WOULD “THE MEG 2” HAVE BETTER VIEWED AT THE THEATER? NO.

As I’ve said, movies should be viewed in the theater as often as possible. It’s not just the big screen experience but also sharing the event with a group of people. Some movies are just more powerful on the big screen versus your TV. Some are OK to see on your TV because there’ nothing grand to be wowed by. Those movies you feel better watching at home because they feel more intimate. Movies with large special effects and action just feel so much bigger and better in the theater. Horror movies put off that same feeling with the added size of the jump scare or gory attack. I watched “The Meg” on HBO when it came out and found it a fun movie in the direct pipeline of “Jaws” but just bigger. I kind of felt like I missed out not seeing it in the theater even though it was a bit campy. I felt like I missed out when “The Meg 2: The Trench” hit theaters earlier this year and I couldn’t get to it. It premiered on HBO and HBO MAX this last weekend so I sat down to take it in.

As the title suggests, this time the people researching the trench that the first Meg – short for Megalodon which is a prehistoric shark of massive proportions came from in the first movie. There are four characters that return from the original film with Jason Statham returning as the hero Jonas Taylor that is as tough as he is grumpy about everything, Cliff Curtiss as Mac Jonas’ boss, DJ played by Page Kennedy as the the lead tech guy, and Shuya Sophia Cai as Meiying the niece of the guy with all the money funding their research. Jonas has now adopted her in some form. The original movie she was tagging along with her mother who survived the first movie but is now dead for no known reason other than plot development. The rich uncle, Jiuming Zhang played by Jing Wu took over for his father who died in the first movie after tangling with the shark. He is the money man who believes in the project and research. As they study the trench they quickly realize they are not alone and when they stumble upon shady mercenaries plundering the trench precious metals. In an attempt to cover up their actions the miners cause several Megs and other creatures to escape the trench and cause the standard havoc that accompanies these movies. As with sequels there always has to be bigger and more creatures to deal with. They spend the movie avoiding getting eaten by the various creatures and trying to protect the smorgasbord of people at the nearby resort island that aren’t even safe on shore.

“The Meg 2” is more formulaic than most movies of its ilk. You can figuratively see them lining up the next scene and what demise will befall each character. You know who’s going to live and who’s going to die as they say the line that sets them up for death or have a job that is worthless to the survival of the others. Jonas spends the movie getting into and out of impossible situations as others are systematically weeded out by the creatures and the shadow company that employees the mercenary miners. While there are some minor moments of tension there isn’t really a feeling of dread that this movie’s predecessors have. While you might not be fully fooled by movies like “Jaws” or “Jurassic Park” they had real tension and you felt like anyone could meet their end. Also, there was blood and carnage that made you squirm. In this movie victims are mostly just swallowed whole without much of a grisly moment or a drop of blood. While it seems morbid it just ups the feeling of it not being believable. Sure, a giant shark might not need to chop a small human with its teeth, but it’s not going to be avoided every time. “Meg 2” is just too campy and going for laughs to make it a good horror, creature feature film that you want to see again. Jonas is just an indestructible icon flying around on the screen going from wacky stunt to wacky stunt without any concern that he is ever in real danger. The movie is just not satisfying for the crowd it’s aiming for. It quickly became apparent that I was happy I didn’t spend my money at the theater to see a letdown of a film and was content being unhappy with the viewing in my own basement where I didn’t have to pay extra for candy or popcorn and could crack a beer. I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch this film if you are thinking about it. Instead, watch “The Meg” and then just watch “Jaws 2” and get the fear and thrill you are looking for in a sequel.