Meg 2: The Trench is a 2023 science fiction action film directed by Ben Wheatley (Kill List, Free Fire) from a screenplay by Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber, and Dean Georgaris, based on the 1999 novel The Trench: Meg 2 by Steve Alten. Serving as the sequel to The Meg (2018), the film stars Jason Statham, Wu Jing, Sophia Cai, Page Kennedy, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Skyler Samuels, and Cliff Curtis.

Jonas Taylor leads a research team on an exploratory dive into the deepest depths of the ocean. Their voyage spirals into chaos when a malevolent mining operation threatens their mission and forces them into a high-stakes battle for survival.

Plans for the sequel announced to be early development on October 2018 after the box office success of the first film, Wheatley replaced Jon Turteltaub to attached to be director from the returning script by Dean Georgaris, Jon Hoeber, and Erich Hoeber, with Alten having completed the screenplay in 2019. Filming began in various locations in Asia and the London place Leavesden Studio on February 2022 with much of the cast joining the same month until May 2022.

Meg 2: The Trench made its debut in theaters on August 4th, 2023, courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.

THE GOOD

I was late to the party when it came to seeing the original film, The Meg, and to be honest I can't quite tell you why that is. I assume it came out during a big movie weekend. I am a big Jason Statham guy, and like any blue-collar movie connoisseur, I consider Jaws to be an all-time classic film. So needless to say, Statham in an action-packed shark attack thriller has my name written all over it. When I finally got around to seeing it, I really enjoyed it. I went in with fairly tempered expectations figuring it would be a movie meant for the theater with a big bowl of popcorn in your lap, and I thought they did a great job offering up a nice balance of action, comedy, and just all-around big-screen fun. Once they officially greenlit the sequel I planned to see it right away, hoping that if nothing else it was another fun time at the theater, and maybe even a damn good movie all around. So, did they put together a worthy sequel, or better yet a stepping stone to a full-on franchise? Keep reading to find out!

Alright so Meg 2: The Trench didn't fall on its face entirely, but I personally expected more which I will touch on later in the review. First I will talk about what I did like about this movie, and don't worry I will keep this review short and sweet, because, at the end of the day, this genre is what it is. Now Meg 2: The Trench was a fun movie and definitely not something that sent me back to the lobby asking for my money back, but it certainly didn’t get a standing ovation either. Jason Statham is great as always and continues to prove that he is the man to call for films like this.

It offers up a decent amount of great action sequences and special effects that I personally thought were fine and basically what I expected after seeing the first movie. We are also treated to some gorgeous shots thanks to such scenic shooting locations in Thailand. I really liked how they emphasized building on the comedic element, allowing a few other characters some opportunities to grab a few laughs. My favorite part of the film was without a doubt the final act, and although it was definitely very over the top I thought the ending was satisfying.

The two primary draws for Meg 2: The Trench is the cast and the special effects, more specifically the giant killer sharks, and they are the primary bright spots. As far as the cast goes, pretty much everyone was solid. Jason Statham does what he does and delivers as the face of the film. If you are seeing this movie that likely means you are a Statham fan, so you can chalk his involvement up as one of the big positives. I also really liked Page Kennedy reprising his role of DJ from the first film. This time around Kennedy gets more screen time and I thought he took full advantage, contributing to the majority of the funny moments of the film. His character is definitely goofy, but I enjoyed the humor he added. Cliff Curtis was very good yet again, and I was happy to see my guy Sergio Peris-Mencheta from the FX drama series Snowfall get a role in the film, and I thought he was very good as well.

As far as the special effects are concerned, like I said I thought they were fine. They didn't necessarily blow me away or anything, but they did enough to adequately follow up the first film in terms of the quality of the CGI. The first film was far from perfect in that department, so it was just more of the same at least from where I was sitting. If you are expecting any semblance of realism during the action sequences, you are in the wrong movie. So I guess maybe I went in expecting special effects with flaws. I thought the visuals stood out the most during the final act, which similar to the first film is when things really got crazy. If anything I thought they should have relied more on the CGI and just had more action in the film in general, and cut out some of the slower story-building scenes during the first half.

THE BAD

Meg 2: The Trench underachieved, simple as that. I personally thought that after the first film, a successful sequel would be a layup. The stage was set and the primary characters were developed, now you just needed to go bonkers with Statham and the sharks. But instead of giving audiences what they wanted, which for my money was a sequel that was at least 80% action, they gave us a film that seemed to be trying to build more of a layered story beyond the simple yet effective foundation of the first film. Why?! I mean really, it just made no sense to me whatsoever and they easily could have cut 30 minutes and it would have been better. I understand that the overall premise is based on a novel, I just thought the additional elements of the story they tried to build on made the film feel more like a prequel than a sequel. I just wanted to see Jason Statham in the battle of his life against giant killer sharks for the majority of the film, is that really too much to ask? Plus, some of the acting was just bad and I wouldn’t even be worried about that if we had more action.

THE VERDICT

While it fails to effectively build on the success of the original film opting for more story and less action, Meg 2: The Trench is still a fun time at the theater to see Jason Statham vs Killer Sharks 2.0 as long as you go in knowing what to expect. I had fun with this movie and I certainly don't regret seeing it, it just simply should have been so much better. If you genuinely enjoyed the first film I do think this is still worth seeing in theaters, plus you can certainly justify going for a popcorn or soda refill during the first 45 minutes or so. Just keep your expectations in check. And if the box office numbers justify a third film, I will be more than willing to give it a chance as long as Jason Statham is still involved.