Meg 2: The Trench is the worst thing that a shark movie could be: boring.

A few months ago, I sat down to watch something fun after a long day of procrastinating on college work. It was fairly late at night, and I chose The Meg, thinking that I would turn it off in half an hour. Except I didn’t. I watched the entire thing, pulled in by the film’s genuine suspense and fun cast of characters. I am also a staunch defender of equally-if-not-more-ridiculous film Moonfall. All this is to say, I was primed to like Meg 2: The Trench (dir. Ben Wheatley).

And that is why I am devastated to report that the franchise’s second installment (we should be so lucky that this gets turned into a long-lasting franchise) was not a satisfying film, nor was it a compelling follow-up to its predecessor. Meg 2: The Trench (a title which to my delight dropped the “The” in front) is the worst thing that a shark movie could be: boring.

Meg 2 follows its protagonist, the ever-cool Jason Statham as Jonas Taylor, as he once again faces off against megalodons — giant sharks that somehow survived through science that my marine biologist friend assures me is incorrect, but which I choose to go along with anyways. Amidst this more pressing issue, Taylor struggles with his stepdaughter Meiying’s (Shuya Sophia Cai) growing independence and his conflict with Meiying’s uncle, Jiuming (Wu Jing, who is having so much fun in this movie). While one can see how this plotline is meant to shape up, there’s not enough time given to the effects of Suyin (Li Bingbing), Meiying’s mother’s death, other than a throwaway line where Meiying looks at an orphaned megalodon. The film doesn’t make up for this offscreen death with onscreen emotions from its lead characters most affected, and that makes its emotional core ring disappointingly hollow.

Despite its execution, on paper, the above plot should be enough —natural-ish peril (a role filled here by cool big sharks) and family drama are the only things you need for a fun disaster movie. But the film gets more muddied with its third subplot, in which Taylor and team find an illegal mining operation in the titular trench staffed with stock villains. The humans feel like bigger threats than the megalodons themselves, and for a film advertised mostly on its shark/human clashes, it doesn’t live up to its bite. Plus, the villains don’t have any kind of real … fun to them that makes them compelling to watch. At one point, Taylor is riding a jetski and gears up to attack a megalodon when he is distracted by scorned mercenary Montes (Sergio Peris-Mencheta) shooting at him. It’s a perfect analogy for the film itself, interrupting a great sequence to cast more light on Meg 2’s weak spots.

The megalodons themselves are thus sidelined. Even worse, there is no tension in their appearances. Where the first film restrained itself from showing the full size and power of the megalodon for quite a while, Meg 2 starts, after a pretty fun opening scene, with so many shots of the aforementioned baby meg that there is no mystery or surprise left. Sure, the audience (and the characters) may know what a megalodon looks like now, but the true terror lies in the quickness and unpredictability of the attacks. By constantly showing these sharks in action, their presence seems to get old, other than the occasional interesting shots from the point of view of “inside a giant shark’s mouth.” 

New creatures also make an appearance, and they’re fairly hit-or-miss. I liked the land-sea monsters that were both smaller and quicker than the megs we’re used to. However, another giant sea creature (which I won’t spoil here) doesn’t fare so well. It’s only shown in its full glory in a few underwater shots. Otherwise, its true scale is hidden from the above-air shots, making the entire concept look, unfortunately, cheap. In a way, it’s the opposite of the problem with the megs in this movie, which I chalk up to giant mouths of teeth being scarier and more deadly than the other creature’s appendages. In fact, much of the underwater attack scenes in this film are hard to follow due to the darkness, with not enough narrative tension to justify their power.

However, there are a few bright spots in this film, lying mainly in its supporting characters. While the mining subplot did not captivate me for much of its runtime, the human antagonists do lead to a charismatic team-up of crew members DJ (Page Kennedy) and Mac (Cliff Curtis). After the first film, DJ’s character development into a super-prepper who can also fight is a great touch. The score during the underwater scenes especially shines, and the trench walk is an interesting concept. There’s also a pretty gnarly death scene, if that’s what you’re into (and in movies like these, I certainly am).

In short: I’m not mad, I’m disappointed. I know you can do better, Meg franchise, and I hope you will soon. I’ll still watch the next installment if it ever comes, simply because big sharks are cool. Hopefully the next film will use them better.

Grade: D

Oscar Prospects:
Likely: None
Should Be Considered: None

Where to Watch: In Theaters