"Pacific Rim: Uprising" Movie Review

You know how some sequels suffer because the director of the first film was replaced? Pacific Rim: Uprising surprisingly held up to the first film, which was directed by Guillermo del Toro. Steven S. DeKnight took the helm for the sequel and delivered a more family friendly action film. This was his film debut and I have to say that his directing skills were on-target. It was DeKnight's writing that made the film stumble. It basically combined the first Pacific Rim with Independence Day: Resurgence. Even the endings for both sequel films were the same.

Pacific Rim: Uprising is set 10 years after the first, following Jake Pentecost and Nate Lambert as they face yet another attack, only this time it's from the inside. A mole inside Shao Industries has devised a way to open another rift, aiming for global extinction.

Now sure I can go on and on about the film's predictability and mind-numbing plot and CGI eye candy, but this time I prefer to stick to the positives. John Boyega and Scott Eastwood were by far the best parts of the film. Their characters had a bit of a rivalry and comedic moments which brought both some story and some fun to their roles and the film as a whole. Newcomer Cailee Spaeny played Amara, a junker who built her own tiny Jaeger and was admitted as a cadet into the Jaeger branch of the military. It was up to Jake (Boyega) and Nate (Eastwood) to put aside their differences and train her. As far as the human storyline went, it was interesting and kept my attention. There was only one emotional moment, but there rarely are many in this type of film.

In conclusion, if you're looking for a film that is all fun with no thinking required then you'll love this film. On the other hand, if you're looking for something that will expand your sci-fi knowledge and make you deeply ponder on what's being shown on the screen, you're going to be disappointed. Expect more Transformers and Godzilla rather than Valerian or District 9. I give the film a 2.5 out of 4.