Meg 2: The Trench (2023)

*Meg 2: The Trench* is visually impressive and delivers plenty of monster-packed thrills.

Aren’t giant prehistoric shark movies supposed to be cheesy?

That seems like the only explanation for why the cast of *Meg 2: The Trench* devours every bit of scenery and clunky dialogue as eagerly as the film’s monstrous sea creatures snack on unsuspecting tourists. Even Jason Statham—returning as the stoic hero from the first film—channels a pufferfish before diving 25,000 feet below sea level, complete with a joke about his deviated septum.

We’re clearly meant to find it hilarious… or are we?

The sequel begins on a surprisingly serious note. Jason Statham’s Jonas Taylor is now fighting ocean pollution alongside his old ally Mac Macreides (Cliff Curtis), all while trying to be a protective father figure to Meiying (Sophia Cai), the brilliant and fearless 14-year-old daughter of a fallen comrade from the first film. Meiying’s wealthy and environmentally-minded uncle, Jiuming Zhang (played by Wu Jing, the charismatic lead of China’s “Wolf Warrior” series), has developed sleek submersibles and Iron Man-style exo-suits for exploring the Pacific trench—home to the ancient megalodons.

At his state-of-the-art research facility, which feels like something out of a Bond film thanks to production designer Chris Lowe’s flair, Zhang has even raised a young meg he calls Haiqi. He believes he’s formed a bond with the creature—until she escapes and returns to the trench for mating season. Coincidentally, that’s exactly where Jonas, Zhang, a stowaway Meiying, and a group of soon-to-be-doomed researchers are headed for a deep-sea mission.

The megs—including a battered Big Daddy that's larger than any seen before—aren’t the only dangers lurking below. There are sleeker, swifter amphibians with razor-sharp teeth, a rogue rare earth mining operation run by lunatics, and the most colossal, enraged octopus to grace the screen since Ray Harryhausen’s stop-motion tentacles ravaged San Francisco in 1955’s *It Came From Beneath the Sea*.

The ocean floor itself is a visual marvel, with fiery volcanic vents and glowing kelp forests painting a hauntingly beautiful picture of the trench's depths. Yet, despite the film’s title, we spend only about a quarter of the runtime in this aquatic spectacle. The grand finale unfolds at a gaudy Thai beach resort, where prehistoric predators and human villains clash in a series of increasingly absurd showdowns—so over-the-top, you’ll be laughing just as much at the chaos as at dialogue gems like, “That was close. Too close!”

But will you be laughing with them? In a summer crowded with one over-the-top, worn-out action sequel after another that’s fallen flat with audiences, maybe we’re finally ready for a movie that encourages us to chuckle along.

Though *Meg 2* is by far the largest-scale project director Ben Wheatley has ever tackled, he doesn’t seem overwhelmed. The special effects and stunts land with solid skill, no matter how ridiculous the situations get. Once a darling of the British indie scene, Wheatley has a knack for weaving smart humor into dark, violent films like *Sightseers*, *Free Fire*, and *Kill List*.

That said, whether the laughs here are intentional or accidental, *Meg 2* and clever humor don’t exactly share the same universe. The so-called brainiacs yelling “thermocline breach!” come off sounding extra foolish. Maybe Page Kennedy, reprising his role as Jonas’s ally DJ, is onto something—he just pushes through the awful one-liners with maximum sass. You’ll find yourself chuckling every time, if you can tune into the film’s unique vibe.