Meg 2: The Trench (2023) Review

One of the more popular monster films in previous years has its sequel Meg 2: The Trench and yesterday I had the chance to watch it and here is my review for it. The premise of the film is years after the events of the first film, the group of scientists look to explore more of the ocean and this leads to the ire of many different enemies. 

Main Character

Jason Statham is back to reprise his role as Jonas Taylor and he gives a very similar performance to the one he gave in the first film. He is pretty stoic with a deadpan humour but there hasn't seemed to have been too much character progression between the two films. Statham works in this role but it isn't the most interesting character ever. 

Supporting Characters

Jing Wu plays Jiuming and he may be my favourite character in this film. He is just filled with so much enthusiasm and excitement during the film, I liked his chemistry with the other characters and he was a real star here for me. 

Shuya Sophia Cal reprises her role as Meiying. I didn't talk about her in my last review but she was an okay child actor, but she is slightly older here and I thought she was much better. She has good chemistry with the other actors and I think this could be the start of a longer successful career for her. 

Cliff Curtis reprises his role from the first film and gets way more to do here and you can tell he is having so much fun in this film. He is very entertaining and is clearly a great part of this film and I am glad there was more for him to do here. 

Page Kennedy reprises his role as DJ and I found him really annoying in the first film but he was really funny in this film. He has learnt from the experiences of the first film and it leads to some really funny sequences. Just in general, this group of characters together is way more entertaining then the people that was in the first film. 

Story 

I criticised the story of the first film but at least that story was pretty simple and focused on The Meg. This film is all over the place and tries to focus on way too much, it does the worst thing a film this can do, it takes itself seriously. The film is at its best when it is just silly but whoever decided on these plot points missed a lot of that. 

Script

The script was funnier then the first film. The last half of the film had me laughing pretty consistently and everything was so over the top that it just worked. The drama is hammered onto the first half of the film especially and it just does not work, even though I enjoyed the performances, it was hard to truly care about what was going on. 

Style 

The style of the film is more mixed this time, the film looks great. The film spends more time exploring the ocean so is forced to use more CGI and I think the majority of it looks really great. The action scenes are fun and the last 20/30 mins of the film were the absurd action that I wanted. But the pacing was just off, the first half of the film was a bit boring and dull and then the 2nd half was ridiculously fast paced and it made the film feel a bit unbalanced. 

Overall

Overall, Meg 2: The Trench is an average film. It is similar to its predecessor that if you want to watch a film that sees a lot of crazy action and funny one liners then this is the film for you but as a film it really isn't that great. 

Rating - 5/10

The Meg (2018) Review

In prep for Meg 2: The Trench, I thought I had to go back and watch the first film, The Meg. So yesterday, I watched the film and here is my review for it. The premise of the film sees a group of scientists encounter a legendary Sea predator, The Megalodon who is clearly the apex predator. 

Main Character 

Jason Statham plays Jonas Taylor and he is exactly what you expect. Statham plays the traditional character that he always does, the tough macho guy that ends up being this ridiculous action hero doing the craziest of stunts here. The Meg is no different, Statham is good in the role he is playing but there is no depth here and the film kind of tries to add depth but it is totally pointless and Statham doesn't do enough, though he is clearly a highlight of the film. 

Supporting Characters 

Cliff Curtis is a talented actor and he is pretty much the only decent supporting character here. He is a friend of Statham's and their chemistry is one of the highlights of the film, though he kind of gets pushed to the back of this large cast. 

The rest of the cast though are not good. Bingbing Li plays the love interest of Statham and there is very little chemistry between them and I guess I just never grew to care about the dynamic between the two of them which is a shame. 

Rainn Wilson is usually an actor I like, but he is insufferable here. He plays the rich CEO of the company that is studying The Meg and you can just imagine what he is like and it just didn't work for me and he was just annoying. 

As I mentioned, there is a big cast and some annoying performances by Ruby Rose, Page Kennedy & Robert Taylor. They are just unlikeable and you don't care about them at all despite the film really trying to make you care. 

Story

Look, I didn't go into this film expecting a great story but there is literally nothing here to really care about. We're not here for great storytelling, we are here to watch Jason Statham fight The Meg and I am fine with that but yeah the story is bad and there is no depth here. 

Script 

Th script is extremely cheesy but I can't lie that I chuckle at times, if you can turn your brain off and just enjoy the experience then some of it works. Some of it also doesn't, the drama is misused and some of the humour isn't very funny either. 

Style 

Where the film really thrives is the style. The action set pieces are really fun, they are ridiculous and over the top but they are great to watch and a lot of fun. The CGI is also pretty good and I liked the design of The Meg and how it was used. The films pacing flew by and I thought it was a really easy watch which is always a benefit. 

Overall

Overall, The Meg is an average film, but it is a very entertaining watch. If you just want a film that is ridiculous, over the top and fun then The Meg is for you, but if you need a bit more depth then it will not be you. 

Rating - 5/10