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INTRODUCTION.
Meg 2: The Trench (2023) is a science fiction adventure and action film directed by Ben Wheatley. The story comes from a book called “The Trench” written by Steve Alten back in 1999. This movie is a follow-up to another film called “The Meg” from 2018.
The cast includes well-known actors like Jason Statham, Wu Jing, Sophia Cai, Page Kennedy, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Skyler Samuels, and Cliff Curtis. It was released in the US on August 4, 2023, by Warner Bros. Pictures and it runs for 1 hour and 56 minutes.
SYNOPSIS.
In Meg 2: The Trench, Jason Statham and global action icon Wu Jing dive into uncharted waters 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.
MEG: THE TRENCH FILM REVIEW.
Meg 2, The Trench story kicks off as our main character Taylor, a veteran diver who specializes in deep sea search and rescue, and Meiying’s step-father daringly board a ship that was currently in motion, stealthily capturing images of confidential papers. However, the situation takes a tense turn when he is apprehended as a result of the noise made by a talking parrot.
Taylor was chased to the edge of the ship where he threw himself into the water and was rescued by his team but just before slipping away, he confront the ship’s crew with a weighty accusation: the unlawful disposal of radioactive waste into the ocean. Taylor firmly warns of legal consequences, hinting at the prospect of dragging them to court.
After Suyin Zhang’s passing, Taylor unexpectedly became the caretaker of Meiying, his 14-year-old daughter, who was quite the little scientist. They had a deep conversation where Meiying expressed her desire to accompany Taylor on his adventure to Mena One. Taylor, however, said he didn’t think it was a good idea and declined her request.
However, Meiying wasn’t ready to give up without a fight. She kept on trying to convince Taylor to change his thoughts, displaying her strong will and persistence. Right in the middle of their deep conversation, they were interrupted by news about Jiuming. He was out swimming with his massive sea creature, the Megalodon.
What amazed Taylor was how deeply engrossed Jiuming was in his activity. Taylor tried to alert Jiuming about the potential risks, but Jiuming confidently said that he had a unique bond with the creature, which he named Haigi. Even though Taylor kept warning him, Jiuming remained firm and dedicated to his course of action, demonstrating his unshakable determination.
One fine day, just like they usually do, the team goes deep down into the ocean, to explore. This time, they were assigned to Area 19, The Trench, where the Megs live, and were told to collect rock samples and log any new species they found.
On the mission, they found that Meiying sneaked into the vessel. “I see that you’re angry but I believe this is a reasonable and responsible decision,” says Meiying, trying to explain her presence in the now-underwater vessel.
She mentions that Taylor has successfully done 26 deep dives with no issues, so the chances of anything going wrong are low. But guess what? While they’re talking about this, they suddenly spot a huge Meg racing toward them. They try to run away, but no matter where they go, Meg follows them.
Tyler and his crew attempt to hide from the creature but they are unexpectedly spotted by Montes, a mercenary in charge of illegal mining operations. Montes try to blow up their vessel but, once again, they can escape but not for long as their vehicle crashes at the bottom of the sea, and the system stops working. Taylor asks Mac, the Mana One operations manager to bring a vessel for them, but Mac informs them that it’s not possible. So now they have to figure out how to ascend, even though they are aware of the many obstacles that await them.
Let’s discuss what I think about this movie. I’m assuming you’re interested in knowing about the people in the story first. Well, I have to say, the characters didn’t turn out as well as I was hoping. The way they displayed emotions and interacted with each other didn’t feel real at all. It seemed like they were being forced, not like it was coming naturally. Even the main actor, Jason Statham, didn’t really impress me with his performance.
The character development was relatively poor. The characters didn’t change or grow much throughout the movie, and I found myself wondering where some of them even came from. Some of them didn’t really need to be in the movie – it would have been better with fewer, maybe around 3 to 5 fewer characters.
But you know what? There was one character I absolutely loved, and that’s Meiying. Maybe it’s because she’s a young kid, who believes in herself strongly, or maybe for some other reason I can’t quite explain, but I really enjoyed watching her in the movie.
The CGI at the beginning of the film was terrible and unreal. You just know their creatures are fake but as the movie goes on, they become a bit better (or so it seems). There were so many computer-generated scenes that it felt like they were trying too hard to impress with all the fancy visuals. Both life in the sea and the creatures that live in it could have been better.
Some of the exciting parts in the movie felt a bit awkward and didn’t seem to fit naturally. It wasn’t very enjoyable to watch those moments.
The action scenes were both scary and exciting at the same time. They made my heart race!
I had a mehhh time watching the movie though it kept me interested for some time. However, I couldn’t help but wonder how the sea creature managed to locate the characters every time.
I found some parts of the movie hard to believe. It’s just not possible for these things to really happen in our world. For instance, the scene with Taylor swimming at the bottom of the ocean without any special suit or protection. Like how did that happen? How do you do that? Even if you can… how do you prevent your lungs from collapsing? It was a really difficult movie
They didn’t really need to include the black chatty character who was trying too hard to be funny. It felt like they went overboard with his character, and he ended up being more bothersome than anything else.
The film in my opinion was about the Megaladons but surprisingly, they got very few scenes. They were the star of the show but we saw very little of them.
This movie has a lot of things that did not sit right with me but it was enjoyable, to say the least. Especially towards the end where the movie peaked and we had to finally witness some Megs in action.
CONCLUSION.
Meg 2, The Trench is an exciting thriller film that though it was interesting and fun to watch, also had a few flaws. I feel like the production team has a lot of good ideas, but these ideas are just not executed right. The script is actually decent if you look beyond the mid performance, irregular pacing, poor character development and motives… but these are what make up a movie so they can’t be ignored.
Do I recommend it? Yes, but it depends. If you are comfortable with a poor storyline and mid-acting, but also comfortable with mild horror then you might enjoy this film.
Meg 2, The Trench is rated PG-13 for action/violence, some bloody images, language, and brief suggestive material.
Meg 2 is now available in Cinemas!
People also read – The Black Phone (2022).
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