--- title: "Meg 2: The Trench: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/meg-2-the-trench/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/meg-2-the-trench" critics_score: 44 critics_reviews: 21 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Meg 2: The Trench (2023): what the critics said Critics' score 44 from 21 reviews: 3 positive, 6 mixed, 12 negative. The reviews are mostly negative and the spread is wide, running from warm to withering. Most critics agree on the shape of the thing: a slow, self-serious first hour spent on submersibles and a drilling operation rather than sharks, then a final third that lets loose. Whether that finale is worth the wait is the dividing line. The New York Times and Sight and Sound think it is, finding the sequel gorier, funnier and more stylish than the original under Ben Wheatley. The larger group finds the plotting convoluted, the characters thin and the effects shoddy, and several call it plainly boring. Jason Statham’s dry line readings draw goodwill from nearly everyone, and the Los Angeles Times singles out Wu Jing as the liveliest presence on screen. A recurring regret is that Wheatley’s hand is hard to detect; the Telegraph would rather he were making something smaller and stranger. ## Sight and Sound Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 4 August 2023. The critic finds the film an enjoyable, over-the-top sharky schlock that serves up more fun than the original thanks to Wheatley's handling of the absurdity, ensemble cast and black humour. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/meg-2-trench-enjoyable-over-top-sharky-schlock) ## The New York Times — Calum Marsh Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 3 August 2023. The lively sequel greatly improves on the predecessor by getting gorier, funnier and more stylish under Wheatley's direction. The critic praises creative ways of depicting carnage despite the PG-13 rating, including an effective POV shot from inside a shark's mouth. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/03/movies/meg-2-the-trench-review.html) ## Empire — Ben Travis Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 4 August 2023. Ben Wheatley delivers a fun, knowingly silly summer blockbuster sequel with crunchy action and playful pulpiness, though it is let down by a waterlogged script and some murky underwater sequences. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/meg-2-the-trench/) ## The AV Club — Mark Keizer Rating C+. 3 August 2023. The film is better than the first thanks to Wheatley's direction and willingness to embrace its B-movie cheese, but it still lacks drive and imagination. It is awfully fun in spots when it leans into the ridiculous action and humor. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/the-meg-2-the-trench-movie-review-jason-statham-1850697450) ## Los Angeles Times — Katie Walsh Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 4 August 2023. The first half is dire straits and self-serious, but the film eventually gets in on the joke with fun creature-feature action on the surface. Wheatley loosens up in the second half, and Wu Jing's charismatic wild-man performance stands out as a highlight. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2023-08-04/review-meg-2-the-trench-jason-statham-wu-jing) ## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney Fi1m's normalised score 45/100 (inferred from the text). 3 August 2023. The sequel delivers only scattershot pleasures despite Statham's rugged charm and self-irony. It struggles to balance suspense with monster-movie silliness and feels tonally uncertain. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/meg-2-the-trench-review-jason-statham-ben-wheatley-1235550391/) ## Radio Times — Patrick Cremona Rating 2/5. The action is generic with some surface pleasures, but the slapdash plotting, thinly drawn characters, shoddy CGI and clunky lines make the sequel easy to forget. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-ek8ws9/meg-2-the-trench/) ## Variety — Owen Gleiberman Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 3 August 2023. The over-the-top sequel is trivial big-budget junk that sounds like it was written by AI and remains numbingly formulaic overall. Wheatley scales up effectively in the shamelessly diverting third act, though the film makes Godzilla look deep by comparison. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2023/film/reviews/the-meg-2-the-trench-review-jason-statham-1235685957/) ## Vulture — Bilge Ebiri Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 4 August 2023. The movie is extremely stupid but fails to deliver consistent entertainment or basic storytelling clarity. It misses opportunities for more over-the-top fun with its giant creatures and action set pieces. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/article/meg-2-the-trench-review-this-should-have-been-stupider.html) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 3 August 2023. Lacking killer instinct, the film lumbers as neither a gripping thriller nor campy escapism; Wheatley fails to replicate the original's scares and silliness, with a frustratingly complicated plot undermining the mindless carnage. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/meg-2-the-trench-review/5184599.article) ## The Independent — Clarisse Loughrey Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 4 August 2023. The film spends too long on po-faced submersible sequences before delivering chaotic fun in the final third, but the overall result is a stinker of a sequel that is dead in the water. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/meg-2-review-jason-statham-b2387710.html) ## Evening Standard — Charlotte O'Sullivan Fi1m's normalised score 25/100 (inferred from the text). 4 August 2023. The sequel lacks focus and suspense despite some laughs in the second half; the director is ultimately being eaten alive by the franchise's weaknesses. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/meg-2-the-trench-jason-statham-ben-wheatley-review-b1098634.html) ## Slant Magazine Rating 1/4. 3 August 2023. The film improves by dialing up the camp factor in its second half with absurd action sequences. It owns the ridiculous premise after a dour start, making for a more entertaining if still flawed monster movie. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/meg-2-the-trench-review-jason-statham-ben-wheatley/) ## RogerEbert.com — Brian Tallerico Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 4 August 2023. The critic finds the film dismally boring and one of the dullest of the year, with Wheatley phoning it in until a chaotic final half-hour. The underwater sequences are poorly executed and the story prioritizes an evil drilling operation over the sharks. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/meg-2-the-trench-movie-review-2023) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw 4 August 2023. The sequel treads water and fails to settle on an identity, mixing ideas from Jaws, Jurassic Park, Alien and Sharknado with little success. Statham occasionally raises a droll smile with his line readings amid the multiplicity of threats. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/aug/04/meg-2-the-trench-review-jason-statham-ben-wheatley) ## The Telegraph 4 August 2023. Two great British talents bring plenty of prehistoric monsters but little panache to a numbing wash of shiny visual effects and multinational mugging that is mostly palatable only to undemanding audiences. The glossy setting makes one wish Wheatley was making a lower-budget Wheatley film. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/meg-2-the-trench-review-jason-statham-wu-jing/) ## The Times Rating ★☆☆☆☆. The film drags narrative incompetence to new depths with an entire first hour focused on lowlights of Eighties straight-to-video action hokum rather than sharks, before a triple meg attack arrives far too late. It is an execrable sequel. [Read the review](https://thetimes.com/culture/film/article/meg-2-the-trench-review-plumbing-the-depths-of-eighties-action-films-k3xkf8gvj) ## Collider — Marco Vito Oddo Rating C+. 2 August 2023. The critic finds that while the horror sections create tension through fear of the unknown, the film is bloated with too many plot threads, leading to a convoluted and boring third act with poorly written villains and hard-to-follow action. [Read the review](https://collider.com/meg-2-the-trench-review/) ## The Playlist — Nick Allen Rating C. 4 August 2023. Calls it a big amateurish mess, frustrating with rushed set pieces and lack of wit, though the third act delivers some dumb fun. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/meg-2-the-trench-review-ben-wheatleys-sequel-is-a-big-amateurish-mess-20230804/) ## Den of Geek — Don Kaye Rating 2.5/5. 3 August 2023. The film is a tedious, generic sequel that fails to deliver subversion or excitement despite its director's pedigree, ultimately sinking under a convoluted plot and weak CG creatures. Statham remains a welcome presence, and the finale offers some entertaining deaths and heroic moments. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/meg-2-the-trench-review-no-bite/) ## /Film — Chris Evangelista Rating 4/10. 4 August 2023. Finds the film boring despite its silly premise, criticizing the dull script and lack of shark action in the first hour, though the climax has some fun moments. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/1357158/meg-2-review/) ## Polygon — Jesse Hassenger Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 3 August 2023. The critic notes that the film lacks horror nerve and a sense of terror or wonder in the trench, with shoddy effects and editing in the climax, though Statham is a reliable presence; overall, it drowns in silliness without contributing meaningfully to the shark movie genre. [Read the review](https://www.polygon.com/reviews/23818566/meg-2-trench-review) ## Deadline — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 3 August 2023. The critic finds the sequel tedious and lacking the original's bite, turning into a repetitive and implausible joke. They single out the conventional plotting involving bad guys and the absurd action sequences for complaint. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/2023/08/meg-2-the-trench-review-jason-statham-sequel-1235454121/) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 15/100 (inferred from the text). 3 August 2023. The review calls it a dull sequel that plunges into boredom with bad CGI and poor writing. It singles out the shameless borrowings from other films and laughable CGI for criticism. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/meg-2-the-trench-review-jason-statham/) ## Film Stories — Lauren Miles 4 August 2023. The critic notes the uneven sequel with a forgettable first two acts focused on business politics instead of shark action, but praises the exciting third act with Statham fighting sharks on Fun Island. [Read the review](https://filmstories.co.uk/reviews/meg-2-the-trench-review-statham-vs-more-sharks/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/meg-2-the-trench.md