The Meg 2: The Trench - A Movie Review

This Meg shark is heading for land. We’re in trouble now.

Swimming into theaters for the sequel, The Meg 2: The Trench is a 2023 film. Jonas and his team of explorers are threatened by more deadly meg sharks. While exploring the depths of the ocean floor, the sharks pursue them until they reach the surface.

When The Meg first hit the screens, audiences were taken aback by its unique blend of quirkiness and jaw-dropping action sequences. The sequel didn’t become The Meg until the last hour of the film. The first half of the sequel missed an opportunity, trading the film’s wit and charm for an unnecessary underwater exploration subplot.

Most of the cast from the original film reprise their roles. The characters were oddly disjointed in the beginning. Jason Stratham returns as the heroic Jonas. Like most of the characters, he felt oddly out of sync with his surroundings.

Shuya Sophia Cai is back as the spunky Meiying, now grown up from the last film. She doesn’t have much to do other than get in the grown-up's way and tag along on the adventure. Meiying and Jonas’s interactions are the best.

More credits include Jing Wu, Cliff Curtis, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Skyler Samuels, and Page Kennedy as DJ, the comedy king of The Meg. Even he is missing for a good portion until coming back in the end. An ensemble of frantic beachgoers and an adorable dog run about in the chaos from the menacing sharks.

While the deep-sea sequences are visually impressive, the sequel should have explored more depths with characters and the sharks. Characters, storylines, and the sharks are underutilized in the first half of the movie. I was on the fence about writing a review for The Meg 2: The Trench until the last hour of the movie.

The final half of The Meg 2: The Trench is where the excitement is at! The audience roared back to life once the writers pressed the excitement button. The pace quickens, and the film finds its lost quirkiness and humor. The cast rediscovers their groove, delivering witty one-liners and rekindling the chemistry that made the original so engaging.

A fan of the first film, Ben Wheatley was excited to take over the reins as director for the sequel. He did a good job copying the comical undertone by the last half. Attempting to do something different, the sequel deserved a more cohesive storyline. And a different title. It doesn’t make sense to the movie’s plot.

The film’s comical atmosphere makes The Meg unique compared to other shark movies. Even the film doesn’t take itself seriously going as over-the-top as it wants. But there’s a point where it jumps the shark (yes, pun intended) too much.

By the end, our heroes are fighting meg sharks, a gigantic octopus, and dinosaur-like creatures. It doesn’t feel like it’s about the shark anymore. I thought I was in another movie with overloaded visual callbacks to Jaws and Jurassic Park, copying famous screenshots.

I know that the visual effects of the meg sharks were never the strongest to start, but the sharks resembled boards, awkwardly swimming very still. Again, that all changes for the better in the second half.

Despite its shaky start, The Meg 2: The Trench manages to recapture enough of its spirit to keep fans invested and entertained. The first hour is slow, but trust me, it’s worth seeing The Meg 2 in theaters, especially with an audience. The climax of The Meg 2: The Trench is the best. I’d watch this climax on repeat.