Pacific Rim: Uprising
I was not the audience for this film. In my opinion, the original Pacific Rim, while enjoyable in spurts, was ultimately a hollow visual spectacle with uninteresting characters and a half-hearted attempt at giving meaning to the whole kaiju-jaeger slugfest. That there even was a sequel is somewhat head scratching (until you consider the massive Asian box office that the original film generated), but that said sequel is even more soulless and forgettable than the original is hardly a surprise.
Set 10 years after the kaiju were defeated and sent packing back to their own dimension, a new series of drone operated jaeger's are the elite defensive force for the surviving humans. However a glitch in the system causes the jaegers to be taken over by kaiju brains, leading <PERSON> (<PERSON> the son of <PERSON> from the last film- to take the remaining jaegers and defend the planet from certain annihilation. Like the first film Pacific Rim: Uprising works best when it simply sits back and becomes a goofy robot on monster action film. Unfortunately the action is not as well staged this time around as it was in the first film, pobably a side effect of the change in director <PERSON> (best known for the Spartacus television series from several years back) has taken the helm from <PERSON>, and not for the better either. GDT's visual talents are sorely missed here, and <PERSON> turns what should be exciting moments of action sequences into glorified rounds of Rock'em Sock'em Robots.
The performances aren't much better this time either. 292
<PERSON> can be a good actor, if he's given good material to work with, but asking him to carry this film (and an uninspired ensemble to boot) with its cardboard like characters and insipid dialogue appears to be a bridge to far. Though that is as much the script's fault as it is the actor's. This film had 4 screenwriters on it (and a story developed by two people...though it seems like it could have been written on a cocktail napkin for as "deep" as it is) but none of them give anything approaching depth to the characters or even any witty one-liners of dialogue. The original Pacific Rim may have failed miserably at the same thing, but at least there was an effort (honestly too much of an effort, and so to overcompensate we went too far in the other direction.) At least <PERSON>, as the scientists turned corrupted villain, is trying to have a little fun. Everyone else is sadly playing the material straight, resulting in a film that's about as exciting and dry as a carton of soup crackers.
If you were a fan of the original Pacific Rim and simply wanted more of the same, than this dimwitted sequel may satisfy your needs. It runs just a few clicks under two hours, and for what it is it's hardly worth any kind of real vitriol. Anyone expecting anything else (or expecting to be won over by this film) need look elsewhere. Pacific Rim: Uprising does little to justify the need for a new franchise, and instead is content to be an uninspired followup to a mediocre-at-best film. 292