Respond to these rapid questions in our Pacific Rim Uprising quiz and we will tell you which Pacific Rim Uprising character you are. Play it now.
I’m rushing to finish this review because every hour that passes makes it more difficult to recall the events of “Pacific Rim Uprising.”
It’s not a bad film on a technical level, and it’s a worthy sequel to Guillermo del Toro’s monsters versus biomechanical warriors saga “Pacific Rim.” A minimum of images of huge things crashing into other huge things, as well as collateral damage in the form of cratering streets, collapsing buildings, and panicked civilians are shown throughout the film (who are shown racing away from the mayhem but rarely being hurt or killed). A decade later, the film features giant robots known as jägers fighting an entirely new type of monster (I won’t say what it is because doing so would give away one of the film’s few surprises) as well as jägers battling other jägers to keep things interesting. This film may appeal to younger children, and in comparison to the “Transformers” films, which are strangely filled with racist and sexist imagery, as well as an unnecessarily sleazy undertone, this one is probably a safer bet for that age group to watch.
Also on hand are actors who are doing everything they can to make their characters memorable, even when the script (which is credited to four people) isn’t providing them with the support they need to do so. John Boyega, in particular, saves the film for long stretches of time simply by being himself and being likable. He’s been working on a screen persona that bears a lot of resemblance to the late James Garner’s: a witty, cynical survivor who makes a point of avoiding unnecessary fights and keeping one eye on the exit at all times, but who also has a buried streak of righteous honor that comes to the surface during dire situations. He’s in that mode again here, playing Jake Pentecost, the pilot-turned-scrapper son of the inspirational warrior-guru Stacker Pentecost from the original film (Idris Elba). However, there are two major issues with the film, and the film never manages to resolve either of them.
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In the first place, it feels like a sad afterthought to the original story, which saw various two-person crews of misfit eccentrics overcome their animosities and neuroses to become one mind and operate their machines, while bash, smash and burn giant beasts who’d slipped through an interdimensional portal at the bottom of the sea. Because that would’ve been as lame as the plot of the “Independence Day” sequel, this sequel from director Steven S. DeKnight (TV’s “Spartacus”) doesn’t simply decide, “Well, the portal we thought we’d closed is open again, and there are more monsters, so everybody saddle up.” Nevertheless, what the film does come up with has been built out in an ill-conceived and clumsy manner that highlights the cynical nature of the exercise: a plot that revolves around the rush to deploy jäger drones overseen by the shadowy Shao Corporation, which has been getting a little too close to the kaiju brains that its top secret research relies on.
Pacific Rim Uprising Quiz
In addition to returning characters such as Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi), the “Pacific Rim” pilot who went on to become an important world leader, and oddball scientists Hermann Gottlieb (Burn Gorman) and Dr. Newt Geiszler (Burn Gorman), the film also features cameo appearances by newcomers (Charlie Day). Because of his kaiju mind-meld in the first film, the latter character is thrust into the center of the story. He has since been appointed to the position of co-chief of the Shao Corporation’s drone development program, alongside Liwen Shao (Jing Tian of “Kong: Skull Island” and “The Great Wall”). While Day lacks gravitas for the role he’s been given, his oddball intensity serves as a welcome counterpoint to the earnestness displayed elsewhere (Scott Eastwood’s snarling pilot Nate Lambert, for example, is a particularly one-note example). Amara Namani (Cailee Spaeny), an orphaned street urchin who becomes a juvenile pilot, is also disappointingly indistinct—basically a retread of Mako Mori with a few years knocked off her age, ready-made for big brother-little sister or surrogate father-daughter bonding. It is not the actress’s fault that the film misinterprets gritted teeth and cartoon spunk as signs of a distinct character.
Also, you will find out which character are you in this Pacific Rim Uprising quiz.
This brings us to the second issue: there is no Del Toro… Even when they are at their most energetic, these performers can only accomplish so much without the original creator at the helm. The project lacks the purplish intensity and explosions of juvenile poetry that made the original “Pacific Rim” so memorable, regardless of whether you liked or disliked it at the time of its release. It was fantastic. As a matter of fact, I like to tell people that it’s the “Citizen Kane” of movies, in which robots use boats to ram dinosaurs in the face. The film’s feverish dedication to every detail of the universe it created was truly admirable to watch. With everything from the names and powers it bestowed on its machines and creatures to its consideration of what urban life and popular culture would look like in a world besieged by kaiju attacks, there was no doubt that it meant something to the people who created it, and that it was a labor of love for them. It was the work of true believers who were filled with a childlike enthusiasm for the ridiculous. Moreover, Del Toro believed in the themes of personal redemption and group effort that were woven into the mechanics of the jäger’s design and construction. He got high on his own supply, which was not only understandable, but it was also exactly what a filmmaker was supposed to do in that kind of situation, so it was all good.
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It appears that the studio and the filmmakers have simply held onto a lot of the computer-generated imagery (CGI) programs that were used to create the effects in the original film and have decided to give them one more lap around the track for the sake of the box office, while making a point of pandering to the Chinese market that helped the original film become an international success after it performed poorly elsewhere. (There’s nothing wrong with that last part, of course; I only bring it up because, after seeing the movie, it appears to be a far more compelling explanation for why “Uprising” exists than anything provided by the script.) It’s rare that the fate of the world is decided in such a rote manner as it is here, though I’ll admit that the final act—a battle that culminates on the crest of Mt. Fuji, which has been the site of many a monster movie showdown in the golden era of Japanese cinema—has a flair for melodrama and grandiose imagery that the rest of the project sorely lacking.Also, you must try to play this Pacific Rim Uprising quiz.
For more personality quizzes check this: Blockers Quiz.
