Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) is back in Meg 2: The Trench, with him and his crew on an expedition that turns into a battle for survival.
★★★✰✰
Shark movies exist on a spectrum: at one end, there are the serious, dramatic horror/thriller films; on the other are the silly, exploitation B movies. All shark films between these two types have at least one element of both, even if they’re mostly an example of one of the two. 2018’s The Meg tried to be more of a hybrid, existing almost in the middle with a goofy premise, strong humour, and cheesy moments mixed with dramatic scenes, tension, and some genuine character development. Here is its sequel: the aptly named Meg 2: The Trench. This follow-up is directed by Ben Wheatley and once again stars Jason Statham as Jonas Taylor, who is on another expedition that goes woefully wrong. Where does this sequel sit on this spectrum? Is it a surprisingly solid thriller or does it embrace its B movie setup more than its predecessor, delivering a cheesy, campy, fun thrill ride?
Ultimately, Meg 2: The Trench exists more as a Sharksploitation B movie, one which embraces the premise more than the first film and delivers a fun time for the most part. Meg 2: The Trench is a big budget film with a lot of cheesiness, which is part of its charm. However, it does walk the line between enjoyably campy and stupid a little too often for it to be the ultimate guilty pleasure fun it clearly aims to be.
Meg 2: The Trench has a refreshing focus on characterisation. Not only are the characters likable, but you end up caring for them too. Statham oozes his usual charisma, maintains good comic delivery, and still has enough dramatic chops to handle the lead role. The father-daughter relationship he has with Meiying Zhang (Shuya Sophia Cai) is not only the heart of Meg 2: The Trench, but easily its most entertaining part as well. One of the highlights is Jiuming Zhang (Wu Jing), who is fantastic and has the potential to be a true modern action hero. Even if his character is overpowered, his constant enthusiasm and optimism make him very endearing.
Wheatley’s direction is solid, with a good sense of momentum to overcome script deficiencies. Meg 2: The Trench somehow leans more into the absurdity of the premise than The Meg. Wheatley delivers action that is well choreographed, with strong editing by Jonathan Amos and slick cinematography by Haris Zambarloukos. Thanks to these elements, Meg 2: The Trench delivers on its promise of being a ‘fun time at the movies’.
However, as Meg 2: The Trench is still more of hybrid of the two varying types of shark movies, it therefore has the negatives of both. It is neither an edge-of-your-seat thriller nor an ultimate guilty pleasure sharksploitation film, whilst the plot only really lifts off in the third act. It doesn’t have a strong sense of conflict like Jaws. Meg 2: The Trench remains mostly interesting thanks to the charm of the actors and characters, but the action can be lacking and too sporadic.
In keeping with Meg 2: The Trench’s absurd premise, the villains are cartoonish, but to the point of not being threatening. Even for a film with such a silly premise, it comes across as laughable and cringeworthy. In addition, Meg 2: The Trench feels lacking in gore. Because of these deficiencies, Wheatley’s absurd film feels lacking compared to schlocky horrors such as Cocaine Bear, and unsure in terms of what type of shark film it really wants to be.
The Verdict
Meg 2: The Trench embraces its absurdity more than its predecessor, but it suffers from cartoonish villains and a notable lack of teeth in its violence. Despite these flaws, its cast, action and characterisation make it worth diving into… just about.
Words by Balázs Kökényesy
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