is trapped in the station with limited contact to Mana One team members DJ (Page Kennedy) and Mac (Cliff Curtis) on the surface above, while Jonas and Jiuming struggle to find a way to safety, settling on a plan traverse the trench in their exo-suits, encountering predators from sea of creatures and the Megs along the way. However, their sojourn in the ocean and their investable return to the surface uncovers more plots against Mana One and some unwelcomed visitors that follow them back.
THE GOOD / THE BAD
To be quite honest, I totally forgot about this movie. Yes, I did see it (in theaters) and did my review for it back when it original came out, but I haven’t really can’t remember much of it nor have a desire to revisit since that initial trip to my local theater. I remember it was almost like a “throwback” to the late 90s action films of yesteryear, with a lot of emphasis on big-time heroics as well as savage underwater predator attacks, and goofy / campy antics along the way. Sort of reminded me of Deep Blue Sea, with lacking a lot of charm. Of course, I do remember that Statham was pretty solid in the role of Jonas, but he seemed to be carrying the film’s weigh on his shoulder and, even though the actor has plenty of action chops under his belt, he couldn’t help this bland and derivate feature all the way to the finish line. There wasn’t a whole lot of memorable scenes in the movie as it all felt too formulaic to the touch and lacked any type of substance throughout. I can kind of see why a lot of people would like this particular feature, which runs along the same lines of slasher horror movies out there (i.e. more about the body count and brutal deaths scenes), but the movie didn’t even feel fun or entertaining….at least in my opinion. In the end, 2018’s The Meg is one of those films that only a select few will find enjoyable, relishing in the savagery of shark attacks in the ocean’s depth, while others will likely pass this cinematic project off as a one and done dud that seems like it belongs as a bad TV movie.
This brings me back around to talking about Meg 2: The Trench, a 2023 action / horror film and the follow-up sequel to 2018’s The Meg. Since the memorable nature of The Meg being rather forgetful and sort of disappeared into my movie memory that I saw that year, I was quite shocked to learn that a sequel movie was in the works and that actor Jason Statham was going to reprise his role from the first film (in the lead role again). After that initial announcement blurb that I read on the internet, I didn’t hear much about the upcoming film…..only that it was going to be released on in early August 2023. During the start of summer 2023, the film’s movie trailers began to appear both online and in theaters (during the “coming attractions” previews) and have quite the “feeding frenzy” that most moviegoers were expecting. The previews showcased a lot of the same type of feeling that the first Meg endeavor, but amping everything up to a higher level with bigger sharks, bigger mayhem, and bigger campiness. Again, I wasn’t really sold on the movie from those said trailers and the other marketing campaign materials for the feature, so my enthusiasm to see it was quite low. Still, I was planning on seeing it, especially to fill out my “bad movies of 2023” quota, but I never got around to see the movie whilst it was in theaters. I choose to see other films that were coming out and The Meg 2’s theatrical release window came and went. So, after a lot of delays, I decided to check out the movie via renting it out on Vudu to see if this sequel was worth seeing. And what did I think of it? Well, I have to say that my initial thoughts were correct. Despite giving fans what they probably want in its predator mayhem premise, Meg 2: The Trench drums up little creative imagination and delivers a jumbled and hodgepodge feature film that lacks focus, substance, and remembrance. There’s plenty of shark attacks sequences to sink your teeth into, but the rest of the feature feels too much of campy slog fest….and that’s never a good thing.
Meg 2: The Trench is directed by Ben Wheatley, whose previous directorial works includes such films as Sightseers, Kill List, and Free Fire. Given his directing background with action films (or at least productions that require lengthy action sequences), Wheatley seems like a suitable choice to helm such a project as a follow-up to 2018’s The Meg. Like a lot of sequel film endeavors, Wheatley attempts to raise the stakes higher than what came before by shaping this movie to be bigger in its scope and more visceral within its predator shark attacks moments. This, of course, is where the film’s “bread and butter” comes into play, with Wheatley leaning into what fans want to see…. large scale moments of giant shark mayhem. Meg 2 certainly has that, with Wheatley laying on such carnage on thick throughout the feature’s presentation. Crazy antics of shark encounters, large-scale mayhem from such predators of the deep, and a body count of casualties that provide plenty of deaths. This, of course, is where the movie gets the most mileage from such violent attacks that, while brutal to certain degree, don’t come off as grotesque or disturbing, with Wheatley keeping the film’s flavoring more for the body count and violent encounters than trying to gross out viewers. In addition, Wheatley gives the feature enough “oomph” in a few areas to make the whole endeavor feel light on its toes. Yes, there are quite some materials that really don’t go anywhere (more on that below), but the movie keeps everything moving along. In the end, while not exactly a great movie, Wheatley does approach Meg 2 with certain sense of a sequel film endeavor, doubling down on what made the first film successful and redirecting such other nuances for more shark and underwater mayhem.
For its presentation, Meg 2 does have the feel of a “summer blockbuster” project, which boasts plenty of large / big set and locations throughout the movie and the usage of visual effects to help scale such cinematic usage. This (by my standards) is what I would say that it would meet the “industry standard” for a film of this nature and it won’t rival any big summer studio tentpole out there, but definitely looks like a something that a lot of production budget money was given for Wheatley and his team to give the feature enough visual flair throughout its various background setting. From marine techy base to resort vacation locales and even to the ocean depths, the movie does have keen eye for some pleasing set layouts and design. Thus, the film’s “behind the scenes” team, including Chris Lowe (production design), Maudie Andrews and Bei Cai (set decorations), Lindsay Pugh (costume designs), and the entire art direction for their efforts in making the film’s movie world come alive with enough life in both realism and for fanciful filmscape scope. Additionally, while not the best out there, cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos does do some decent jobs in a few sequences that capture the cinematic quality that Wheatley was trying to convey with such predators of the deep, with the usage of shadowing and dramatic shots for that “shock and awe” factor. Lastly, the film’s score, which was composed by Harry Gregson-Willams was adequate enough to propel some of the movie’s scenes forward, with enough bombastic suspension / tension as well as a few quieter dialogues driven moments. It’s not the greatest that Gregson-Willams has produced (I would say The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is his best), but it gets the job done for what this picture has to offer. It’s basically just a film soundtrack…. nothing more than that.
Unfortunately, Meg 2 is far from being a great movie, with the film languishing in such murky (and problematic) areas that it derails the project in some big and glaring criticism. How so? Well, for starters, the movie itself isn’t is too self-aware of what its trying to be. Like a lot of sequels, the so-called “next installment” usually tries to go bigger than what came before, which can mean in terms of scale and scope or being aware of the nature of the narrative’s premise and concept by either poking fun at it or indulging in such ideas more. With Meg 2, Wheatley decides to “go big” and showcases how crazy and goofy some of these shark attack encounters can be, which some will praise the feature for (as mentioned above). However, such self-awareness in the movie is detrimental to the proceedings and sort of “dummies” everything down with such goofy antics. How so? Well, because of this, the characters are quite broad and one dimensional (more on that below), the story (as a whole) is quite flimsy and thin, and just about everything about this movie feels undercooked and severely bland, with (again) a touch of “been there, done that” feeling that permeates the entire production.
Then, of course, the movie itself is quite formulaic and predictable right from the get-go. I sort of knew this was going to be the case, especially after viewing the first film, but I was expecting something a little bit more than was given in the film cut of the feature. Everything plays out in what you expect it to be, sets up who the bad guys are (quite nonchalantly) despite trying to a have a surprise “twist”, certain characters that aren’t going to make it, and just seems to run on bit of much of an autopilot routine. Like many out there, if you have seeing movies like these before (and pretty much you have) you know what to expect, with little to no surprises. Thus, everything is pushed forward and operating on a such a formulaic touch that it becomes lacking in surprises and innovation. Part of the problem of this comes from Wheatley’s direction, which doesn’t seem to going too well and lacks a certain type of finessing, even with this project having that goofy nature of being a bit “over-the-top”. Yes, Wheatley does give viewers what they want from the movie, but everything else is too underwhelming and almost too cartoon-ish, lacking the sense of grounded realism as if the movie was a cheesy “B Movie” endeavor and lacking the necessary charm to be considered likeable. Furthermore, the overall “absurdities” that are scattered throughout the movie is a bit too much at times, with Wheatley trying too hard to crank it up. I was expecting some silly moments, but Wheatley comes a little bit too much for it, which results in many sequences that implement such absurd and goofy moments coming off as cheesy and bad.
The other problem comes from the film’s script, which was penned by Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber, and Dean Georgaris. The problem with the script is that it comes off as too many ideas and not enough time to fully encompass them within the feature’s runtime. From Jonas become a eco-savior against big corporations to nefarious plotting against financial backers to a secretive mining operation on the ocean floor to a luxury vacation destination under attack, the movie has a plot of subplot material to unpack, yet the script does little to full go in-depth of such nuances and merely glosses over the surface of everything. This result in the movie having a very flat and carboard sketch presentation that doesn’t know how to approach certain ideas, which makes the movie feel very confusing (at times) as to why they were put into the story from the onset. By removing one or two of these, the script could’ve expanded upon those ideas to add more dynamic layers to the plot. Sadly, it does not and makes The Meg 2 feel half-baked. Like the characters themselves, the script’s dialogue is quite thin and flat, which has plenty of goofy and cheesy one-liners that tries to be amusing, yet comes off as bland and dumb. So, most of the dialogue lines (be it normal, heroic, or comedic) is very clunky and wooden throughout.
Also, the CGI effects were a bit jumbled throughout their renderings. Some parts worked quite well and did showcases the formidable size and power that these underwater predators have to offer, but, other times, it looks a bit too dated and comes across as bad CGI constructs, which is strange because the film’s budget was quite large and hefty.
Lastly, the film has a jarring effect as it transition from the second act to the third, the feature almost switching gears to a new location and new feeling, which was something I wasn’t expecting. While that expectation can be seeing as a bit “welcoming”, the truth of the matter is that it feels very confusing and questionable. In fact, the third act of the feature feels almost like an idea from a completely different movie that was jammed in The Meg 2’s story. The end result is quite clashing in the changing of gears, which doesn’t bode well, especially when introducing new side characters and a new location. It’s just very off-putting and doesn’t seem to go along with the film’s first two acts.
The cast in Meg 2 feels lacking, with most of the cast hamming it up within such thinly sketched characters that populate the feature’s narrative. As mentioned above, I sort of knew that this movie wasn’t going to be case, especially how the first film played up the characters, so it didn’t bother me greatly, but, on the other hand, I was definitely expecting a bit more than what was presented. Leading the charge in the movie is actor Jason Statham, who returns to the project in reprising his lead character role (from the previous Meg film) Jonas Taylor. Known for his roles in The Transporter, Crank, and The Expendables, Statham has certainly made a name for himself in the action film genre, appearing constantly throughout many projects over the years and “banking” on the action fighting skills to make for such a “larger-than-life” hero lead. Thus, to see Statham returning to playing such a character like Jonas Taylor, a nonsense individual who knows how to handle such underwater predators of the deep, is indeed a welcoming sight. For his part, Statham does what he does best when he’s on-screen and plays up the strength and steely demeanor that Jonas has. Plus, Statham can always handle himself in whatever action scene he’s in and does do a fair amount of them in the movie; providing plenty of stunts and fights that are customary to actor’s signature bravado. The problem is that the character of Jonas Taylor is a bit too broad and doesn’t really have much depth or understanding beyond a few snippets here and there. He’s like the classic action hero, which is probably what Wheatley, and his team were going with, but ends up making for a rather bland and generic character. So, while Statham is solid in the role, the character of Jonas Taylor seems rather formulaic to the touch.
The next important character in the movie would be Meiying, Jiuming’s niece and Jonas’ stepdaughter, who is once again played by actress Shuya Sophia Cai (Mr. Conman and Somewhere Only We Knew). The problem is that the character of Meiying is your typical “young child in danger” archetype that always gets into trouble and mischief and needs help rescuing her. So, the character becomes a bit too repetitive throughout and grows stale. It’s not for a lack of trying from Cai’s performance, but it’s not enough to make her rise above those criticism tropes. Additionally, actor Jing Wu (The Wandering Earth and Wolf Warrior 2) does a decent job in playing Jiuming Zhang, Meiying’s uncle and owner of Mana One. For his part, Wu makes the character likeable in his various scenes in the movie, but it was anything to rave about. He was there, he did a relatively okay job in the movie, and that was it. Nothing really good or bad.
Who actually makes the biggest impression (beyond Statham) in the movie would have to be actor Page Kennedy (The Upshaws and S.W.A.T), who comes back to reprise his Meg character role of DJ, an engineer at Mana One. Unlike the first movie, the character gets a bit more “to do” in the film and has a bit more comedic parts throughout, which Kennedy does play up in a hammy sort of way. It does get a bit repetitive and annoying at times, but I think it was probably a bit more necessary to add some comedic levity, despite come off as a bit choppy at times. Additionally, who also returns from the first film is actor Cliff Curtis (Risen and Avatar: The Way of Water) by reprising his character Mac, Mana One’s operations manager. Like before, Curtis does a solid job in playing the character and does get his moment to shine here and there in the movie’s story. There isn’t much to Mac in the film, so he doesn’t really grow or change in the feature, yet Curtis still does a commendable job in playing his part in The Meg 2.
Perhaps the absolute worst character in the entire film would have to be Hilary Driscoll, a billionaire woman investor who is financing Jiuming’s efforts in the Mana One, and who is played by actress Sienna Guillory (Eragon and Fortitude). Why is she the worst? Well, to put it simply,…..she is so over-the-top and obnoxious. I know that’s what the script was trying to go for, but it comes off as way too cartoon-ish and stupid. Right from the get-go, the movie makes it quite clear that Driscoll is a bad guy (even though they try to hide the fact until later on) and it becomes so blatant and ridiculous that it becomes a total distraction whenever she’s on-screen. What makes it worse is in Guillory’s performance, which is disappointing because I do like her as an actress, but what’s presented in the movie is quite horrible and awful to watch. It’s so over-the-top and cringeworthy. As a side note, actor Sergio Peris Mencheta (Rambo: Last Blood and Resident Evil: Afterlife) does a mediocre job in playing bad guy Montes, a mercenary in charge of illegal mining operation on the ocean floor. Mencheta gets the job done as the main henchmen goon, but the characters comes off as too goofy at times and cheesy.
The rest of the cast, including actress Skyler Samuels (Scream Queens and The Gifted) as Mana One worker Jess, actress Melissanthi Mahut (In Transit and Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey) as security office at Mana One Rigas, actress Whoopie Van Raam (Counterpart and Bulletproof) as Mana One diver Curtis, actress Kiran Sonia Sawar (Truelove and Pure) as Mana One diver Sal, and actor Felix Mayr (The Palace and Wendehammer) as Mana One diver Lance, are delegated to minor supporting roles in the movie. While the acting talent behind these character is okay, majority of these players are, more or less, your standard characters that will meet some type of untimely demise and nothing else. Lastly, there are slew of other unnamed characters that appear in the film’s third act (too many to mention), but, like the rest in this category, are merely there for cannon fodder or to be put in peril / harm’s way for predator encounter sequences.
FINAL THOUGHTS
To find out more of these subterranean creatures as well to test new tech to deal with such threats, Jonas and his team venture into the ocean depths, uncovering a plot of corporate takeover as well as new and fearsome menace to survive against in the movie Meg 2: The Trench. Director Ben Wheatley’s latest film doubles down on the violent encounters and deadly sharks from the first installment and gives the feature a boost in crazy antics and goofy self-awareness that tries to emulate a parody throwback of survival and danger. Unfortunately, despite some adequate moments of action and carnage, the movie itself underwhelmingly bad and tastless with very little bit, especially after factoring Wheatley’s direction, a bland story, wonky third act narrative, superfluous subplots that don’t go anywhere, formulaic plot progression, too much goofy absurdities, bad attempts of humor, and undercooked characters. Personally, I didn’t particular care for this movie. Much like what I said above (many times), I knew that the movie was probably going to be this way, so my expectations for this sequel to be quite low. Even still, I was expecting something far better than what was the movie actually was. The story was jumbled and very hodgepodge, the writing for the feature was bad, and the character themselves were one-dimensional. The absurdity of many scenes were also a bit too goofy and cheesy and (to me) lacked any type of fun that the film was trying to project. I didn’t particular care for the first Meg movie, but (at the very least) is far superior in being coherent and put together than this follow-up installment. Thus, my recommendation for this movie would be a hard “skip it” as it really does have much in the way of entertainment nor any type of redeeming qualities. If you like predator survival type features, you can find something better than this particular endeavor. Even if you are a fan of Statham, you’ll enjoy one of his other movies out there than this one. In the end, Meg 2: The Trench tries to find its footing with absurd nature of shark encounters and deadly survival prowess, but it ends up being a rather dull affair with plethora of unhumorous bits and a patchworked shark frenzy sequel.
1.6 Out of 5 (Skip It)
Released On: August 4th, 2023
Reviewed On: May 31st, 2024
Meg 2: The Trench is 116 minutes long and is rated PG-13 for action / violence, some bloody images, language, and brief suggestive material
The post Meg 2: The Trench (2023) Review appeared first on Jason’s Movie Blog.
