Meg 2: The Trench (2023)

I went to see Meg 2 on National Cinema Day here in the UK. Basically all tickets for most if not all films in the cinema on September 2nd would be £3 instead of the usual £11 that I would normally pay. I was going to see The Equalizer 3 but put idea on hold so I could go and see a film that I wanted to see but didn't want to pay £11 to see. I didn't mind wasting £3 on Meg 2.

First of all the screening was quite busy as it seemed that people had the same idea as me. What I did find surprising was that there seemed a lot of kids who were under the 12 age limit for this 12A film. (NOTE: The BBFC say that anyone under the age of 12 can see a 12 certificated film as long as they are accompanied by an adult who thinks they can cope with the subject matter. Or at least that's my understanding of it.) 

There is something quite fun about a film where Jason Statham takes on a giant shark or whatever its suppose to be. I found this film to be far more fun to watch that the first one. The film is stupid but the charm of the film is that it knows that it is stupid and doesn't really try to hide that. There is also something that seems to be have been ripped off from Jurassic World where Chris Pratt's character can communicate with the raptors with a clicker and we get the same sort of thing here but its used more as a way of being part of the finale.

The film isn't perfect (not a shocker I know) but I thought that the villain(s) were not particularly relevant to the plot. The woman who seemed to be masterminding the plan was rather bland, the woman who was working for the base and is revealed to be the traitor was a bit predictable and there wasn't much the actress could do to make her seem interesting and the guy that Jason Statham's character put in jail was the most effective villain but was never treated as anything other than a lackey. The lack of a credible villain hurt the film and I would go so far as to say that it hindered the flow of the film because all we wanted to go and see this film for was seeing Jason Statham do what he does quite well. Act badly and beat people/animals up. There was one moment where I thought that I was over thinking this film and its when they are using the helicopter to escape and it has no fuel and when they fill it up the dial goes from empty to full in no time at all and I found myself saying (in my head) 'HANG ON....THAT WOULD NEVER HAPPEN!!! Yes I have become one of those people.

The film was worth the £3 so I am probably being more generous to it than if I had paid £11 but I thought the film was fun. It was directed in a good way with Ben 'In the Earth' Wheatley who manages to somehow elevate the rather B-Movie plot and premise to something that could be enjoyed. Not sure whether there needs to be a third Meg film but I suppose there didn't need to be a second one and here we are.