Meg 2 – The Trench review: Jason Statham’s shark fest gets bigger and more silly; perfect ingredients for a monster movie

3/5

Story: Resident megalodon expert Jonas Taylor’s (Jason Statham) latest mission has him and his crew fighting for survival at 21,000 feet under sea level. If three very amorous and hungry Megs circling them were not bad enough, there are far more dangerous and deadly creatures in this dark abyss. Even worse, there are some bad human beings also at play. Can Jonas get his team back to safety and ensure not too many other humans become shark food in the process?

Review: When humans mess with nature, there are always going to be consequences. If nuclear radiation can result in a giant lizard rampaging through downtown Manhattan, or bioengineering bring dinosaurs back to disastrous consequences – the writing on the wall is crystal clear. Man is the root cause of all these problems. In The Meg and its follow-up Meg 2, too, that’s pretty much what it is all about.

There are countless unknown and unidentified species in the deepest parts of the ocean and it is imperative that scientists go looking for them. Here, it is the scientists at the underwater research facility Mana One, who’d explored a deeper section of the Mariana Trench that was concealed by a thermocline of hydrogen sulphide. A temporary break in the thermocline had allowed two megalodon’s to breach it and cause havoc in the first film that came out in 2018. A massive hit that made US dollars 530 million worldwide at the time, The Meg had received mix review, but the money power was enough reason to warrant a sequel. 

Read also: Meg 2 trailer: Netizens say Jason Statham and co are embracing the silliness in this shark movie

Five years later, there is a new expedition, this time led by Jiuming (Wu Jing), The Meg’s oceanographer Suyin’s (Li BingBing) brother. He’s somewhat of a tech Wizkid who’s not only managed to create nearly indestructible and powerful suits for deep dives, but has also got a ‘relationship’ going with a megalodon he’s been rearing since she was an abandoned pup.

The pet Meg, though, breaks out of her man-made enclosure and heads to the trench for a rendezvous with two potential paramours (really big megalodons) at the exact same time that the expedition team’s dive is sabotaged by a rival group. This time around, though, the Megs aren’t the only problem for Jason and co. There’s a massive Krakken-like monster and monitor lizard-piranha mix with razor-sharp fangs that are as deadly under water as they are on the surface. A lot of extras are sacrificed along the way, as these deep-sea monsters snack on every human they can sink their teeth into.

The thing about monster movies is that they have an audience. The bigger the monster and the more carnage it unleashes, the better. This is not the kind of movie that you look for a story or even logic; you are looking for a whole lot of bizarre action that makes no sense at all, but looks ridiculously good when it plays out on the big screen. It’s all about giving the audience the money shots they’ve paid for the see and Meg 2: The Trench delivers on that count, multiple times. You may even let out a chuckle every now and then; that’s how silly things are in this film. Meg 2: The Trench is not one of those ‘it’s so bad, it’s good movies’; it doesn’t take itself serious and that, I guess works for it.

Ad now that Baby shark is all grown up and ready to be Mommy Shark, guess the premise of Meg 3 is already set.

Verdict: Meg 2: The Trench is a movie made for a particular audience and they are, no doubt, going to lap this up. If pre-historic sharks chomping on people at Fun Island is your idea of a ‘fun’ watch, go for it.