Meg 2: The Trench
Release Date: August 4, 2023
Directed By: Ben Wheatley
Written By: Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber, and also Dean Georgaris
Starring: Jason Statham, Wu Jing, Sophia Cai, Page Kennedy, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Skyler Samuels, Sienna Guillory, and also Cliff Curtis
Rating: PG-13 for action/violence, some bloody pictures, language and also quick symptomatic product
Runtime: 116 mins
But that silly, eruptive summertime hit motion picture experience is not what’s supplied. With a manuscript that is all over the area, the flick not does anything especially innovative or engaging with its larger beast lineup (this view quite consists of beast vs. beast activity), and also what enjoyable huge shark activity it does have actually is hushed by overcooked non-Meg-associated outlining that consists of an unlawful mining procedure in the trench, a business mole, the resurfacing of an old opponent and also even more. There are ludicrous series that provide what target markets are seeking – like Statham zooming about on a jet ski tossing eruptive harpoons – however usually it seems like the movie is simply hunting of what to do with its personalities (and also not almost sufficient of the solutions include enormous, meat-eating fish).
Set a couple of years after the occasions of the previous journey, Meg 2: The Trench overtakes Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) as he is taken part in reconnaissance job, excavating up proof versus a firm that is unlawfully discarding contaminated products… however that’s just worldly to provide the movie an opening activity series. He continues to be linked to the globe of Megalodons many thanks to Jiuming (Wu Jing), the sibling of Li Bingbing’s Suyin Zhang from the very first flick – that is disclosed to be dead – and also the supervisor of the Zhang Oceanic Institute. The institute houses the only Megalodon in bondage, however exploratory missions have actually remained to the titular deep sea landscape, and also Jonas is welcomed to sign up with Jiuming and also his team on a goal to an untouched field.
With underwhelming activity, Meg 2’s plain personalities and also outlining are much more recognizable.
These problems are is intensified by the reality that Meg 2: The Trench doesn’t really have anything going for it beyond its creature feature elements and the charisma of Jason Statham. It’s all plot and no story, as developments push the characters from scene to scene but – somewhat ironically – never offer any depth. With the exception of Page Kennedy’s DJ, an institute scientist who gets some redemption after being a punchline in the first film, none of the characters are provided with any kind of personality or quirk that individualize them, and they all speak with the same general voice. Meiying’s presence actually ends up being an essential part of the experience because her age and innocence provide the movie with its only source of personal stakes for the heroes.
Some might respond to this criticism by saying, “I don’t care about story and characters; I just want to be entertained by a big, dumb shark movie.” This isn’t an unreasonable take in the case of expectations for Meg 2, but the reality is that without anything encouraging audience investment, scenes between the set pieces get repetitive and dull.
Meg 2: The Trench wants to just be seen as dumb fun, but it does not earn it.
Featuring a sequence where a diving suit-less Jason Statham survives while swimming 25,000 feet underwater, Meg 2: The Trench clearly isn’t designed as a film that is meant to be taken too seriously… but it’s not fun enough to earn that complacency. The movie’s predecessor made that expectation work, albeit with significant issues of its own. But the sequel promises too much and also under-delivers, and also that dissatisfaction sticks to you as you make your escape of the cinema.
