Pacific Rim 2 : Uprising Review

Pacific Rim 2 : Not as good as the prequel

Just when the cinema lovers were exhausted with the Transformers metal clinking movies, director Guillermo del Toro decided to spring open a fresh robot vs sea monsters rift that did well worldwide for its no nonsense action sequences. While the film itself ended on a positive note without the need for a sequel, as is the case with Hollywood’s obsession for wrecking a good film’s image the sequel to Pacific Rim is now here and it's nothing like the first. There are no surprises on what happened since the humans left behind a humungous nuclear bomb beneath earth's core thinking they have destroyed Kaiju family once and for all.

John Boyega (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) stars as the rebellious Jake Pentecost, a once-promising Jaeger pilot whose legendary father gave his life to secure humanity's victory against the monstrous "Kaiju." Jake has since abandoned his training only to become caught up in a criminal underworld. But when an even more unstoppable threat is unleashed to tear through our cities and bring the world to its knees, he is given one last chance to live up to his father's legacy by his estranged sister, Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi)---who is leading a brave new generation of pilots that have grown up in the shadow of war. As they seek justice for the fallen, their only hope is to unite together in a global uprising against the forces of extinction. Co-written and directed by 2018 Oscar winner Guillermo del Toro, the first Pacific Rim drew on the traditions of kaiju and mecha, added some funky neural science, and was gross and weird enough to be both recognizably a del Toro movie and often a lot of fun. Giant monsters created by beings called “precursors” in another realm, sent through a portal to wreck our universe, and beaten back by giant robots called Jaegers, piloted by pairs of humans? Bring it on.

Most of the fun of Pacific Rim was in the unpredictable world building, and after that, in the kaiju-Jaeger fights. It was, in some ways, the classic big, silly duel and the thinness of the plot didn’t really matter. Pacific Rim: Uprising would either have to figure out how to replicate its predecessor’s charm or find a new way to up the ante. Picking up ten years after the Pan Pacific Defense Corps (PPDC) canceled the apocalypse, we now follow Jake Pentecost (John Boyega), son of famous hero Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba), and current scavenger of old Jaeger parts. When he and fellow scavenger Amara Namani (Cailee Spaeny) come across the PPDC’s radar after stealing and scrapping with authorities, they’re given a choice: join the corps or go to jail. John Boyega's star continues to rise. He's an actor that fills the screen with presence. Big budget action films are his forte. He pulls off a charm offensive while kicking a whole lot of ass. That's not easy to do. Some actors are swallowed up by larger than life moments. Boyega looks effortless as he pummels the Kaiju.

The first part introduced the weird yet technically sound concept of Drift where the two pilots eat through other’s thoughts, brain and what not. Though farfetched it was, the graphical interpretation was brilliant, fresh and pop to its core. As is the case in the sequel the director keeps trying to bring back the surprise, but what’s already seen once is not a surprise and becomes habitual.

Verdict: Pacific Rim Uprising is for those who love to sit through a volley of action with metals clinking, buildings falling and yes, the end of the world type. Otherwise give it a miss if you are not for films like this.