Meg 2: The Trench Review

Meg 2: The Trench had the potential to be a thrilling, over-the-top summer blockbuster, but instead, it flounders in murky storytelling and lacklustre execution. Directed by Ben Wheatley, known for his darkly inventive films like Kill List and A Field in England, the movie struggles to find a consistent tone, offering occasional flashes of fun amidst a sea of dull sequences. What could have been a guilty pleasure or campy B-movie classic instead feels like a missed opportunity weighed down by its inability to lean fully into the absurdity of its premise.

The sequel picks up with Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) years after the events of the first Meg. Now working at an undersea research station, Jonas has expanded his action-hero resume to include taking down environmental terrorists. He finds himself diving into the Mariana Trench alongside Jiuming (Wu Jing), his late wife’s brother, and his curious stepdaughter Meiying (Sophia Cai). Things go predictably awry as the team encounters not just prehistoric Megalodons but also an illegal mining operation with villainous humans vying for attention.

The film spends far too much of its runtime on an uninspired conspiracy subplot. For much of the first two acts, the titular Megs are an afterthought, overshadowed by tedious underwater sequences and poorly developed antagonists. The script meanders, forcing viewers to endure drab scenes of murky lighting, garbled dialogue, and characters trudging around in indistinguishable deep-sea suits. It’s an extended slog that fails to deliver the suspense or excitement expected in a giant shark movie.

Wheatley’s direction feels uncharacteristically restrained, as though he’s unsure of how to balance the ridiculous premise with engaging action. The film briefly comes to life in its final act, when the action moves to “Fun Island,” a tourist destination turned feeding ground for rampaging Megs and other monstrous sea creatures. For about 30 minutes, Meg 2 delivers what audiences came to see: over-the-top mayhem, creative kills, and Jason Statham hurling explosives at giant sharks. This stretch is undoubtedly entertaining, but it’s too little, too late to salvage the rest of the film.

The performances are serviceable at best, with Statham doing his usual stoic action-hero routine. Wu Jing and Sophia Cai attempt to inject some emotional stakes into the proceedings, but the script offers them little to work with. The supporting cast, including Cliff Curtis and Page Kennedy, provide sporadic comic relief, but even their efforts can’t overcome the film’s lack of compelling characters or cohesive storytelling.

Visually, the film fails to impress. The underwater cinematography is murky and uninspired, often leaving viewers squinting to decipher what’s happening. The lack of tension is further compounded by an overreliance on poorly executed CGI and unimaginative creature designs. While the original Meg was hardly a masterpiece, it managed to deliver a sense of scale and spectacle that’s largely absent here.

Meg 2: The Trench feels like a sequel unsure of what it wants to be. It spends too much time trying to set up generic human conflicts and too little time embracing the gleeful absurdity of its concept. While the final act offers a glimpse of the chaotic fun the film could have been, the journey to get there is an uninspired slog. In a summer filled with superior blockbusters like Barbie and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, there’s little reason to dive into these uncharted (and underwhelming) waters.