Lately, people have been flocking to the theaters in droves to see Barbie and Oppenheimer, but not every summer blockbuster is living up to the hype the way those two movies have. Take Meg 2: The Trench, for instance, which sports a putrid 27% on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of writing. This sci-fi action sequel sees the return of Jason Statham and the titular larger-than-life sharks, but that clearly wasn’t enough to win over the critics for this go-round.
In the first movie, deep sea rescue diver Jonas Taylor (Statham) encounters a 75-foot-long Meg (megalodon shark) while trying to save a crew of scientists in the ocean. I won’t spoil anything in case you haven’t seen it, but needless to say, it’s a shlocky B-movie with lots of ridiculous action. Even better, if you already pay for Max, you can watch it at home.
The Meg’s 46% Tomatometer rating isn’t very reassuring, but it’s still nearly 20 points higher than the sequel. There are so, so many incredible movies in theaters, from Barbie, Oppenheimer, and Mission: Impossible 7 to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem and Talk to Me. Or you can go watch the movie where Jason Statham fights sharks:
Here are some choice quotes from reviews for Meg 2: The Trench, if you’re curious:
- “It makes the original look like, well, Jaws by comparison.” – A.A. Dowd, Digital Trends
- “Meg 2 often fails on a basic molecular level, sometimes leaving us unclear as to who’s doing what to whom onscreen.” – Bilge Ebiri, Vulture
- “One of the dullest films of the year, a plodding, poorly made giant shark movie that inexplicably lets the giant shark take a backseat to an evil underwater drilling operation.” – Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com
These reviews aren’t docking the sequel for being a big, dumb action movie. Quite the opposite! They all seem to say that Meg 2 doesn’t even succeed if you want to turn your brain off, load up on popcorn, and laugh at the insanity with a friend.
I don’t want to stop anyone from seeing Meg 2 if they so desire but don’t say I didn’t warn you if it isn’t quite as entertaining as you hoped it might be.
