Meg2 The Trench (DVD)

Stars: Jason Statham, Cliff Curtis, Jing Wu, Sienna Guillory, Shuya Sophia Cai, Page Kennedy, Sergio Peris-Mencheta

Director: Ben Wheatley

By some lucky chance, the gods spared me the original Meg, but this new adventure of rescue diver Jonas Taylor (Statham) is pretty good for its first half-hour, as oceanic research vehicles are trapped deep underwater by a combination of hungry megalodons (giant prehistoric sharks) and rogue operators mining the ocean floor.

The eerie procession that follows, as the survivors try to make their way back to headquarters on foot with air supply running low, has a doomy atmosphere all its own.

Once away from the sea bed, however, the film quickly develops into an often ludicrous popcorn comedy-adventure, a sort of poor-man's-James-Bond meets Jaws that looks as though it was stitched together in haphazard fashion in the cutting-room.

A mega-giant octopus and prehistoric raptors are thrown into the mix before the end. They're all over the place, much like the film.

David Quinlan

USA/China/Thailand 2023. UK Distributor: Warner Brothers. Colour (unspecified).
110 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: 12A.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 0, Violence/Horror 1, Drugs 0, Swearing 0.

Review date: 06 Sep 2023