Meg 2 Director Uses Indiana Jones To Explain Why He Didn't Need An R-Rating
In the buildup to its release, there was an expectation "The Meg" would be a Sharksploitation B-movie wrought on a big budget, like "Deep Blue Sea" only painted on a larger canvas and even more ridiculous. What we got, however, was a shockingly earnest PG-13 thriller that, yes, had its moments of unapologetic nonsense (of course Jason Statham stabs a gigantic megalodon shark in the eye during the climax). Yet, it was also very sincere in the scenes where characters grieve the deaths of their friends or mourn the fact that, in the face of the miraculous discovery that a prehistoric species of shark is still around in the present-day, all humanity can do is cause more harm and destruction.
While this contributed to the film's middling reception, it didn't prevent "The Meg" from becoming a massive box office hit and earning a sequel. Titled "Meg 2: The Trench," the film sees Ben Wheatley taking over directing duties from "The Meg" helmer Jon Turteltaub, with writers Dean Georgaris and Erich and Jon Hoeber returning to pen the script. Having the filmmaker behind such stylishly dark and violent low-budget offerings as "Kill List," "High-Rise," and "Free Fire" calling the shots, you might think "Meg 2" would deliver on the R-rated shark-related carnage many people wanted from the first movie. No such luck, chum (er, pardon the phrasing).
Wheatley, for his money, doesn't see that as a problem. In an interview with /Film's Jacob Hall, the filmmaker named-dropped the "Indiana Jones" films as a example of why having a PG-13 rating doesn't necessarily prevent "Meg 2" from packing a punch the way an R-rated cut might.
More gore isn't always necessary
Amusingly, Wheatley seems to have a different idea of what constitutes a particularly violent film than other people might. When Jacob suggested "Meg 2" was "never going to be 'Free Fire'" in terms of its rating, Wheatley replied:
"Yeah. Yeah, though 'Free Fire' is not even that high, is it? Well, I can't remember what the certification was about the States, but it's not that gory, is it? It's not like 'Kill List' hard 18 kind of head-splitting stuff."
While it's a valid point, "Free Fire" is nevertheless an action film that features a substantial amount of spraying blood and flying bullets, much like the "Indiana Jones" films. This brings us to Wheatley's next point:
"I think that in terms of action, it's like the 'Indiana Jones' movies are the high watermark of that. It's like you feel like you've seen a lot of action and it doesn't feel as a viewer like it's been toned down [...] And I don't think that's to do with certification. You don't have to have loads of blood gouging out of people to make things more impactful, in a way."
Another valid point. Despite being rated PG-13 (a rating they helped bring about), the "Indiana Jones" movies have characters — overwhelmingly villains — meeting their maker by getting skewered by booby traps, flattened by rock crushers, consumed by flesh-hungry insects, or having their heads blown up or melted by wrathful spirits, among other things. It's because they leave the more graphic details to audiences' imagination that they're able to deliver the same type of hard-hitting thrills as R-rated genre films.
Does "Meg 2: The Trench" manage to thread that same needle? You'll just have to judge for yourself.