Megalodon mayhem is back on the big screen.
In 2018's The Meg, a group of scientists discovered a megalodon near the floor of the Pacific Ocean. The Meg didn't like being found and wreaked a bunch of havoc before finally being defeated by Jason Statham and his pals. Then a second one showed up and they defeated that one too. Anyway...
Now, like it or not, it's happening again. But this time there's even more megs.
In Meg 2: The Trench, we join a group of scientists who are attempting to train a megalodon because sure, why not?
Due to some explosions at a deep sea base, a group/pack/herd? of megs manage to break through the plot device thermocline which was keeping them at the bottom of the titular trench.
They end up at a resort on Fun Island where they chomp down on on some unsuspecting vacationers.
Statham returns as Jonas, the diver turned eco-warrior/super spy – it's not really clear what his job is. He fought a meg and lived to tell the tale, so naturally he's the man to call when there's a whole bunch of megs on the loose.
Joining him is Cliff Curtis and Page Kennedy as Mac and DJ, the comedic relief of the film, although there's little relief from Meg 2: The Trench.
Any criticisms I have about the plot being predictable or characters being paper thin comes part and parcel with the type of movie this is. I try to meet every film I watch on its own terms. I can get behind a big dumb action B-movie, and can excuse a lot of complaints if, as an audience member, we're rewarded with some great action.
Meg 2 does deliver on its promise of more megalodons and meg on human action eventually, but it's far too late into the film. It's after an hour or so of exposition and dull underwater set pieces. But then even when those megs do go absolutely loco on the residents of Fun Island it's not even that impressive, to be frank.
There's the odd cool shot or plot beat here and there but kudos to the trailer editor, they found all two minutes and thirty seconds of them in the entire film and packaged them together and genuinely made me want to see the film.
I was expecting Meg 2 to be a self-aware, schlocky movie with a few laughs, more akin to the tone of the Fast & Furious movies. The tone of the movie is somewhat undecided. It's not serious enough that you can enjoy the juxtaposition of the super serious script with the ridiculous premise, but it's not camp enough where it feels like the filmmakers are in on the joke.
There's no reason The Meg 3 can't be a perfectly fun, hilarious, action-packed movie about Jason Statham fighting a giant shark, but Meg 2 ain't it.
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