8/10
JUST TRY AND ENJOY IT FOR WHAT IT IS!
11 August 2023
A -{ B I G }- Screen Mini Review ; Movie Seen Thurs., 08-03-23.

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Woman, to nearby man : "You can relax. This place, 'Meg-proof'. I mean, Jonas was always afraid of this, but I was also thinking....." { a Meg crashes through the 'impenetrable' glass barrier and chomps her up whole }.

( Scene features in the -official- trailer by Warner Bros. Pictures ; hence a Non-spoiler ).

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You already KNOW that this "Ain't No Oppenheimer" ; is almost certainly -not- going to win any Academy Awards ; nor was it -ever- intended to be as such. Bearing that in mind, here's a few thoughts to get the boat rowing. Isn't the reason that we -{ PAY }- . . . Of our "own-free-will", { and often rather handsomely, at that! } . . . To see a larger-than-life { quite literally! }, "UTTERLY BONKERS LEVEL" sci-fi action extravaganza such as 'Meg 2: The Trench' ( to be referred to simply as 'Meg-2' here ) . . . That we wish to 'Escape', be 'Enthralled', and perhaps most significantly of all . . . " Be able to let our hair down for a while, and just have a little 'Serious' Cinematic -{ FUN }- ? ? ? " Just Sayin'. ( And if you consider yourself to be a -true- lover of action flicks, then you will most -definitely- be able to relate to Meg-2 ).

Jason Statham has been one of my favourite action heroes for the longest time, & well & truly -Delivers- in Meg-2 as 'Jonas Taylor', inasmuchas the "kicking ass" department is concerned. However, the absence of Bing Bing Li ..{ 'Suyin', in the first instalment }.. was an unequivocal disappointment, as her presence in 'The Meg' was nothing less than sheerly delightful. In contrast, Page Kennedy { 'DJ' }, not only reprises his role ..with 'Panache!'.. but also brings some -genuinely enjoyable suprises with him . . . -{ And }- performs the massively exhilarating hip-hop song "Chomp"! ( The track plays over the end credits ). If I have one -major- criticism of the film, it is that the -extremely- deadly Komodo Dragon like prehistoric creatures on "Fun Island" { -Also- featured in the aforementioned trailer } were, for want of a better expression . . . Just permitted to er, well, simply "be there" ( this is -very- obviously implied ) by the island's management ; -inspite- of the said venue, ( quite expectedly of course ), being chock full of, you-guessed-TOURISTS! But ..'other than that'.. I simply surrendered myself -completely- to the -{ "MINDLESS MOVIE MADNESS" }- at hand, and made a perfectly earnest effort to just relax, and enjoy the undeniably -immense- level of entertainment on display.

Summary : The opening sequence is "Par Excellence". Also, I was -especially- heartened by Jonas's very endearing relationship with the "sparky and seemingly ever enthusiastic" 14 year old whiz-kid 'Meiying' { Suyin's daughter from the first picture, and played by the -now- 15 year old Sophia Cai } ; as it provided a VERY refreshing break from the 'Heartless Badass' personna that we almost -always- see Jason Statham's roles embody. In a nutshell, Meg-2 is "rife" with Twists, Turns & Curved-balls, galore. It -attempts- to fight every possible narrative cliché Real-hard, and generally ends up winning ( -NOT- to be confused with all the -very- obvious "homages" present in the picture ). Ergo : " 8.00 -{ UNABASHED }- , Chompalicious Marks Out Of 10.00 " . . . . KUDOS, Director Ben Wheatley ! ! ! !
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