Meg 2: The Trench 4K Review (Warner Bros.)

Meg 2: The Trench (aKa Shark 2, The Meg 2, Meg 2, and The Trench ) is a 2023 science fiction horror action hybrid film directed by Ben Wheatley (Kill List, Free Fire, High-Rise, Doctor Who, and The ABCs of Death). It’s based on the 1999 novel The Trench by Steve Alten. It is s sequel to 2018’s The Meg. It was written by Erich Hoeber and Jon Hoeber (The Meg, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, Red 1/2, Whiteout, My Spy, and Battleship) with Dean Georgaris (Paycheck, The Manchurian Candidate, Bluff City Law, Quantum Leap, and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider 2). It was produced by lead actor Jason Statham (Expend4bles, Fast and Furious presents: Hobbs and Shaw, Viva La Madness, and Operation Fortune). The budget was $139 million and it grossed $395 million worldwide at the box office!!!!Five years after the previous events, Jonas Taylor (played by: Jason Statham from The Expendables franchise, The Transporter franchise, Crank 1/2, Fast and Furious franchise, Mechanic 1/2, Wrath of Man, Death Race, and Snatch) has been involved in fighting environmental crimes while also helping Mana One in exploring a further deep part of the Mariana Trench where the Megalodon had been found. Jonas has been raising teenager Meiying (played by: Shuya Sophia Cai from The Meg and Somewhere only we Know) alongside her uncle Jiuming Zhang (played by: Jing Wu from The Wandering Earth 1/2, Wolf Warrior 1/2, and Ride On), who acquired his father’s company alongside financier Hillary Driscoll (played by: Sienna Guillory from Love Actually, Eragon, Resident Evil franchise, and Inkheart). Mana One has also been studying an 80 ft (24 m) female Meg called Haiqi, who was discovered as a pup and trained by Jiuming in a reserve in Hainan. Jonas and Jiuming lead a routine submersible exploration to the Trench, with Meiying stowing away to see the trench for the first time.Fellow Meg survivors DJ (played by: Page Kennedy from The Meg, S.W.A.T, and FML) and Mac (played by: Cliff Curtis from The Meg, Sunshine, Avatar: The Way of Water, Blow, Push, Training Day, and Bringing out the Dead) observe the group from the Mana One. Jonas and his team discover an illegal mining operation in a station captained by the mercenary Montes (played by: Sergio Peris-Mencheta from Resident Evil: Afterlife, Rambo: Last Blood, Snowfall, and Life Itself), who has a vendetta against Jonas for his imprisonment some time before. Montes causes problems with Jonas plus his crew in an explosion to cover up their activities. The crew with the help of fellow Mana One analyst Jess (played by: Skyler Samuels from The Gifted, Scream Queens, and American Horror Story) and security officer Rigas (played by: Melissanthi Mahut from The Other Me, Assassin’s Creed games, and The Sandman) discover that the rescue pod has been sabotaged which forces the crew to use exosuits to walk towards the station in the creature-filled trench. As the crew surfaces, they discover the rupture from earlier which leads to several of the creatures, including the three Megs, a swarm of lizard-like creatures known as Snappers and a giant octopus escaping the trench and reaching the surface. The monsters are now out in the public and they are ready to feast. Everyone now must fight for their survival!!!!The Meg 2: The Trench is a little odd, it’s basically two different films put together as one. The first half here doesn’t really feel like a Meg feature at all but second half is exactly what you would expect from a sequel from the franchise. I know that they changed several things from the original source material for this follow up. I personally didn’t mind them taking a different approach for the beginning here. It had a solid set up for all the characters. Action superstar Jason Statham in his element here, this is his bread and butter when it comes to cinema. The Meg 2 brings back several characters from the original which will make fans happy but it also adds multiple new cast members for The Trench. This one definitely got a mixed reaction on it’s release but it performed great at the box office so who knows what future this franchise has. The original movie was much better but The Trench was still decent especially the second half which was a blast. They amped up everything at the end here. It’s currently streaming on HBO Max so give it a shot!!!!Let’s discuss this high definition presentation from Warner Bros Pictures! This 2160p (2.39:1) transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 looks great in 4K. The locations, the action, the fx, and cinemtopgraphy shine here. It’s one of the better UHD home video releases of the year. It has a few different audio options which includes English: Dolby Atmos, English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1, French: Dolby Digital 5.1, and Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 on this UHD. All of the dialogue is crystal clear, all the shark chaos is elevated, and the music has a killer boost to it. Meg 2: The Trench is one of the better audio home video releases of the year also. It definitely puts your sound system to work. It also has English SDH, French, and Spanish subtitles.Let’s talk about the special features from Warner Bros Pictures! “The Making of Meg 2: The Trench” is a little over 13 minutes. It has interviews with director Ben Wheatley, producer Belle Avery, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, SFX supervisor Domonic Tuohy, production designer Chris Lowe, actors Felix Mayr, Skyler Samuels, Kiran Sonia Sawar, Cliff Curtis, Wu Jing, Page Kennedy, Sophia Kai, Melissanthi Mahut, and Whoopie van Raam. Star Jason Statham is ironically one of the only people missing here when it comes to conversation. It’s a somewhat fast overview of the sequel. It has behind the scenes footage. “Up From the Depths: Even More Beasts” is almost 10 minutes. It has interviews with the same people as the other extra. It has behind the scenes footage, on set footage, concept artwork, and it dives deeper into the sequel here. It also comes with a slipcover and a digital code. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!