Meg 2: The Trench (2023) * 1/2

 

Directed by:  Ben Wheatley

Starring:  Jason Statham, Wu Zing, Li Bingbing, Sienna Guillory, Cliff Curtis, Shuya Sophia Cai, Skyler Samuels

Meg 2: The Trench is the completely unnecessary sequel to The Meg (2018), a movie to which I gave a positive review even though I don't recall much about it five years later.  What I do remember is Jason Statham was its star and a giant megalodon emerged from its deep water cocoon to terrorize a resort.  I enjoyed the original film on its intended level.   Meg 2: The Trench does not work on any level because the first half has almost no Megs and the second half has no trench, but instead returns to another resort so the creatures can wreak havoc there with all of the major characters who are all conveniently assembled on the island.

Meg 2 begins with Jason Statham returning as Jonas Taylor, who works for a Chinese oceanic institute run by his brother-in-law Jiuming (Zing) which houses the last remaining megs on the planet in captivity.  Jiuming believes he can train the megs so they can, I don't know, work shows at Sea World in the future? One evening Jonas and his crew descend on the deepest underwater trench known to humans and find a giant marine station built by a competitor for illegal drilling and other shenanigans.  How did they build it?  Forget the pyramids, this would be the most mind-blowing construction project ever conceived.  Watching Jonas and company travel deeper and deeper underwater, I also couldn't help but think of the recent heartbreaking news story of the submersible Titan which imploded back in June en route to the Titanic.  

The megs find a way to ram through thick steel walls to free themselves from captivity, but they don't play much of a factor until the underwater sea station business is concluded, which includes Jonas swimming without a suit through the water without paying any mind to the pressure which would simply crush him to smithereens.  Someone says, "It's not the pressure, but the lack of oxygen which would kill you,"   The mind boggles.  

Those happy to see the megs will enjoy the second half, which plays like a carbon copy of the conclusion of the first film.   Statham almost single-handedly saves the day as he wont to do and this might be easier this time around because the megs aren't gigantic creatures, but slightly larger than your average great white shark.  How Jonas subdues one of the megs is copied right from Jaws 2, but the megs also off some of the villains which is helpful to Jonas.   Meg 2 is not intended to be realistic, since after all we're dealing with prehistoric sea monsters, but like Jurassic Park, there isn't any fascination with the idea that this species still roams the planet.   Instead, the megs are video-game targets and the humans are reduced to either having to kill them or avoid being eaten by them.