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Meg 2: The Trench | 2023 | PG-13 | – 1.6.4
Why is “Meg 2: The Trench” rated PG-13? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “action/violence, some bloody images, language and brief suggestive material.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a kiss, many attacks on humans by giant prehistoric creatures leading to deaths and injuries of both humans and the creatures without much gore, a few gunfight sequences between humans, many risky undertakings, many arguments, and some strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.
When a deep sea research and exploration mission goes awry and the submersibles are overrun by megalodons, the crew’s survival efforts are also thwarted by unanticipated obstacles. With Jason Statham, Jing Wu, Cliff Curtis, Sienna Guillory, Shuya Sophia Cai, Skyler Samuels, Melissanthi Mahut and Page Kennedy. Directed by Ben Wheatley. [Running Time: 1:56]
Meg 2: The Trench SEX/NUDITY 1
– A man and a woman kiss and he picks her up off the floor.
► A woman finds several condoms in a man’s backpack and quizzes him about them. A man asks a woman if she wants to rub some suntan oil on his back and when she does not respond, he asks, “How about my front,” and she makes a negative remark.
► People dance on an island resort and we see men and women wearing swimsuits (cleavage, bare abdomens, legs, backs and men’s chests are seen).
Meg 2: The Trench VIOLENCE/GORE 6
– A giant megalodon circles a rescue dingy as it is paddled away from an outpost in the ocean, another dingy speeds after the first and the megalodon is attracted by the sound of its motors causing it to chase the second dingy and eat it (both the boat and the men inside). We hear crunching as a giant squid takes a woman off the deck of a boat (we do not see this happen), and then the creature devours the entire boat filled with people (we hear them screaming). Many large swimming creatures speed toward people and grab several (they resemble giant eels with many sharp teeth); a woman’s head (she’s wearing a helmet) is held in one creature’s mouth, the glass on her safety visor begins to crack, a man lights a flare and the creatures swim away, but megalodons speed toward the light and tear apart structures, speed toward the people as they open an airlock and grab a few (there’s no gore). A giant megalodon crashes through a protective glass and into an underwater observation area, eating a woman standing inside and water floods into the building (there’s no gore). A woman stands outside a helicopter, picks up a gun from a dead man on the ground, climbs back into the helicopter and a giant lizard jumps in with her, attacks her (we see her thrashing and screaming) and it drags her out by the leg (we see some blood on her leg). A man is grabbed by a giant creature while walking on the bottom of the ocean floor; we hear the man screaming and then go silent as his empty helmet drifts through the water. People on a beach run toward the water screaming when they hear gunfire in the jungle behind them; a paddleboat in the water with a man and a woman peddling fast is lifted into the air and swallowed by a giant megalodon. A giant megalodon crashes through a pier throwing splinters and boards into the air and chomping many people.
► A giant megalodon speeds toward a man in the water, the man reaches an outcropping and stands holding a helicopter blade stabbing the megalodon through the mouth and out the head when it tries to bite down on him (we see the bloody hole tear open and the creature falls limp). A man on a jet ski takes explosive harpoons and chases several giant creatures in the ocean; he is thrown off the vehicle and a giant megalodon circles him, then speeds toward him and he speeds away just as the megalodon opens its jaws; the man jumps the jet ski over a giant megalodon and slams a harpoon in its head, it explodes, and we see the bloody remains of the creature sink to the ocean floor. A man fights with a giant lizard using a shovel, eventually stabbing it in the head with the shovel’s broken handle (we see some blood). Several giant lizards chase two men toward a helicopter, one lizard jumps onto the landing gear, one man sprays it with gasoline as the other tries to lift off and a flare is fired toward the flammable liquid causing an explosion and killing the lizards. A giant squid grabs a helicopter mid-air, one of the occupants jumps out and the vehicle crashes into the water with the pilot (we see him unconscious later, but he is rescued). A man with a gun shoots through a pier toward a man hiding underneath; the man underneath stabs the gunmen in the leg with a piece of wood (we see some blood dripping into the water) and a giant megalodon chomps the injured man.
► A small dog bites a giant squid’s tentacle (the dog is not harmed). A giant megalodon bites a pier and a man slips toward its open mouth. A giant squid wraps a young girl with a tentacle and a man stabs it with an umbrella causing it to let her go. A man is grabbed by a giant squid and he plants an explosive on it, it blows up the creature and the man is grabbed by a tentacle as he tries to surface, the squid wraps a giant megalodon with another tentacle and the megalodon bites its way free. A man and woman are chased by giant lizards with sharp teeth, the man jumps and shoots one of the lizards with a large-caliber handgun.
► Three men in an outbuilding are threatened by armed men, one of the threatened men presses a button that opens a door and several large lizards enter attacking the gunmen that shoot at them wildly, striking a gas tank that explodes and presumably kills them all. Men in deep sea diving suits are shown mining something from the ocean floor; they are told by a man that explosives will be detonated and although they plead for time to get to safety, he sets them off, presumably killing the men; subs nearby are tossed around in the blast (they lose communication and air), rubble and debris are thrown. A man leaves an airlock and swims without tanks or a dive suit at 25,000 feet and swims to another airlock that empties of water just as he runs out of air (he revives). Several people wearing diving gear walk across the ocean floor to an undersea outpost as many giant ocean creatures swim around them; a man says that they are being stalked and a large school of fish swims around them. A woman’s helmet implodes when the air pressure is not reversed in time; we see her body floating limp, the helmet is flattened and the safety visor is shattered. A containment area in an undersea outpost is purposefully flooded with water while people are inside with no way out; they get out before drowning. A giant fish lunges at a man in the ocean and he shoots it. Giant lizards chase a man and a woman.
► Two men are shot at and jump overboard, and then swim to a platform and re-board the vessel. A man shoots a large caliber gun at men shooting at him, he walks through a door and other gunmen point guns to his head (we see him and another man handcuffed later). Armed men walk through a jungle and hear noises through the thick brush, one man goes through the leaves and is attacked by something that we don’t see and the other men open fire into the brush. A man sprays armed men threatening him and another man with pepper spray, the other man tasers a woman with the armed men and the two men run away with one of them complaining of getting pepper spray in his own eyes.
► A man in a shipping container on a large seagoing ship blows a hole in one wall and gets out to photograph the crew dumping hazardous waste into the ocean; he is spotted and fights with several men with punches, kicks and throws, he is cornered and threatens to arrest the captain and crew, the captain tells the crew to “kill him,” and the man falls over the side and into the ocean where he is picked up by a passing plane that dips into the water to scoop him (the man is unharmed). Two men fight with punches and kicks and one man slashes the other with a large knife (we see a bloody cut later), they use fire extinguishers, a chain and other items as weapons and they fall on a conveyor belt that pulls them toward a crushing machine, and they get away and continue fighting. A man with a gun shoots at another man on a jet ski.
► Many dolphins jump in and out of the water and squeal seemingly running from something; a dog on shore barks toward the water. Several subs are dropped from a platform into the ocean and they dive to 25,000 feet before they are being trailed by megalodons; the subs dive through a thermal stream that the megalodons would normally avoid, but they follow and we hear that they are there to mate. An opening sequence set in the cretaceous period shows a large insect being eaten by a lizard, eaten by a dinosaur, and several dinosaurs charge into the ocean to evade a T-rex that catches one of them and bites down on it just as it is eaten by a megalodon (we see blood in the water).
► People in boats speed through swimmers off an island and yell for them to get out of the water; they scream and move toward land. A megalodon swims in a containment area and we are told that it is the only one in captivity; a man swims in the water with the megalodon as he uses a device that emits a sound that the megalodon responds to as the man says that he has trained the animal, and it swims close to him, then turns, swims toward him going faster and lunges toward him (the man gets away and we see him unharmed). A megalodon swims in an enclosure, it speeds up and its eyes roll back to reveal white as it charges toward a grate that breaks when it hits it and swims out to open sea.
► A man flinches and tells another man, “I nearly killed you,” when he touches his shoulder while walking in the dark deep ocean. A woman tells another woman to shoot a man in the heart with a spear gun if she wants to save a young girl; the woman holds the gun toward the man but does not fire. A man tests a super-strong exo-suit that allows him to punch heavy things and crush them.
► An order is given for people to “shoot anything that moves.” A man warns another man about swimming with a megalodon and being eaten in front of the man’s niece. We hear that a rescue sub was sabotaged and is unable to be launched to retrieve people in subs. A young girl complains of the smell in an undersea outpost where there are signs of life but no one is present. A character says, “We look like food,” when in a rescue dingy. A man talks about using a 50-caliber handgun. We understand that a young girl’s mother is dead.
Meg 2: The Trench LANGUAGE 4
– 2 scatological terms, 6 anatomical terms, 18 mild obscenities, name-calling (chum, suckers, monkey suit, crazy, stupid, ridiculous, bastard, ugly bastard, rogue operation, bad karma, terrible, unpleasantly familiar, unfortunate, friggin’ Batman, trouble, eco warriors, mouth breather, dumb, ungrateful), exclamations (you gotta be kidding me, don’t count on it, it’s go time, shut-up, shut it, ew), 4 religious exclamations (e.g. God knows why, oh my God, Godspeed). | profanity glossary |
Meg 2: The Trench SUBSTANCE USE
– People drink champagne at a gala, people drink cocktails at an island resort, and people drink whiskey on a beach.
Meg 2: The Trench DISCUSSION TOPICS
– Illegal hazardous material dumping in the ocean, illegal mining, preserving sea life, imagination, taking risks, undersea exploration, cognitive dissonance, lawlessness, rare Earth metals, growing up, unscrupulous business practices.
Meg 2: The Trench MESSAGE
– Creatures in nature can be terrifying, especially when they are giant.
CAVEATS
Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.
We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.
Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.
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Unsung Hero - 1.3.1
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