Jason Statham returns to the world of The Meg for another standoff against a few gigantic prehistoric sharks – and some other creatures. Unfortunately, The Meg 2: The Trench isn’t remotely anything special and fails to utilize its potential strengths to craft a story or experience that’s worthwhile.

After defeating a monstrous Megalodon a few years prior, Jonas (Statham)  now works with most of the surviving crew on a new project involving The Trench. Jonas and his crew head on expeditions deep into The Trench to discover new species that are hiding down there. However, their latest expedition ends up being upended by an underlying plot that causes a massive hole in the thermal layer. Soon enough, multiple Megs – as well as other deadly creatures from the deep sea – end up escaping and wreaking havoc on unsuspecting vacationers. Now, it’s up to Jonas and his crew to not only deal with the human saboteurs plotting against them, but also the deadly creatures that have risen from the depths.

While The Meg 2 basically falls in line with the original in that they’re both essentially bigger-budgeted shark films akin to what fans could find on Syfy, it somehow feels worse in every way. Even with most of the cast returning, these characters struggle to make you care about them in the slightest. Statham is still able to be a pretty fun action lead here, but he delivers a performance that you’ve seen him give dozens of times. As for the rest of the cast – even the ones audiences know from the first film – they simply just fill the time with lifeless performances, stock stereotypes for this genre, and comedic lines that fall flat. Certain characters are so frustrating too with the dumb decisions they make and the ways they unnecessarily put themselves in danger for no reason. This entire cast of characters is just baffling to watch in action and they’re a big reason the film never gets its hooks into viewers.

In terms of the genres the film falls into – mainly action and horror – The Meg 2 also doesn’t impress nor get close to its potential. The idea of the sequel going deeper into The Trench could’ve made the film a true deep sea monster flick with all the weird and wildly gigantic creatures that could’ve come to the surface. Unfortunately, the creature variety and quantity are so minimal that you can pretty much count them on one hand. None of the designs are all that memorable and there aren’t any creative ways to make them scary or impactful. Even watching Jonas try to take these creatures on is so bland at this point that it already feels like this franchise is running out of ideas. Jonas fighting the sharks and other creatures is just remarkably uninteresting and it’s rare to find yourself invested in the action because of how unengaging the film is. The visual effects are still pretty good overall, but The Meg 2 doesn’t utilize its concept well enough to satisfyingly hit its horror and action marks.

The Meg 2 isn’t even the kind of film that can be “so bad that it’s good” because it’s honestly a total bore. There isn’t anything in this story that makes it remotely interesting to watch and the film never makes a real connection with its audience. The characters have no depth to them, so there’s nothing to make them matter to audiences on a basic level. The film’s villains are a complete joke and the little twists the film tries to shove in are pathetically thin. Plus, with the film having no good connection with its viewers through its action, comedy, or horror, many will find themselves just blankly staring at a screen for two hours not feeling anything towards this movie. It’s one of those films that just exists in front of you and struggles to stay watchable in the most basic sense. 

The Meg 2 is a movie that just isn’t worth anyone’s time as it barely strings together a standard story full of lackluster characters, action, and comedy. It’s a mess that doesn’t care that it’s a mess and simply takes viewers on a boring deep-sea dive with no genuine stakes or remote intrigue. With there being so many more movies that are worth going to theaters for, The Meg 2 is better off being left in the shadows of its titular trench – never to be seen.

Watch the Trailer Here: