The Meg 2: The Trench Review
(No Spoilers)
Watch - In Theatres
Phone Time - N/A
OH SHIT Moments - 1
Good Time Vs Runtime - 1.5 hrs / 2 hrs
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Should You Watch? YES, (NOT KIDDING)
THE MEG 2: THE TRENCH IS WAY BETTER THAN YOU'RE EXPECTING. THE MEG 1 didn't set the bar very high so I want you to forget about 95 percent of it and pretend like this is the first movie in the franchise. DON'T GET ME WRONG THIS IS NOT A GOOD MOVIE by any means but it is a huge improvement.
This movie is your average Jason Statham recess movie that requires an incredible amount of disbelief to be suspended but, unlike THE MEG 1, it makes sense
and it has quality in every department while also being very fun, funny, and, unbelievable. You'll have a great time taking your date to this one cause you won't come out thinking the world is going to end, or that all women hate the entire world, or, if you're a lady, reminded that just waking up in the morning is a problem. If you're a parent you can take your kids and all their friends for a birthday party movie and none of the other parents will write 7 paragraphs on Facebook about how you shouldn't be trusted. If you're hanging with the bros tonight and you start to think that sitting drunk in a garage playing Grand Theft Auto for 8 hours is a little embarrassing then YOU CAN STUMBLE OVER TO THE THEATRE AND HAVE A GOOD TIME WITHOUT PASSING OUT IN YOUR SEAT. Also if you're hungover after a night like that then YOU CAN STREAM IT ON YOUR COUCH, WHEN IT'S RELEASED ON MAX OR PRIME IN SEPTEMBER, AND BARELY PAY ATTENTION BUT STILL ENJOY IT.
THE MEG 2 is a nicely divided 2 part movie with a serious but intense and wild part playing out at the beginning and the fun, insane, unbelievable part following it up in the second half, both are enjoyable. I FOUND MYSELF THINKING "HOW HAS NO MOVIE GONE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN LIKE THIS BEFORE?". This is a PROMETHEUS type exploration adventure with a sprinkle of ROGUE ONE quality and JURASSIC PARK III level character, setting, and creatures to cap it off. Also, comment if I'm wrong, but doesn't the Prometheus theme song seem to bleed in here? IF YOU LIKED THE MEG 1 THEN YOU YOU SHOULD LOVE THE MEG 2 BECAUSE IT HAS BETTER ACTING, BETTER CINEMATOGRAPHY, BETTER WRITING, A REAL BAD GUY, MORE DEATHS, AND MORE MEG. REMEMBER THIS IS STILL A RECESS MOVIE filled with very unrealistic stunts which is better than cringe worthy moments that make you roll your eyes. It's fun like those games your dad or uncle would come up with at the beach that were insane but didn't make you feel like a loser for playing along. Again, UNLIKE THE MEG 1, THIS ISN'T A DISJOINTED AND AWKWARD STORY, IT'S A COHERENT MOVIE WITH A LOT OF UNBELIEVABLE CREATURES, STUNTS, AND ACTION. IT'S WORTH YOUR MONEY EVEN THOUGH IT MAY NOT SEEM LIKE IT.
With a "bad movie franchise" such as this one you will almost never see the sequel be better than the original, in fact that's true for any sequel but THE STUDIO GOT VERY LUCKY, OR SMART, ON THIS ONE BECAUSE OF THE NEW DIRECTOR.
BEN WHEATLEY, has singlehandedly saved this franchise. I've never seen one of his movies but he has been at it for a while and clearly he understands the fundamentals of making a blockbuster. My little fantasy is that he watched THE MEG 1 and loved how bad it was but put it out there that he would be willing to direct the sequel if he could have final cut. Once he was locked in he revealed HIS TRUE PLAN WHICH WAS TO TAKE THIS INTERESTING CONCEPT OF A HIDDEN WORLD, FILLED WITH MASSIVE AND VICIOUS CREATURES AT THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN, AND MAKE IT GOOD. Or maybe Dean Georgaris, Jon Hoeber, and Erich Hoeber got together and decided to make something closer to their work on RED, PAYCHECK, and THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE. Either way, all THESE GUYS STEPPED UP THEIR GAME TO DELIVER A SEQUEL THAT IS SNEAKY BETTER THAN THE ORIGINAL WHICH INCLUDED A RARE HOMAGE COMBO FROM JURASSIC PARK III AND SAVING PRIVATE RYAN WHICH WILL NOW BE REFFERED TO AS A "COMBOMAGE". They also managed to take the dumbest sidekick character in Page Kennedy and turn him into a cooler, funnier, less idiotic, and more fun comedic relief character that isn't just there to ask the dumbest question so the audience can understand what's going on.
Let me be the first to tell you that we are heading into a movie drought starting this month. AS MUCH AS IT MAY SEEM LIKE THE MOST EXCITING TIME FOR MOVIES IN A LONG TIME, THE WRITER/ACTOR STRIKE IS TAKING IT'S TOLL ON THE CONSUMER.
With the studios deciding to hold out for as long as they can the theatres are beginning to suffer and we're seeing more movies pulled from the shelf each day. I had my ticket to Grand Turismo, the latest from Michael Mann, for next week but that was cancelled and pushed to August 25th. The reason I'm telling you this is that you may not have many opportunities through the rest of the summer to see some decent movies in theatres. So even though THE MEG 2 is clearly not the ideal movie, it's kind of all you have unless you want to go rewatch OPPENHEIMER, BARBIE, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, or INDIANA JONES. THIS MOVIE IS STILL WORTH THE MONEY FOR THE GIANT SCREEN AND REDICULOUSLY LOUD SOUND BUT MISS ME WITH THE SCREEN X EXPERIENCE.
By : Nick G
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