Is it scarier than the first one?

It's more chaotic and has more 'monsters,' but it feels less like a horror movie and more like an action movie. The scares are mostly loud noises and things jumping at the camera.

How much blood is actually in it?

It stays within PG-13 limits. There's some blood in the water and a few 'crunchy' sound effects, but it avoids the lingering gore you'd see in an R-rated slasher.

Do we need to watch the first one to understand this?

Not really. They explain the basic setup (Jason Statham is a deep-sea diver, there are giant sharks) within the first ten minutes. You'll be fine jumping straight in.

Is any of the science real?

Almost none of it. From the way they handle water pressure to the existence of the creatures, it's pure fantasy. Use it as a chance to talk about what really lives in the deep ocean instead.

The Meg 2: The Trench – WISE Score & Parent Review | Screenwise

The Meg 2: The Trench

Name: Screenwise
Author: Screenwise

movie2023

45%

WISE Score

Avg. Tomatometer

Jason Statham takes on giant sharks and corporate greed in an underwater sequel that trades suspense for absolute, ridiculous chaos.

5/10

27%

72%

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The Meg 2: The Trench

movie

PG-13, 2023

45%

WISE Score

Avg. Tomatometer

Jason Statham takes on giant sharks and corporate greed in an underwater sequel that trades suspense for absolute, ridiculous chaos.

27%

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5/10

27%

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Screenwise Verdict

Look, it's not Jaws. It's barely even The Meg. It's a loud, silly, sometimes boring action flick that happens to have giant sharks in it. If your kid is obsessed with prehistoric monsters and Jason Statham punching things, they'll have a blast.

For everyone else, it's a bit of a slog. The critics hated it for a reason—the plot is a mess and it loses the 'suspense' of the first movie in favor of goofy action. But if you're just looking for mindless fun to watch while eating pizza, it does the job.

Age Fit

Best for 12 and up. It's PG-13 energy through and through—loud, scary-ish, but mostly just high-adrenaline action that doesn't take itself seriously.

WISE Breakdown

Wholesome

There's a core theme of protecting family and the ocean, but it's buried under a mountain of people being eaten and corporate villains being generally awful. It's more about survival than kindness.

Imaginative

The deep-sea 'trench' environment and the prehistoric creatures are visually cool, even if the movie borrows heavily from every other monster flick in existence. It hits the 'giant monster' itch well enough.

Safe

It's a high-octane PG-13 creature feature. Expect plenty of jump scares, intense underwater peril, and creatures munching on people. It's not particularly gory, but it is loud and stressful.

Enriching

You won't learn much about actual marine biology here—most of the 'science' is pure fiction. It's pure popcorn entertainment designed for spectacle over substance.

Parent Info

✓

Why It Might Be Great

It's a creature feature at its most expensive; the spectacle is huge even if the plot is thin.
A solid choice for a popcorn night where nobody wants to think too hard or deal with heavy themes.
The underwater visuals of the trench are genuinely fun to look at on a big screen.

⚠

What to Watch For

The creature violence gets crunchy; while it's not a slasher, several people are swallowed whole or crushed in ways that might rattle younger viewers.
A significant chunk of the movie involves human-on-human violence related to a mining operation, which feels more like a standard action movie than a shark thriller.

Conversation Starters

"If you discovered a new part of the ocean, would you keep it a secret or tell the world?"
"Why are humans so fascinated by giant monsters hiding in the dark?"
"Could anything actually survive that far down in real life, and what would it look like?"

Deep Dive

From Suspense to Camp

The first Meg movie was a relatively straightforward 'big shark' thriller. The Meg 2: The Trench decides that one shark isn't enough and throws in multiple Megs, prehistoric lizards, a giant octopus, and a villainous mining sub-plot. It's a lot. The director, Ben Wheatley, usually makes much weirder, smaller movies, and you can see him trying to inject some personality here, but it mostly just feels like a chaotic summer blockbuster.

The Action Movie Pivot

What might surprise parents is how much of this movie is just a standard action film. There are long stretches where the sharks aren't even the main threat—it's guys with guns and corporate sabotage. If your kid is specifically there for the 'nature' or 'creature' aspect, they might find the middle act a little tedious.

Is it actually scary?

It's 'startle' scary, not 'keep you up at night' scary. The tension comes from things jumping out of the dark or the threat of an oxygen tank failing. It doesn't have the psychological weight of better horror movies. It's essentially an underwater superhero movie where the superhero is a guy who can somehow swim at the bottom of the ocean without being crushed by the pressure. Don't look for logic; just look for the sharks.