Meg 2: The verdict is in on Jason Statham’s monster shark flick – and it’s a bloodbath

‘Numbingly formulaic’ is one of the nicer reactions from critics

The reviews are in for Meg 2: The Trench  – and the critics’ teeth are sharper than a prehistoric shark’s.

Directed by Ben Wheatley, the film, released on Friday (4 August), is a sequel to 2018’s The Meg.

Jason Statham reprises his role as rescue diver Jonas Taylor, who takes on not one ginormous megalodon shark but a trio of them. If that wasn’t enough, there is also a humongous octopus, as well as primaeval lizards.

The Meg movies are loosely based on the series of novels by Steve Alten, published during the Nineties.

Despite its average reviews from viewers and critics, The Meg performed well at the box office when it was released in 2018, grossing $530m (£417m) worldwide.

The scathing reviews for its sequel, however, have a lot more bite.

In a two- star review of the film, Digital Spy writes that “the sequel forgets it’s a shark movie”, warning that those wanting “big-screen shark carnage” will be disappointed by the “dull espionage thriller” that unfolds.

Echoing the same sentiment, The BBC wrote that Meg 2 “doesn’t know what it is, other than a movie sort of like that first movie, but messier”.

Film Review - Meg 2: The Trench (© 2023 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Variety, meanwhile, suggested that the film sounded as if it were “written entirely by AI”.

“The Meg 2: The Trench is a trivial (if not unwatchable) piece of semi-preposterous big-budget junk,” reads the review, which goes on to call the film “numbingly formulaic, promiscuously derivative and, for a few stretches (like the over-the-top third act), diverting in its very shamelessness”.

The Hollywood Reporter laments that the “big, dumb fun promised by a terrific trailer only materialises intermittently in a movie that too often struggles to find the balance between suspense and monster-size silliness”.

Likewise, in its two-star write-up, The Telegraph writes: “A Jason Statham giant shark battle shouldn’t be this boring”.

“The enemies aren’t Megs, alligator-sized salamanders, or the giant cephalopod,” writes The AV Club. “They’re logic, common sense, and a lack of urgency.

“Little of this is alleviated by Statham [...] He seems on autopilot here, looking a bit weary and vaguely disappointed at having no other purpose than to save everyone else’s bacon, unless you consider his inability to tie a tie a noble obstacle to overcome.”

It comes as little surprise then, that Meg 2: The Trench has accumulated a pitiful rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, achieving just 23 per cent based on 60 votes.

Meg 2: The Trench is in cinemas now.