Film

Meg 2: The Trench

Name: Meg 2: The Trench
Genre: Action, Science Fiction, Horror
Released: 2023
Cast: Jason Statham, Wu Jing, Shuya Sophia Cai, Page Kennedy, Sergio Peris-Mencheta

Survival adventure
Relentless

A big, dumb, gleefully loud action film where Jason Statham fights a prehistoric megalodon shark in the ocean's deepest trench. It's pure spectacle: minimal plot, maximal explosions, and creature effects that oscillate between convincing and gloriously silly. For anyone who wants to turn their brain off and watch stuff get destroyed.

TMDb rating

3.2

If you liked this

Aquaman2018

Another Jason Momoa blockbuster that embraces underwater silliness with bright colours and ridiculous action. Giant creatures, elaborate tech, and a willingness to be fun over sensible make this a natural companion.

But The plot is genuinely confusing, the dialogue occasionally cringeworthy, and it demands you care about politics in Atlantis. Also: two hours and twenty minutes.

The Meg2018

The first film that established this exact tone and universe. Jason Statham versus a megalodon, with the same mixture of creature thrills, broad humour, and family-friendly mayhem. The perfect warm-up.

But If you want creature horror or jeopardy that feels real, this won't deliver it. The stakes are never genuine; the fun is the point.

Jungle Cruise2021

Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt on a river adventure with CGI creatures and collapsing ruins. Same DNA as Meg 2: a summer action film that knows it's absurd and leans into charm and spectacle over credibility.

But It's a bit baggy and the romance subplot meanders. Some of the comedy lands softer than intended, and the pacing sags in the middle.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Meg 2: The Trench

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Piranha 3D2010

Both films treat creature violence and chaos as pure spectacle and entertainment rather than peril. Both know exactly what kind of film they are and double down. Piranha just has the honesty to own the nastiness.

A creature-feature action film that abandons all restraint and plays every scene for maximum trash fun. Director Jon Gulager treats carnage and mayhem as comedy, which is exactly what Meg 2 does—but Piranha admits it completely.

But It's genuinely unpleasant in places, gratuitously violent toward attractive people, and revels in a mean-spirited tone that some will find unwatchable rather than entertaining.

Black Sea2014

A submarine thriller with real claustrophobia and genuine danger. Jude Law leading a crew deep underwater creates tension that Meg 2 deliberately abandons—a sharp contrast if you want to feel stakes again.

But It's bleak, slow-burn, and English. No humour, no relief. The opposite of a fun night out; a grind that doesn't always pay off.

47 Meters Down2017

Two women trapped in a shark cage on the ocean floor. Genuine dread and a low budget that forces actual suspense instead of relying on spectacle. Proves that water-based creature thrills can work when you believe the peril.

But Very small scale and repetitive once the premise is established. The ending is divisive, and some find the characters' decisions frustrating rather than tense.

The Deep1977

A Robert Shaw underwater adventure full of period charm and practical diving sequences. It has monster threats and action but rooted in genuine ocean exploration—a reminder of how this genre used to feel.

But Slow by modern standards, the plot is thin, and the monster reveal is a real letdown. The pacing won't satisfy anyone wanting Meg 2-style thrills.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage2021

A film that abandoned seriousness and embraced cartoon logic, weird humor, and spectacle. Tom Hardy's chaos opposite Woody Harrelson has the same 'who cares, let's have fun' energy as Meg 2.

But The plot is tissue-thin, the editing chaotic, and the tone swings wildly between silly and trying to matter. Actively annoying if you want coherence.

Godzilla vs. Kong2021

Two titans smashing cities and each other. No pretense, just creature spectacle, good lighting, and a refusal to slow down for character development. Pure visual fun with genuine craft behind the absurdity.

But The human characters are paper-thin, the plot exists only to move between set pieces, and the whole thing feels designed for a shorter attention span than it actually demands.

Deep Blue Sea1999

Genetically modified sharks terrorise a research facility. It's got real creature thrills, genuine kills, and an entertaining B-movie energy. Saffron Burrows and Samuel L. Jackson anchor it with actual star power and commitment.

But The CGI is dated, the script gets sillier as it progresses, and if you dislike 90s action film pacing and editing, this will feel choppy and dated.

A Quiet Place: Day One2024

Both are expensive creature-action hybrids built around impressive set-pieces. A Quiet Place proves the template can work when the action is in service of real stakes and emotional truth—a mirror showing what Meg 2 chooses to ignore.

A creature-action film that builds tension through silence and smart set-pieces rather than dialogue. Michael Bay-level spectacle but with real craft, genuine scares, and emotional stakes that make the action matter in ways Meg 2 never attempts.

But It's a prequel to films you might not have seen, and if creature horror disgusts you rather than thrills you, nothing here changes that. Also: deaf representation means real signing, not spectacle.

The Lair of the White Worm1988

Both films feature exotic locations, ancient creatures, and a production design that prioritises visual spectacle over plot coherence. Meg 2 is a blockbuster; White Worm is an art film. Both decide that what you see matters more than what happens. Meg 2 is what happens when that impulse gets a $130 million budget and mainstream aims.

Ken Russell's delirious, weird, visually stunning horror film about an ancient creature in the English countryside. Pure style over sense, with Amanda Donohoe and Christopher Walken surrendering to the madness. Genuinely strange and committed to its weirdness.

But It makes no narrative sense, the eroticism is unsettling rather than fun, and it moves between tones so wildly that most modern viewers find it more baffling than entertaining. Not a 'good bad movie'—genuinely alienating.