There are definitely more imaginative plotlines for sequels than the typical “A-new-generation-of-protagonists-face-a-greater-threat-than-the-world-has-faced-before… blah blah blah”, but it’s a tried and tested method when it comes to riding the coattails of a popular first film.
Star Wars, Independence Day, Tron, Blade Runner… all are films that used this template with varying degress of success so a film based on this concept can go either way in terms of its quality. The original Pacific Rim paid tribute to the Japanese monster films of Godzilla et al where gigantic creatures battled amongst the cityscapes, wreaking havoc and untold ruin to buildings and infrastructure. It was silly and fun but crucially didn’t take itself too seriously – the ideal film to watch when you’re lazing around in the house on a Sunday.
With this in mind, expectations for Pacific Rim Uprising should be set relatively low in terms of storyline and character development. Where the original did score very highly though was in pure spectacle and action scenes. After all, it was massive monsters (Kaiju) vs humans in massive robots (Jaegers) fist fighting in a Clash-of-the-Titans style brawl, ideal brain fodder for when you’re not at your most switched on. Having said that, a boring re-tread of the same film wouldn’t tick the boxes for many people so how does the new chapter compare to its surprisingly successful predecessor?
Steven S. DeKnight takes over as director while previous helmsman Guillermo del Toro serves as a producer. John Boyega stars as Jake Pentecost, a thief who trades Jaeger technology on the black market and the son of Idris Elba’s Stacker Pentecost from the original film. After being arrested with Cailee Spaeny’s young mechanic Amara Namani, he’s faced with a choice of going to prison or joining the Jaeger recruit training program. Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, and Burn Gorman all return and are joined by Scott Eastwood as part of the new fighting force. 10 years have passed since the humanity fought off the first Kaiju threat and the world is in a state of constant fear of new attacks. A new drone program is on the horizon but before a decision can be made a mysterious rogue Jaeger turns up to attack the defence program. Can this new breed of heroes prevent the chaos from turning into the end of the world as they know it?
All very cliché and unsurprising but as I mentioned before, that’s not why anyone is watching this film. The popcorn-munching should be in full flow as you switch off and let yourself by wowed by the CGI on show and visual set pieces played out amongst the urban setting of cities. That being said, there’s only so much destruction of office buildings you can take before it all becomes a touch samey. It doesn’t help that the scriptwriting is very lazy with lots of “Let’s do this!” and “it’s our turn to save the world” (yes really) along with a montage that any Rocky film would be proud of. It is difficult to find any of the new recruits likeable and the lack of grizzled pilots from the first film definitely holds back any camaraderie the soldiers should have.
The cast does well with the rare moments of levity in the dialogue but the cheesiness of some of the script holds it back from being memorable. The film is also yearning for the stern, authoritarian presence that Idris Elba provided before and which Scott Eastwood stumbles with here. Due to the mostly young cast it all feels very “teenage fiction” and this could have helped keep the film a little more grounded in its own way. Ultimately, if you’re at a loose end and have nothing else to watch it’ll keep you occupied but it won’t please anyone other than the younger audience members.
Author: Steve, Bristol store
