Meg 2: The Trench (Wheatley, 2023)
Today’s recommendation was a close-run thing between this film and Mohammad Rasoulof’s superb and atmospheric 2009 Iranian drama, The White Meadows (reviewed here when it played the 2011 World Cinema Showcase).
The giant prehistoric shark gets the nod only because Rasoulof’s film isn’t available to watch anywhere in New Zealand.
Rasoulof has just escaped Iran (and the threat of a prison sentence) so he can attend the premiere of his latest film, The Seed of the Sacred Fig at Cannes next week.
Meg 2 was one of my early reviews after restarting F&S back in August last year:
There’s no serious subtext going on with Meg 2: The Trench, sequel to the 2018 hit which was shot in Auckland. The British studio Leavesden is the beneficiary of all the Chinese production money this time around and a British director – sometime indie darling Ben Wheatley – is at the helm.
Jason Statham returns as eco-warrior Jonas Taylor – “the green James Bond” as he is described early on – and this time around there are plenty of giant prehistoric proto-sharks to contend with, but there are also rapacious corporates secretly mining the sea floor and stirring up trouble while they are at it.
You have to admire a film that just keeps on adding more and I want to make special mention of the production design by Chris Lowe – all the techie stuff like the control room, the subs and the diving gear look really cool.
Statham plays very much on one gruff note, unfortunately, so it’s left to a relaxed Cliff Curtis to add some warmth to the ensemble.
A film as cynical as this has no right to be so much fun.
That week I also covered Aussie horror Talk to Me; French Revolution drama Chevalier; Maggie Smith, Kathy Bates and Laura Linney going to Lourdes in The Miracle Club; and the plushie Toy Story from AppleTV+, The Beanie Bubble. Bear in mind that archives over 30-days old are only available for paid subscribers (Or so I am told).
Where to watch Meg 2: The Trench
Aotearoa: Streaming on Neon
Australia: Streaming on Netflix or Binge
Canada, Ireland and UK: Digital rental
USA: Streaming on Netflix or Max
Further reading
For RNZ, I have just reviewed the new collector’s edition Blu-ray two-pack of A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More. The latter probably deserves a recommendation of its own here so I may expand that at a later date, but if you are on the fence about buying the new ViaVision lenticular box I may be able to help you out.
