If Chester Cheetah worked in the film industry he most likely would have produced this flick.
Teeming with more cheese than the name brand snack the cartoon feline shills, this sequel to 2018’s The Meg is a tasty low-fat, low-calorie diversion that won’t hyper your tension or clog your arteries (unlike a bag of Cheetos).
The screenwriting trio of Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber, and Dean Georgaris—who were responsible for the first film—obviously locked themselves in a room and watched all the Jaws films, chased those down with the crappy Jurassic Park sequels, maybe went old school with It Came From Beneath the Sea, and probably tossed in every shark themed film ever aired on SyFy or produced by The Asylum for good measure. They also borrowed heavily from DeepStar Six, Leviathan, Underwater, and Deep Rising. Plus a glorious dollop of Deep Blue Sea.
If you haven’t figured it out by now, Meg 2 is an unabashed B-movie which presents very little in the way of originality. Yet it’s kind of a glorious cinematic snack.
Helmed by Ben Wheatley, who, following in the footsteps of Adam Wingard (Godzilla vs Kong), is the latest cult director to preside over a giant monster movie. Wheatley, best known for quirky and cool offerings such as Kill List and A Field In England, keeps things moving at a brisk pace so you have nary a minute to ponder the absurdity of it all.
Aiding the director in keeping things afloat is Jason Statham, a man who has single-handedly kept the late 80s/early 90s action film legacy of Arnie, Stallone, Willis, Van Damme, and Norris alive and well for the past 22 years. Yes, I am an unabashed JS fanboy, but beyond that the man has a knack for turning even the most routine of action films into something watchable thanks to his shining pate and lovably gruff ass-kicking manner. Additionally, both Cliff Curtis and Page Kennedy add some comedic chops to Statham’s straight man (Kennedy also has a break-out scene where he unleashes some surprisingly deft pummeling action).
I’m actually confused by the abysmal RT critics rating (28%) since this is by far the most fun I’ve had at the cineplex in quite some time. Sure, the CG is kinda shoddy and the story is cobbled together from that long list of films I mentioned above, but it revels in its ludicrously conflated imitation.
So, yes Meg 2: The Trench is stupid...stupid fresh! Or, if you prefer: it's simply highly entertaining.
