Meg 2: The Trench (4K UHD Review)

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Meg 2: The Trench suffers the fate of many sequels – it tries to recapture what made the original film entertaining by making everything bigger, louder, and more convoluted, but ultimately feels like a poor photocopy. I thought The Meg (2018) was a silly yet ultimately enjoyable romp that was effective and convincing at reworking the tropes from Jaws into a contemporary big budget film. This sequel is just silly, even if the undoubtedly big CGI production offers exciting set pieces.

In this outing — this time directed by Ben Wheatley (Kill List, High-Rise) – research team leader Jonas Taylor and his team take a submarine down to the bottom of the Marianas Trench where they discover a breeding ground for megalodons, other creatures long thought extinct, and a covert mining operation that wants desperately to stay secret. Jonas and his team must escape the danger from the miners and deal with the treacherous creatures, including megalodons, that attack.

There is nothing original in this screenplay at all, from the illegal mining operation to the swarm of megalodons. They not only cull from the innovative Jaws for this film, but from a number of films that copied it, like Deep Blue Sea. Despite Statham’s performance of herculean proportions in the numerous action pieces, the film’s “bigger is better” feel does not work. The dialogue is silly, and the characters may as well be cardboard cutouts of every archetype one can imagine. The CGI work does not always hold up, which makes the whole purpose of the film dissipate. If they keep going in this direction, let us hope there is no third film.

The Video

Meg 2: The Trench was shot on the Sony CineAlta Venice with Panavision Ultra Panatar lenses. The film is provided in a 2.40:1 HEVC 2160p (4K UHD) Dolby Vision encodement. The HDR10 metadata shows a MaxLL of 409 nits and MaxFALL of 71 nits. This MaxFALL seems ridiculously low, but this is a darkly lit movie most of the time. The brightness, dynamic range, and specular highlights do not show any issues. The color reproduction is vibrant and nuanced in most of the scenes. One standout scene is when Jonas and his team have to walk across the trench in their scuba suits. There is splendid contrast between the dark background of the water, the vivid lights of various colors from their suits and other electronic gear, and some bioluminescent sea creatures as well.

The Audio

Meg 2: The Trench comes with a lossless English Dolby Atmos mix that is a reference mix. The low end is big, extended, and floor rattling. Atmos channels are used wonderfully with lots of atmospherics and solid effects overhead, and the soundscape is expansive, with a fully engulfing mix.

The Supplements

This release is barebones, with only two featurettes and digital code included. There is no Blu-ray included. At the writing of this review, there were no additional extras announced for the digital version either.

• Movies Anywhere Digital Code
• The Making of Meg 2: The Trench (1080p; 00:13:02)
• Up from the Depths: Even More Beasts (1080p; 00:09:40)

The Final Assessment

Big, bombastic action and am overabundance of CGI effects do not make Meg 2: The Trench as fun to watch as the first film, but there is no denying how good it looks and sounds on 4K Ultra HD.

Meg 2: The Trench is out on 4K Ultra HD + Digital October, 24, 2023, from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

• Rating Certificate: PG-13 (for action/violence, some bloody images, language and brief suggestive material)
• Studios & Distributors: Apelles Entertainment | China Media Capital | Flagship Entertainment Group | Gravity Pictures | Maeday Productions | Marzano Films | Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden | Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
• Director: Ben Wheatley
• Written By: Jon Hoeber | Erich Hoeber | Dean Georgaris
• Run Time: 116 Mins.
• Street Date: 24 October 2023
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Video Format: HEVC 2160p (4K UHD)
• HDR Format: Dolby Vision (HDR10 Compatible)
• HDR10 Metadata:
  • MaxLL: 409 nits
  • MaxFALL: 71 nits
• Primary Audio: English Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Compatible)
• Secondary Audio: English Descriptive Audio | French DD 5.1 | Spanish DD 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH | French | Spanish