The Meg 2: The Trench

In cinemas now

The Meg 2 is a curious film. First and foremost, it is directed by Ben Wheatley, a filmmaker who has built a reputation for unsettling independent cinema, not big-budget films about giant sharks. Unsurprisingly, none of the directorial flourishes that have made Wheatley such a critical darling are to be found in this garish sequel, making this one of the most curious creative pairings in recent memory.

As puzzling is the fact that The Meg 2 features a distinct lack of giant sharks, with the first and second act of its convoluted screenplay mostly being a dull tale of corporate espionage and environmental vandalism. Ordinarily, I’d applaud any attempt to add greater narrative depth to a cinematic franchise, but this is a misstep which undermines the selling point of the film’s 2018 predecessor.

Still, the madcap final half-hour - in which Jason Statham and his merry band of impossibly attractive scientists take on a trio of Megaldons and a giant prehistoric octopus - is enough to make The Meg 2 a reasonably enjoyable (if not completely empty-headed) blockbuster. Statham might be a limited actor, but his rugged machismo really works in this sort of fare, with Wu Jing, Page Kennedy, and Cliff Curtis also adding plenty of value in their supporting roles.