Wrenage reviewed Meg 2 when it was released in theaters but I was eager to see it and here is my take. This review is weird, because it’s not the movie I wanted it to be. That’s my own stupid fault. Meg 2 is directed by Ben Wheatley, who I’m a massive fan of. Well a massive fan of his early work, anyway.
We just had the Valhalla Rising as the subject of Film Club. I liked it, but no one else seemed to “get” it. Wheatley’s early movies are the same. Movies like The Kill List, In the Earth, and A Field in England are great movies, but border on art house with some real surreal imagery.
I like this. I like odd endings like 2001: A Space Odyssey. They make you think. You can have your own thoughts on the ending, your own take, it promotes discussion. Wheatley has done this a lot in some of his movies, In the Earth was very much like this. I’m still not sure I fully understand the ending, but I thought it was interesting.
My main mistake with Meg 2 was going in thinking I was going to watch a Ben Wheatley movie. It isn’t a Wheatley movie, it’s a Jason Statham movie. For the first two acts, I was annoyed and thought the movie was stupid.
Selling Out?
However, as I went on, I started to realize this wasn’t the movie I was hoping it was going to be. Meg 2 is a giant shark movie, so there wasn’t going to be a deep meaningful end that would get to me question the very existence of the universe. Jason Statham is fighting giant sharks, so there is nothing deep here. It’s a summer blockbuster.
As I think more about the movie, the more I think I actually enjoyed it. I say “enjoyed it”, it is bloody stupid, but I was entertained, I laughed in all the wrong places. The story was, as Wrenage said, confusing but at the end of the day I was entertained.
While watching Meg 2, I couldn’t help but think that Wheatley had sold out. I mean, this is very different from his other movies. I do genuinely think he is a master of his art. His directing Meg 2 is the equivalent of Van Gogh drawing a cock and balls on a bathroom wall.
However, I got to wondering if Wheatley just wanted to have some fun? Things like Kill List are very dark and can be taxing to watch. Meg 2 is not deep, it is, as I said, a giant shark movie. Maybe Wheatley just wanted to have some fun and make a silly summer blockbuster. It would subvert expectations for his next movie. I imagine if Van Gogh did draw on bathroom walls, he would have been giggling while doing it.
Overall
I’m torn with this movie. If you are expecting a Wheatley movie, you will be disappointed. If you are expecting a Statham movie, you will probably have some fun. Again, as Wrenage said, there’s no point going over the story since it’s paper-thin. What you will get is Statham fighting, giant sharks, some Asian totty, and silly jokes. A summer blockbuster at its finest.
It’s far from a perfect movie, I don’t see it being studied in film school in years to come. But as a movie to shut your brain off and have fun’, it was good. I would give it another go if it was on TV at some point. It is a solid middle score. Meg 2 stupid but fun, and you don’t have to overthink anything about it at all.
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