Pacific Rim: Uprising Review

Pacific Rim: Uprising
Review by Myla Tosatto

In the new Pacific Rim: Uprising, we aren’t just fighting Kaiju to save humanity. Oh, no. We are fighting rogue Jaegers as well. That’s two, two times the fun. And fun it is! This is a popcorn movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Lucky for us.  This post may contain affiliate links.

The movie opens 10 years after the original Pacific Rim. Jake Pentecost (John Boyega), son of Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba), is now a trainer guiding the Jaeger rangers, most notably Amara Namani (Cailee Spaeney). Pentecost and Nate Lambert (Scott Eastwood) are tasked with getting the young crew ready for future attacks from the world wrecking dinosaurs. Throw in a shadowy company led by Liwen Shao (Tian Jing) and Dr. Newton Geiszler (Charlie Day) and you have one heck of an action movie!

This film is not only a monster battle movie like Godzilla, Transformers, and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, it also veers off into disaster movie terrain with a plot involving the Pacific Rim and Mount Fuji. It does all this while still passing the Bechdel Test. Very impressive.

Do you need to have seen the original Pacific Rim to enjoy this one? Maybe? Probably? I don’t know. It sure wouldn’t hurt. I must say that I was personally more involved and emotional with Uprising than the first one. For instance, I actually rooted for the Jaegers over the Kaijus this time (and I’m pretty sure that’s what was intended- the humans REALLY annoyed me in the first movie). Also, if nothing in this review makes any sense, you should probably see the first one. Jaegers? Drifting? Kaijus? Precursors? Interdimensional portals? Marshal Stacker Pentecost probably would have wanted you to come prepared.

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The globe-spanning conflict between otherworldly monsters of mass destruction and the human-piloted super-machines built to vanquish them was only a prelude to the all-out assault on humanity in Pacific Rim Uprising.John Boyega (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) stars as the rebellious Jake Pentecost, a once-promising Jaeger pilot whose legendary father gave his life to secure humanity’s victory against the monstrous “Kaiju.” Jake has since abandoned his training only to become caught up in a criminal underworld. But when an even more unstoppable threat is unleashed to tear through our cities and bring the world to its knees, he is given one last chance to live up to his father’s legacy by his estranged sister, Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi)—who is leading a brave new generation of pilots that have grown up in the shadow of war. As they seek justice for the fallen, their only hope is to unite together in a global uprising against the forces of extinction.

Jake is joined by gifted rival pilot Lambert (The Fate of the Furious’ Scott Eastwood) and 15-year-old Jaeger hacker Amara (newcomer Cailee Spaeny), as the heroes of the PPDC become the only family he has left. Rising up to become the most powerful defense force to ever walk the earth, they will set course for a spectacular all-new adventure on a towering scale.</center.