Meg 2: The Trench 4K UHD Review

The One Where a Puppy Bites a Giant Squid

If Vin Diesel randomly appeared during Meg 2’s final act, punched a giant prehistoric shark in the face, looked toward the camera and said, “That’s for family,” it’d make absolute sense. Having the Fast & Furious crew appear to save the world falls into the same logic as Jason Statham stabbing prehistoric oceanic monsters with spears while riding a jet ski. That happens. More than once too. Vin Diesel does not, sadly.

Meg 2 is stupid, and to a greater degree than its predecessor, but it’s also more enjoyable as it trudges through similar waters. The entire finale, set on a resort town with helpless swimmers turning into fish food is effectively the same. Except now, the land has dinosaurs to contend with. Oh, and the water hides a giant squid. A dog bites a tentacle. Of course it does.

Meg 2 is perfect brainless escapism

There are infinitely worse “monsters eat people” movies. The Meg is one of them, but Meg 2, even if it’s desperate for cheesy, R-rated violence (and it’s sadly just PG-13), plays up the camp stupidity and owns it. Take out Meg 2’s clumsy, non-monster-having middle act and it’s likely a quintessential contemporary studio monster movie. Whether that’s a plus is all personal taste.

The script is akin to a direct-to-video sequel, borderline incomprehensible with anti-capitalist undertones and an undeniable push to capture the Chinese and Hong Kong markets where these exports do so well. Meg 2’s greatest localized aspirations seem to be aimed at airing endlessly on USA or TNT cable channels during the weekend, which is exactly how the first Meg ended up. For that, Meg 2 is perfect brainless escapism.

Beyond adding more creatures, which exist either to eat the enemies or be shot, Meg 2 toys with an ecological message through protagonist Jonah (Statham) and a weary, familiar hostile takeover by corporate executives, putting the heroes in danger. So little of this matters aside from those doing an accurate body count. Somehow, these characters have less definition this time than last, many of them notable for a few comic quips. It’s hollow, empty, logic-less, and borderline embarrassing, but Meg 2 – when at its peak creature feature value – produces everything marketing promised.

Video

Diamond-sharp cinematography at full 4K reveals every nuance, whether that’s from the CG monsters or human characters. Close-ups and medium shots alike look sensational. Wide establishing views look equally brilliant in their precision. Even the underwater photography (when it appears actually underwater and not CG anyway) displays stellar precision. Meg 2 is clean too, nearly devoid of noise.

Colors run cold, appropriate to the tone and ocean-side locales. Flesh tones hold a careful warmth, but do drift colder via the grading. An orange/teal slant is often visible. Meg 2 still pops some impressive, vivid saturation in places though. It’s a satisfying disc.

In Dolby Vision, brightness is rarely spared, giving Meg 2 a blockbuster gloss. The seas ripple and reflect intense sunlight. Even the moon can produce this effect. Black levels hit their deepest point without issue, elevating the dimensionality. It’s not enough to ward off the slightest banding (underwater), that’s a minor hiccup.

Audio

While at times a touch too boomy, the low-end within this Atmos track rarely holds back. Bass erupts, thick, loud, and nearly overpowering. The rumble comes from the shark moving through water, sub engines, or explosions. During action scenes, the subwoofer rarely stops responding.

Demo worthy surround and overheads push Meg 2 into an elite group. The setting doesn’t hurt – water becomes a constant presence. Ambiance inside the submersibles is masterfully mixed. World class stuff, even. Rears engage much like the LFE channel: rarely unused. An undersea avalanche around 30-minutes in utilizes every single speaker for a full and spectacular example of home audio mixing.

Extras

On the UHD, a 13-minute making of joins a look at the various creatures, which runs for nine-minutes. That’s it.

The following six screen shots serve as samples for our subscription-exclusive set of 37 full resolution uncompressed 4K screen shots grabbed directly from the UHD: