Years after the events of the first movie, Jonas (Jason Statham) has returned to the deep sea trench where he first met the Megaladon.
When his team are trapped in the trench, Jonas will have to find a way to save his friends - and avoid the Megs…
There is a specific variety of big movie that never works with me.
Godzilla v Kong is a recent example. It has a bunch of big genre elements but there are so many of them that nothing sticks in the mind.
The Meg 2 is a better movie than its predecessor - not a big hurdle - but it almost feels like a slighter bigger version of what we got before.
There is something inherently bland to both movies which I cannot shake.
Part of it is the relentless barrage of obvious CGI.
It also feels like the filmmakers miss out on making a meal of certain scenes in favour of beauty shots of the sharks.
Director Ben Wheatley made his name with a variety of smaller-scale genre efforts. I have not watched everything he has made, but i could not detect much of his stamp here.
There is a sureness to some of the set pieces - the hand-to-hand combat looks slick - but everything feels a little by-the-numbers.
On paper, this is the kind of hokum I go for - an action thriller with espionage elements, sci fi gadgets, an evil corporate plot to mine the trench; dinosaurs; a giant octopus.
But it all feels like entrees without a main course.
Chinese star Wu Jing (Wolf Warrior) has a few good moments, but his cocky billionaire character feels a little smoothed out - it seems like his confidence is meant to set up some kind of fall - or at least a humbling experience - but nothing of the sort happens.
One of the supporting characters almost makes a terrible choice to save their life - and then becomes the butt of jokes later on.
Nothing has shape or definition.
The cast are not at fault - but the script’s lack of characterisation means they are just a bit generic.
Cliff Curtis brings a welcome credibility - and he gets some of the more human moments with Statham, Jing and Page Kennedy.
Maybe my lack of impression comes from watching the Jaws films earlier this year - while the sequels were increasingly incoherent, there were still some visceral moments. This movie just feels like a glossier version of Jaws 3.
No comments:
Post a Comment