Directed by:
Ben WheatleyCinematography:
Haris ZambarloukosComposer:
Harry Gregson-WilliamsCast:
Jason Statham, Jacky Wu, Shuya Sophia Cai, Skyler Samuels, Cliff Curtis, Sienna Guillory, Page Kennedy, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Melissanthi Mahut (more)VOD (5)
Plots(1)
Dive into uncharted waters with Jason Statham and global action icon Wu Jing as they lead a daring research team on an exploratory dive into the deepest depths of the ocean. Their voyage spirals into chaos when a malevolent mining operation threatens their mission and forces them into a high-stakes battle for survival. Pitted against colossal Megs and relentless environmental plunderers, our heroes must outrun, outsmart, and outswim their merciless predators in a pulse-pounding race against time. (Warner Bros. US)
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Reviews (9)
Meg 2 is for me a weaker sequel to the more entertaining first film. Ben Wheatley wasn't the best choice to direct. This controversial director of slowburns and weird indies couldn't bring any spark to an entertaining shark blockbuster. Jason Statham is still likeable and Wu Jing is always a pleasure to see (too bad he didn't get a fight), the rest of the characters don't impress at all. Visually it's ok (the CGI was occasionally jarring, but in a digestible form), but the atmosphere is completely missing, I felt it's not even as suspenseful as the first one (which had countless cool jump-scares too). The humour is not good (in the first one the black guy talking was hilarious), it was a bit drier. It's nice that there are new monsters (the octopus could have been given more space and they definitely could have added more animals from the underwater world), the Megs are fine but I felt like they weren't on the scene as often as I would have liked. The film unnecessarily dwells on the human villains, which no one is curious about. The first half in the trench is fine, but once it moves into the second half the fun drops off, you could definitely feel that Wheatley is not able to make an entertaining film off rails. It's watchable, but a tad weaker than the more entertaining first film. 55%
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"It's a meg, and you're a snack!" Nope. The introduction might suggest that this monstrous creature was at the top of the food chain in the Jurassic period, but now, in the Statham era, it's just "under pressure." That is, if it even gets to speak at all. Thanks to Cliff Curtis's character for adding some humor; otherwise, it's a disgustingly digital carcass full of inserted Chinese figures, devoid of blood, and mostly as dumb as a village idiot's child and a member of parliament. I'm megproof; Ben Wheatley wrote himself into the Kill List.
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I laughed till my stomach was in knots. Right at the beginning, I realized I didn't remember a thing from the first part. Well, maybe Jason Statham was singing that happy song... So I was surprised to see something being mined in some kind of thermal fissure... a trench that's home to giant squid and bloodthirsty... iguanas? A good half of the film consists of goofing around under pressure (Statham just needs to breathe properly and he won't implode!) and bantering with Jacky Woo for the delight of the Chinese audience. Then the final romp on Fun Island is thoroughbred bloody fun. Statham harpooning a helicopter rotor blade takes on an almost Conan-like mythos. He announces something about dolphins, the credits, the song. Good for me.
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The Trench rides on a similar (CGI) wave as the first one, which offered quite brisk action entertainment. While the first film featured only an overgrown and hungry shark, the second also features a giant octopus - as if they were ironically poking fun at the "iconic" Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus. As in the case of the first one, you must not expect anything meaningful; you are once again treated to a few physical mindfucks, but also to the coveted action, which, on the whole, is not boring. The underwater sequences evoked Underwater had decent drive. Meg 2: The Trench is an inherently silly film for the severely undemanding viewer for just one viewing, but it is fully aware of it.
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Jason Statham takes on the ruler of the primordial oceans for the second time. And although Meg 2 is more B-ish and less serious than the first, it's unfortunately not much better. The main problem lies in trying to cram in as many themes, ideas, digressions and horseshit that go nowhere, resulting in a film that is cluttered and at times almost tiresome. And the decent finale is spoiled by childish humour. Even in the context of summer crap, the second Meg is mediocre at best.
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