The Meg 2 Plot and Spoilers.
Here be spoilers for the MEG 2: The Trench, please don’t read on if you don’t want to know the plot of the Meg 2: The Trench.
We have a less tongue in cheek review of the Meg 2: The trench without plot details and spoilers here on the site and you are better there if you want to experience the movie without knowing what happens as we jsut did!
If you like spoilers and to know the plot of movies before you watch then read on!
Jonas Taylor: From Drunken Submersible Pilot to Action Hero
Jonas Taylor has transformed to a washed up drunken Deep submersible pilot into a Jason Bourne / James bond figure as he fights illegal polluters on a Container ship in the Philippine sea before jumping off the side and then being swept up in the nose of a plane going presumably about 100 miles an hour.
If you have Jason Stratham in your movie I can understand the temptation to do things like this, but its quite a character development !
Honchi: The Meg with a Clicker
He is then taken to a huge lagoon that houses a captive megalodon called Hon chi. This is a female meg in estrus who Wu Jing (as director of the institute) thinks he can control – it is not fully explained how this happens other than through a pen clicker type thing. (this plot point is actually in the books but in there it is explained – here not so much)
He decides the best way to test this is to dive in and do a demonstration, SPOILER! unsurprisingly he doesn’t get eaten, though it doesn’t explain how he survives the attack.
Thermoclines and Mega Mysteries
The team travel to The Mana 1 outpost to continue the exploration of the Marianna trench thermocline or more specifically beneath it, and Hon chi escapes and follows them, or heads there instinctively due to the desire to mate you can choose which – the end result is the same.
It is somewhat strange that the thermocline that kept the megs in for million of years but now seems it can be passed through by them at will.
The Discovery of the Megalodons
The two submersibles head to the bottom of the thermocline to escape the pursuing megalodon and discover another 2 swimming about including the “biggest Meg anyone has ever seen.
These megalodons are potentially mating, courting or at least flirting and swim away I guess to avoid the prying eyes of the humans below them.
Mei Ying Sophia Cai, now 14, has stowed away on one of the submersibles (as you do) which adds the element of concern at least to Jonas who appears to have custody of the teenager.
However the presence of the child (a child!) on the submersible doesn’t stop them deciding to follow the 3 Megalodon into an uncharted part of the trench to observe what they do with their days.
Quite why they think this is ok we are not sure – there is mention of anti predator defenses but these are not used at any time that we remember.
James Bond Villain Lair Moment
While in this uncharted area they find a huge undersea mining platform secretly (though probably not illegally) mining rare earth metals and introduces us to the villain of the piece played by Sergio Peris-Mencheta who explodes the sides of the trench to try to trap the two submersibles and prevent their presence being reported.
Spoiler, this fails, or at least fails to kill Jonas and the team who put on deep sea suits to walk 3 km to the mining platform in an attempt to escape, Mei Ying thought to pack hers, not sure why she knows how to use it however.
Two of them don’t make it, one who falls prey to a recently awoken Kraken or giant octopus ( which is not mentioned much) , one who is victim to a Meg and for someone who has done (we guess 26 incident free dives) seems less together than the 14 year old who has done zero,
At one point i expected her to say “game over man. game over” or “why don’t we put her in charge”.
The other casualty has their suit depressurize after the group is attacked by – honestly we have no idea but they may be Nothosaurus (bloodlessly for its PG rating,) just before they gain access to the mining platform.
Lex from Jurassic Park’s Must go to the same school.
The Team then navigate the platform looking for the escape pods – that the 14 year old managed to find by working out how to use the platforms computer systems – just like Lex in Jurassic Park.
However, once they locate them they discover that there is a traitor in their midst, played by Skyer Samuels, on the team on Mana 1 and who has sabotaged the rescue sub and is working for the mining platform owners ( who also own the Mana 1 and the lagoon.)
Jonas Taylor, the Underwater Action Hero
This evil corporation seem pretty comfortable killing everyone, and after trapping Jonas and the others on the platform and attempting to drown them, Jonas decides its ok to go for a swim 25000 feet under the water to try to open the airlock from the other side to prevent that happening.
Spoiler, he manages this (with a little explanation on his sinuses not holding air so his head wont implode…) and then goes toe to toe with one of the villains, played by Sergio Peris-Mencheta, of the movie – again winning and saving the day –
There is a reference ( intended we guess) from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom here that involves a mining conveyer belt and a rock crusher.
The team find a working submersible ( I guess with the keys still in it) and make it back to the surface and the Mana 1 after turning the lights on in the station,
Which turns out to be a dinner bell to the three megs who attack and destroy the mining platform – Kind of have to ask why this was an option if the people who built it knew this exact situation could happen.
As they ascend they see the huge hole in the Thermocline, about large enough to let 3 Megs, a Kraken and numerous nothosaurus (lizard dogs / dog lizards / mutant newts) out.
Murderous Mercenaries and a Chase to “Fun Island”
On board the Mana 1 a group of mercenaries have been brought in to (kill?) everyone on board. This was organized really quickly and I cant help think what were they all doing before this – just sitting waiting for a call to murder 30 people?
The don’t succeed and most of them are later eaten by a shark while chasing Jonas and the others in a Rib.
Skyler Samuels, in a scene from the trailer, is then eaten through a viewing window bloodlessly again, and gets what she deserves for tying to kill everyone else.
The Battle Royale at “Fun Island”
The chase is now on and Jonas, The mercenaries who survived the Megs and the giant octopus all head for “Fun Island” – we all need a little R and R I guess.
They are not alone of course, and for some reason the dog like lizards, or lizard like dogs – Nothosaurus?? have also made their way there – ahead of everything else somehow despite being only 6 feet long.
The sharks attack, the Kraken / octopus attacks / the Lizard dogs – Nothosaurus attack, the mercenaries attack. Fun Island is going to need a rebranding after this we think.
Smile you S of a B!
Jonas, doing what he does best, decides to go after the Megalodons first, and manages to take out 2 on his own, one with a home made harpoon with a bomb strapped to it
The other with a helicopter blade in a clear throw back to Jaws 2, ( smile you S of a B…he didn’t say that but may as well have)
The Kraken / Octopus is, between all this, unceremoniously dispatched by a couple of Megs and really had not much point in the movie.
Spoiler: No Dogs were hurt ( except the lizard dog things)
Pippin the dog, however, does have a point in the movie and has a go at the Kraken, or at least one of its tentacles, before being recued by Mei Ying ( who just cant obey orders – kids eh!)
Hon Chi, the shark form the Lagoon decides not to eat Jonas, Wu Jing or Mac and this may because of the pen clicker (not sure how he still had this on him) or because she was distracted by a pod of dolphins and everyone reunites on the shore for a drink and some of that promised fun.
Meg 3: The Family?
Hon Chi may well also be pregnant so if this movie preforms anything like the first one, we can be expected Meg 3 to hit cinemas in a couple of years. This was the only hint we got at a sequel as the credits (admit we didn’t stay right to the end) didn’t show anything to hint at one.
Conclusion
Although these spoilers and plot explanations seem a little harsh we did actually enjoy the movie as we mention in the proper review here.
Our main issue is that for a shark movie the sharks didn’t seem to offer much to the film, it could have actually got by quite happily without them and we think that’s a shame.
Thee Megalodon is a great creature for a creature feature, but for a creature feature to succeed you really have to feature the creature!
Meg 2 offers a wild ride though and it’s an adventure best enjoyed with a large bucket of popcorn and a willingness to suspend disbelief.
hope you enjoyed the spoilers!
- https://movieweb.com/meg-2-the-trench-everything-we-know/
- https://www.whattowatch.com/watching-guides/the-meg-2-the-trench-release-date-cast-plot-trailer-and-everything-we-know
- https://www.looper.com/336683/the-meg-2-release-date-cast-plot/
Hi, I am Roy Ford a General Studies and English Teacher who has taught all over the world. What started as a fossil collection became a great way to teach, motivate and inspire students of all ages and all over the world about dinosaurs and from that and children’s love of dinosaurs came the site dinosaur facts for kids, a resource for all ages.