By: Lana K. Wilson-Combs
Jason Statham ("Expend4bles") does everything except walk on water in the ridiculously, silly, yet can't-dare-turn-away" ocean adventure,
"Meg 2: The Trench." It's the sequel to "The Meg," the 2018 drama from director Jon Turteltaub that took audiences by surprise and became a box office hit.
"Meg 2: The Trench" is based on Steve Alten's 1999 horror novel, "The Trench." This time around British filmmaker Ben Wheatley ("Free Fire" and "Freak Shift") is at the helm.
Screenwriters Jon and Erich Hoeber ("Transformers: Rise of the Beasts") and Dean Georgaris ("The Meg") don't add much to the barebones plot. "Meg 2: The Trench" has some bite, but not nearly enough like its predecessor. Plus, these movies should have much more comedy. Page Kennedy who plays DJ (“The Meg” and TV’s “The Upshaws”), does provide some laugh out loud moments.
The film kind of trips over itself with so much backstory. All we want to see is Jason Statham taking on that giant, toothy prehistoric shark known as the Megalodon and the beast chomping down on people. More carnage please.
Jonas Taylor (Statham) is now a widowed, rescue diver and global ocean activist bent on going after environmental terrorists. He's also raising 14-year-old Meiying (Shuya Sophia Cai, "The Meg") since her mother (Bingbing Li, "The Meg") died. Meiying is a handful. She's also eager to explore the ocean in Mana One along with her uncle Jiuming Zhang (Jing Wu, "Ride On"). Jonas believes she's too young and it's much too dangerous. He's right.
When Jonas and his right-hand man, Mac (Cliff Curtis, "Avatar: The Way of Water") go on an expedition 25,000 feet below to The Trench, where the Megalodon and other sea creatures frolic, they are surprised to find Meiying has sneaked on board. It's not long before all hell breaks loose.
The Megs are unleashed from The Trench and go full beast mode. Not only that, but Jonas also discovers there is a traitor among the Mana One team. That throws everything into chaos. Now Jonas and company have to fight off gun-toting terrorists.
Unfortunately, as menacing as the Megalodons are, we don't see them enough early on. The real mayhem and fun begins when the crew winds up at a place called "Fun Island." It looks a lot like a swanky beach resort and Jurassic Park.
Jonas has his hands full while flying around on a jet ski trying to keep the monsters and a gigantic Octopus away from making a buffet out of the beachgoers. He can't get to them all.
One of the best scenes in the movie is when one of the giant sharks opens wide and devours a group of swimmers. A paddleboarding older couple don't stand a chance of getting away either.
More of that eye-popping insanity would have gone a long way to make "Meg 2: The Trench" so much better. I watched this movie from a DBox theater seat, and it certainly made it even more enjoyable.
Look, with all the crazy, political stuff going on in right now, getting away to watch a ludicrous, dumb, fun movie like "Meg 2: The Trench" is a welcome diversion and dare I say, a nice, little guilty pleasure for the summer.
Editor's Note: Be sure to catch my N2Entertainment.net movie talk segment on the Kitty O'Neal Show Fridays now at 5:17 p.m. and 6:47 p.m. on radio station KFBK 93.1 FM and 1530 AM.
Look At This Trailer For
"MEG 2: THE TRENCH"
