Meg 2: The Trench opens with what seems like a fun scene that would have been deleted from a Jurassic Park sequel for being too ridiculous and overly CGI heavy. It's followed by what seems like a hilariously goofy deleted scene from the first Transporter movie, with Jason Statham beating up nameless bad guys on a container ship. At every opportunity, Meg 2 is trying hard to please the audience with action beats, character archetypes, and scenarios that they've seen before. Half the time, this sequel simply hits similar notes as its 2018 predecessor. Despite this laziness and lack of originality, the movie still has its odd charms, making it pretty hard to hate, even if it's hard to fully appreciate on any real artistic level.
As with the first film, the best thing Meg 2 has going for it is Jason Statham. Even if he may not be the best judge of scripts, Statham is still the absolute best action star Hollywood has. He has the physicality, acting chops, and charisma to make even the weakest of his films worth watching. Without Statham, Meg 2 probably wouldn't rank above a 3 or 4 out of 10, but Statham gives it his all with a so-so script and manages to make the overly long two-hour creature feature better than it would have been otherwise. The rest of the supporting cast does what they can with their roles. Nobody outright embarrasses themselves with the mediocre material.
Story-wise and artistically, The Meg is the superior entry in the Meg franchise. While not necessarily a bad film, Meg 2 definitely has its fair share of dead spots, with a lot of the first hour seeming like it could have ended up on the cutting room floor. The second hour is much stronger, emphasizing the (PG-13) carnage and attacks the audience wants out of a shark flick. The film is never an absolute bore, though it's disappointing that director Ben Wheatley didn't lean more into the B-movie nature of the first ten minutes. Both Meg movies would have benefited greatly from an R-rating, though the fact that both are super CGI heavy and relatively bloodless without ever playing like Syfy originals is probably a minor miracle.
Ultimately, Meg 2: The Trench isn't super memorable. It doesn't tell a particularly strong story or ever really justify its existence as a sequel. However, the opening scenes and the second half delivers the kind of mindless action spectacle one would want from a cheesy sci-fi adventure like this. In the end, it's strictly for Statham and creature feature fans only. Anyone else is likely to find it a complete waste of time. 5/10.
As with the first film, the best thing Meg 2 has going for it is Jason Statham. Even if he may not be the best judge of scripts, Statham is still the absolute best action star Hollywood has. He has the physicality, acting chops, and charisma to make even the weakest of his films worth watching. Without Statham, Meg 2 probably wouldn't rank above a 3 or 4 out of 10, but Statham gives it his all with a so-so script and manages to make the overly long two-hour creature feature better than it would have been otherwise. The rest of the supporting cast does what they can with their roles. Nobody outright embarrasses themselves with the mediocre material.
Story-wise and artistically, The Meg is the superior entry in the Meg franchise. While not necessarily a bad film, Meg 2 definitely has its fair share of dead spots, with a lot of the first hour seeming like it could have ended up on the cutting room floor. The second hour is much stronger, emphasizing the (PG-13) carnage and attacks the audience wants out of a shark flick. The film is never an absolute bore, though it's disappointing that director Ben Wheatley didn't lean more into the B-movie nature of the first ten minutes. Both Meg movies would have benefited greatly from an R-rating, though the fact that both are super CGI heavy and relatively bloodless without ever playing like Syfy originals is probably a minor miracle.
Ultimately, Meg 2: The Trench isn't super memorable. It doesn't tell a particularly strong story or ever really justify its existence as a sequel. However, the opening scenes and the second half delivers the kind of mindless action spectacle one would want from a cheesy sci-fi adventure like this. In the end, it's strictly for Statham and creature feature fans only. Anyone else is likely to find it a complete waste of time. 5/10.