Jason Statham fights with jet ski & sword (!) against basking sharks: “Meg 2” promises to far surpass part 1

The trailers for “Meg” promised a fun basking shark movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously and makes for a perfect popcorn movie theater with plenty of over-the-top scenes between humans and primeval sharks. The final film could only partially live up to this promise as the eponymous basking shark remained too pale and “Meg” was more or less between all the seats by pandering to the Chinese cinema market. It was only thanks to Jason Statham in the lead role that “Meg” rose above mediocrity. But in “Meg 2” it could be better.

At the CinemaCon movie show currently taking place in Las Vegas a first trailer for “Meg 2: The Trench” (the original title) is shown – and it offers at least something of what the first “Meg” lacked: ironic humor and crazy action scenes.

“‘Meg’ isn’t lacking in brutal scenes, but rather in truly creative ones – and if the creators only seem to be able to come up with violent sequences, then we would have preferred those to many of the rather interchangeable shark attacks that have now made it into the film,” summarizes FILMSTARTS editor-in-chief Christoph Petersen put it together in his review (3 out of 5 stars) of the first film. But this is exactly where new director Ben Wheatley (“Free Fire”, “High-Rise”) apparently comes into play:

Between “Jurassic Park” and “Sharknado”: Here’s what the “Meg 2” trailer shows

According to reports from CinemaCon, the trailer for “Meg 2” opens at the time of the dinosaurs, but soon turns the usual sequence upside down: it’s not Tyrannosaurus Rex who is the king of prehistory, but the Megalodon (or Meg) eats a T-Rex (!) in the trailer.

In the present, Jonas Taylor, Jason Statham’s basking shark expert, is recruited again by Mac (Cliff Curtis) because an even bigger Meg has appeared. But that’s not the only monster this time: in the “Meg 2” trailer countless giant creatures attack on land and in the water, including a giant octopusattacking a helicopter (!!).

However, the final scene of the trailer is the highlight: Here Jason Statham jumps into the air on a jet ski to attack a Meg with a sword (!!!) in his hand.

Let’s hope these aren’t the only great scenes in the movie and the marketing doesn’t mislead again. “Meg 2: The Trench” will be released in German cinemas on August 3, 2023.