Review of Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018) by Joseph D — 24 Mar 2018

The big bots are back!

PACIFIC RIM: Uprising.

Is this franchise like Power Rangers for grown ups? Yes. In every way. Unequivocally.

At under 2 hours, PRU doesn't waist a second! We get just enough backstory, we hit the ground running, & the twists & turns the story takes feel totally organic & flow right along with each other.

The cast was awesome. We see a couple of old friends, who factor into the plot in surprising ways (no spoilers), & then there are the new kids on the block. John Boyega was very believable as Idris Elba's son, his hero potential was there, it was just untempered & covered by a 'never try, never fail' shell, I found him quite relatable. Cailee Spaeny as the teen prodigy was kinda stereotypical, but engaging. She had guts, brains, & a (no spoilers) past that left her with a healthy dose of angst that clashed & later meshed with the other potential rangers. As for the aforementioned rangers, they felt like a younger version of the Firefly/Serenity cast, a motley crew, each with aspirations almost as big as their shoulder chips; they entertained. I can't say much about the villains without spoilers, but rest assured, the reveal was shocking, creepy, & action packed!

The effects, which were awesome in the first film, are even better in this one. The jaegers were once again a mix of practical insides & CGI for the controls & bodies; & it really helped their realism. As before, they were all color coded & each had their own signature moves & weapons. The standout was Scrapper, the dwarf jaeger, which could do a tuck-n-roll, & was very durable. If we get a PR3, I hope get to see a whole team of DJs, with Cailee Spaeny's character leading them.

Now for the kaiju. To say they were vastly different then their PR1 counterparts would be an understatement. I don't wanna spoil it, so I'll just say the rules have changed, the stakes are higher, & they still look like organic beasts as real & menacing as ever.

The music was a mix of types that punctuated the various moods of the film well.

The action, comedy, drama, suspense, creep-factor, all came together to make Pacific Rim: Uprising more than just a rehash of the first film. It moved the story forward, & it gave us something new to appreciate. 4 stars outta 5, hands down! There's no post credits scene, but there was a sequel beg, so here's hopin' we get one more leap into the pacific rim!