Pacific Rim Uprising – Film Review

When Pacific Rim came out in 2013, the film was not a commercial success in the United States but became profitable in the Asian market due to the inclusion of Asian actors and the subject of Kaiju and robots fighting. The first film — I will review later on — was definitely an enjoyable feature that could have ended just there. With this film they build upon what the first film established and try to take it to a more standard Americanized approach with a lot of global influence surrounding the picture.

I was glad that Rinko Kikuchi reprised her role in this film but wish her character had been in the film more, her character could have been better handled. I did like Charlie Day coming back and didn’t mind the story they gave his character. It made sense to me and didn’t feel like a complete abandonment of what was established with him. The real star of this film is John Boyega who helped produce this picture. He shines here where he gets to use his English accent as he portrays the son of Idris Elba’s character from the first film. There is such charm he brings to the screen with a few great laughs in between. I did enjoy his banter with Scott Eastwood throughout the film.

The Kaiju, they’re going to come back. I’m not going to be stuck waiting for someone else to come save my ass.

Cailee Spaeny does a fine job as the new main character called Amara. They gave her a respectable backstory and is well utilized in the film. Tian Jing does a great job as one of the main supporting cast members. I liked her character growth over the course of the film, her arc from beginning to end had me hating her character to thinking she was one of the best in the film.

The action in this film is pretty clear cut and easier to follow than the previous film. A lot of that has to due to the fact that the shots are in the daytime compared to the night which the last used a lot. I was entertained a lot but I did realize after watching the film does have a lot of derivatives from things like ‘Power Rangers’ and ‘Independence Day Resurgence’, which at first of hearing those factors isn’t a good thing. But I think they handled it well. I appreciate what Steven S DeKnight was doing to help build out this film franchise to go beyond just one entry but the end tag felt a little forced.

I would say this film does warrant the big screen and is theater worthy for the action and spectacle. The film does lack originality and its ability be highly inventive but that shouldn’t turn you away if you’re looking for a fun time at the movies.

7.5/10