Pacific Rim: Uprising
Mini Review
[22nd of March, 2018]
[PG-13, 1hr 51min, Action, Adventure, Kaiju, Mecha, Science Fiction]
The original's Guillermo del Toro's own take, his own passion project of the Japanese subgenres of
mecha and
kaiju that are still prominent in the Land of the Rising Sun's local industry, giving the viewers an atmospheric and weighty world of giant robots battling giants monsters in the sea and in the city, having the visuals triumph the rather simplistic storyline and the not as solid performances by the protagonists. It didn't actually caught the cinema by fire so this second time around should provide a different box office result at least considering how far the departure is from the predecessor.
Leading the effort to freshen up the followup is the director Steven S. DeKnight with his directorial debut with a fresh batch of young new faces in its cast and a capable charismatic main protagonist in John Boyega's Jake Pentecost. Taking place ten years after the first film's canceling of the apocalypse, he is the fitting replacement to lead the storytelling, with Idris Elba passing the torch to an energetic yet conflicted counterpart, being a talented pilot that just couldn't get off his father's shadow. Taking a step forward with engaging characters but then a step back with how the established universe of Pacific Rim is being handled and 'added' upon in this sequel, the original's conversation revolving around the clash between
jaegers and
kaijus has been overlooked to focus more on how the world post-
kaiju attacks have the global superpowers teaming up together or even creating their own alternatives. Regarding the mechs themselves, Guillermo's tireless focus to details in the production design have created
jaegers with their own particular looks and abilities that are unique to each country and their approach to battle while DeKnight's approach veers them more towards stylish and sleek designs with weapons unique to each model but without any comparatively valid reasons behind the decisions!
This difference in storytelling approach resulted in both films feeling quite drastically different despite being in the same universe, the original feeling heavy and hefty with quite a serious overall tone while this sequel is a bit more light-hearted and fast-paced, not taking itself too seriously for better or for worse. It didn't live up to the predecessor in my honest opinion but please do watch it yourself and let me know what you think of Uprising!
- IMDb - wiki -
P.S. That storyline didn't exactly go the way that I thought ... at least we know why they are here!
P.P.S. If you do not want to get spoiled on the storyline, do not watch any of the spoilerish trailers!
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