Jason Statham and his research team continue to explore the depths of “the trench” where potentially thousands of prehistoric aquatic creatures dwell. They find a baby Megalodon and keep it as a pet/test subject/mascot. While in the trench, they uncover an illegal mining operation. Double crossed by their corporate benefactor (who naturally, is the brains behind the secret mining outfit), they narrowly escape with their lives and once they get to land, they must stop giant prehistoric escapees from devouring vacationers at an island resort.
Directed by indie favorite Ben Wheatley (although you’d never guess it from the looks of things), Meg 2 kicks off with a fun sequence set during the Cretaceous period where a Megalodon chomps down on a T-Rex. Too bad the first two acts are rather dull. The scenes where Statham and his team are forced to wander around the ocean floor really bog things down and feel like an Asylum version of The Abyss. The good news is the movie really comes to life in the third act where not one, but three Megs (and a squid and some assorted prehistoric beasties) turn an island full of tourists into an all you can eat buffet. I just wish this same sense of fun was prevalent throughout the rest of the film.
Most of the time, Statham looks like he’s only there out of a contractual obligation, but like the movie itself, he shows some flair once he starts single-handedly taking out Megs while armed with homemade exploding harpoons and riding around on a jet ski. The inclusion of Wolf Warrior’s Jing Wu, on the other hand, feels more like a mandate from the Chinese co-production company than an inspired touch from the casting department. The rest of the team are pretty much walking cliches (nerdy dude, sexy helicopter pilot, and annoying precocious kid), which I guess doesn’t matter since most of them become Meg Chow anyway.
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