Pacific Rim: Uprising

Score:  B-

Directed by Steven S. DeKnight
Starring John Boyega, Scott Eastwood, Charlie Day
Running time: 111 minutes
Rated PG-13

Long Story Short:  While Oscar-winning Guillermo del Toro is no longer in the director's chair, the follow up to 2013's surprisingly good Pacific Rim is also a pleasant enough surprise - for a sequel.  There's also no Idris Elba, but Boyega and co-star Spaeny offer a little flavor, and the script and plot are just enough to hold it together.  The action is what you go for, though, and no expense is spared here.  Worth it if you've seen the original, otherwise take a pass.


It is ten years after a team of commandos, piloting building-sized robots known as jaegers, stopped a monster (kaiju) invasion of earth.  The coasts of the Pacific Ocean are littered with the wreckage of the jaeger-kaiju war, and many are forced to live off selling and using the scraps, like former jaeger pilot Jake (Boyega).  Jake is the son of deceased war hero Stacker, and so, after getting caught stealing jaeger scrap with fellow nomad Amara (Spaeny), he is offered the chance to rejoin the military as a trainer.  While the kaiju threat seems quelled, the Shao Corporation with the help of Dr. Geiszler (Day) have developed a new fleet of drone jaegers, making Jake's days as a trainer appear numbered.  However, the alien threat has merely been building up again in the shadows, and before long earth is caught off guard by a new threat, one that calls Jake and the jaeger fleet back into action.

Pacific Rim: Uprising has a decent cast that shines here and there, and features mostly new faces but a few returning from the original film.  John Boyega takes the lead here as Jake, the new version of disillusioned jaeger pilot brought back into the fold.  He's about as good as the first film's Charlie Hunnam, and certainly presents a striking contrast to his role in Star Wars (and I don't just mean the English accent here).  Particularly early on, he does a good job of showing Jake as a hardened scavenger, dismissive of the legends he has direct links to.  Inevitably he becomes more the typical hero type, but he is perfectly watchable in the role.  Fellow drifter Amara, played by pop star Cailee Spaeny, also brings some welcome attitude, forming good chemistry with Boyega early with a tough demeanor.  Charlie Day has the biggest part of the returning players, and brings a bit of comic relief and nuttiness again (along with his partner in the lab, Burn Gorman).  After that, the film sputters in coming up with interesting parts.  Scott Eastwood is dull as dirt as Jake's old co-pilot, and Jing Tian, essentially China's "emissary" to Hollywood blockbusters, is just a plot filler.  Rinko Kikuchi, who did such as nice job as Mako in the original, is disappointingly left out to dry here.

Pacific Rim: Uprising isn't great, but it's entertaining; acceptable as a follow-up to the first film, and better than the average blockbuster sequel.  Pacific Rim in 2013, thanks to the direction of Guillermo del Toro, showed that a movie about giant fighting robots actually can be both exciting and also not mind-numbing.  The sequel is a few steps down from it, but it shows a similar fighting spirit and energy.  There are certainly some plot holes (or at least head scratchers) here, but the overall idea is solid, providing a workable structure.  The script and dialogue, never a focus in these films, is actually not too bad; at least, I found myself cringing at corny/badly delivered lines far less often than expected.  There is some attempt at digging into characters' backstories, like the original did well, but it comes out flat and is (wisely) soon abandoned and makes way for the main attraction: the action.  Even having seen several (*gulp*) Transformers movies before it, the original made the large-scale, (obviously) CGI-heavy action feel fresh and even tense.  Well, it's not as fresh or tense here, but the sequel makes up for it not just by ramping up the amount, but also not allowing any one battle go on too long.  The variety is good, too: there's a light, amusing chase sequence at the beginning, and an impressively done, everything-but-the kitchen-sink climax as jaegers valiantly fly into the buzzsaw of a "mega" kaiju.  Everything is paced pretty well, not just the individual action scenes, and the run time of under two hours is judicious.

***

While I'm trying to reduce the number of blockbuster sequels I see in the theater, I wanted to give this one a try thanks to the original's success, and it shows Hollywood may be making a little progress in this area.  Certainly, if you haven't seen the first film, I wouldn't bother with this one.  The sequel's not overly bogged down by plot- or character ties to the original, but there are so many other action films out there that work better overall.  If you have seen the first, though, this is worth a try - either in the theater, to enjoy the impressive effects, or at home.  With a decent premise and enough enjoyable characters, there is enough supporting the main attaction - robot vs. monster mayhem - to warrant a viewing.



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