Meg 2: The Trench
Written by Cameron Geiser
Every so often you'll see a poster for a movie, or just hear the hook in conversation and you may think “Well, that sounds a little stupid- but hey it could be fun with the right execution”. This is true for a large swath of genre filmmaking, but even the first Meg succeeded more than this sequel. Meg 2: The Trench is a joyless affair about impossibly large prehistoric sharks with a reasonably reliable action star at the forefront of the picture in Jason Statham. Which is a statement that makes me feel like I'm going bananas. Okay, so I caught the first film back in theaters on a whim, and it was a “fine” genre flick, kinda dumb but it had its moments. However, the sequel ironically should be sent to the depths of the ocean as it may be the dumbest film I've seen in over a decade- and that's saying something!
The only way I can recommend this film is if you saw it the way I did. With a large group of friends, alcohol optional- but highly recommended, and truthfully you should see it in 3D. You will never again hear me extolling the virtue of seeing a film in 3D, I actually despise the whole affair. However, this isn't a film. It's a theme park ride, which is ironic because Meg 2: The Trench has the same level of narrative skill as that of a roller coaster. At least people usually enjoy themselves on theme park rides, but no one involved in this movie looks like they're really invested. Jason Statham at least seems to wake up from his gravelly dialogue induced nap deep into the third act with a couple of eye-rolling bad (but not ridiculous enough either) puns.
Okay, but why is it so bad? Chief among the mistakes of the film is that of jumping between tones of genre films so wildly that it breaks any immersion and goodwill that the film may have earned. You must choose, are you making a silly over the top genre film? Or are you making a self serious action thriller with elements of man-versus-nature horror? Because it seems like the film itself doesn't know what it wants to be. Keep in mind that my expectations were very, very, low going into this one. I expected it to be dumb at least on some level, but when the film immediately breaks the rules that a previous scene established- well, what are we doing here people? I think the movie was just too stupid for its own good. If the whole conceit of the sequel is that an expedition team traveling deep beneath the frost barrier (or whatever they call it) at the bottom of the Mariana Trench requires super advanced technology in order to do so- then why am I supposed to believe that Jason Statham can just free dive with no oxygen or suit, or anything, and not be crushed to death by the intense pressure? Not to mention that the OceanGate submersible tragedy is still hanging around in the zeitgeist reminding us all how dangerous the Oceans can be.
Ugh.
I won't even bore you with a plot description or synopsis. Giant sharks escape and characters try to avoid death. That's pretty much it. What I really can't understand is how you take an idea that's inherently full of visual potential and turn out this dumpster fire of muddled “action” and muted colors with such poor film geography? I don't enjoy ripping a film to shreds critically personally, so I will say at least one positive thing. The CGI was pretty good for the most part. Those sharks weren't the problem with the film. It was everything else that hurt so much. I was also curiously disappointed that the director was Ben Wheatley. I don't know the filmmaker all that well to be honest, but if you want to see a far more entertaining and watchable film from him, check out Free Fire. I quite enjoyed that little gun-happy flick. Don't make my mistake, watch better films than Meg 2: The Trench.
Cameron Geiser is an avid consumer of films and books about filmmakers. He'll watch any film at least once, and can usually be spotted at the annual Traverse City Film Festival in Northern Michigan. He also writes about film over at www.spacecortezwrites.com.