Any movie that costs north of $100 million and focuses entirely on Jason Statham battling against a gigantic prehistoric shark is hardly destined to find critical acclaim, but the opening installment could turn out to be a masterpiece compared to its successor looking at Meg 2: The Trench‘s early reviews.
Thanks largely to a robust performance in China, National Treasure director Jon Turteltaub’s ridiculous fantasy that took itself too seriously to lean into the campy fun inherent to the premise swam to $530 million at the global box office, despite barely keeping its head above water with a 46 percent Rotten Tomatoes score.
And yet, despite roping in Ben Wheatley to helm the follow-up – which should have been a masterstroke given his penchant for knocking out offbeat, eccentric, and often insane genre films – The Trench has yet to be rewarded with a solitary positive review on the aggregation site.
That’s more than likely to chance sooner rather than later, but it’s not exactly a great start. Meg 2 is already tracking to haul in less than half of the first film at the domestic box office this weekend, but the good news is that once again pre-sale tickets in China have been shifting quickly and in great number, even if a half-billion tally is probably out of the question.
We’ve become sadly accustomed to middling blockbuster drowning in multiplexes this summer, and unless the tide of opinion turns awfully quickly, Meg 2: The Trench is destined to be the latest underperformer on the big screen.