Meg 2: The Trench (2023)
Shark movie Meg 2: The Trench is the follow-up to the unexpected box office hit The Meg, which colored waters bloody red in the summer of 2018.
A sequel was to be expected, even if it was possible that ‘folks were only curious the first time’, as renowned box office pundit Scott Mendelson likes to say.
Original director Jon Turteltaub was replaced by English filmmaker Ben Wheatley, who made a name for himself with eccentric indie-movies like Sightseers (2012) and A Field in England (2013), but who seems to have gone in a different direction since he started working in Hollywood, with the ultra-violent action comedy Free Fire (2016) and his rather listless reinterpretation of Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca (2020), which was originally made famous by the far superior version made by Alfred Hitchcock.
Still, I get it. Hollywood lets you play with budgets and toys you can only dream of as a small time director. And perhaps Wheatley has a couple of dream projects that you can only get financed in Hollywood.
But back to Meg 2: The Trench, loosely based on the novel The Trench (1999) by Steve Alten, which is indeed the second novel in the Meg-series, concerning the pre-historic ‘large tooth’ Megaladon shark who comes roaring back to life in the present.
Jason Statham returns as diver turned ecological warrior Jonas Taylor, and this time he is coupled with action expert Wu Jing. Together they lead a research team that goes into the depths of the ocean. However, their voyage spirals into chaos when a malevolent mining operation threatens their mission and forces them into a high-stakes battle for survival, pitting them against a lethal combination of environmental plunderers, Megs and other sea creatures.
Meg 2: The Trench offers a mix of action, horror and comedy, but the creature feature is hampered by bad CGI and a story full of plot holes.
Nevertheless, there is some fun to be had here, and Statham once again makes for a credible action hero. Wheatley has a keen eye for the physical side of film making and even though his career as a Hollywood director probably won’t get a bump from this movie, he will hopefully go on to make better movies again.
As for the Meg-franchise I don’t think there will be a third movie, at least not a big budget one. The original Meg-movie was a pretty good idea, but as sequels go this should be a clear case of ‘once bitten, twice shy’.