The end of The Meg teased Jonas’s romance with the oceanographer Suyin, who had a young daughter, Meiying (Sophia Cai). In the sequel, we learn that Suyin has died, and Jonas seems to be 14-year-old Meiying’s stepfather. It’s all murky, but relationships were never The Meg’s strength. Suyin’s brother, Jiuming, has also joined the institute. He is played by Wu Jing, a Chinese superstar. His presence speaks to the film’s global box-office aspirations, but he fits in smoothly in a bland, unexciting role. Cliff Curtis returns as the level-headed manager, Mac, and Page Kennedy sits behind a computer as DJ. He is the film’s meta voice, the “Don’t go in the house” guy.
Jonas takes a crew that includes Jiuming and even little Meiying (don’t ask how; it’s ridiculous) 25,000ft below the ocean floor to explore a trench that these megalodons seem to be escaping from. When things inevitably go wrong and every major character is in danger and soaking wet, the gang end up in a raft. “This feels unpleasantly familiar,” DJ says, and another veteran of The Meg says, “I just hope it goes better than last time.” Ha. That rare moment, with the audience meant to laugh knowingly, stands out. DJ seems to be in a different movie, especially when he takes out a gun to defend them from the supersharks and says, “I even made poison-tipped bullets, just like Jaws 2”. No other character is that aware that they live in an echo of other movies.
The director, Ben Wheatley, is the latest indie filmmaker to take on a big commercial project, as Taika Waititi did spectacularly with Thor: Ragnarok and Chloé Zhao less so with Eternals. Wheatley’s films are quirky and different from each other, ranging from black comedy Sightseers, to the eco-thriller In the Earth. But each has a single distinctive tone, something the floundering Meg 2 lacks.
