Summary
4 tech score
“Pacific Rim: Uprising” (Universal)
If there was ever a movie that feels like you are inside a video game it is “Pacific Rim: Uprising”. Of course the same could be said of the original movie but this sequel seems to be even more so. It is all about the battles between the Jaegers and the evil forces of machines built for war and destruction. Jaegers are the good guys’ machines and require human operators. The evil machines, well who knows who or what is operating them. The big question is, will audiences care?
The original film “Pacific Rim” was released in 2013 and was directed by Guillermo del Toro and starred Idris Elba. It was not a huge moneymaker in the United States. Most of its money came from overseas box office. The same will probably be true of this sequel. I can not imagine Mr. and Mrs. average America spending a night out on this one.
John Bodega is the star of this movie as Jake, the son of Stacker Pentecost (Elba). As he says over and over in the movie “I am not my father.” Yet the hero gene seems to have been planted deep and he makes one heroic act after another. His partner in crime is his former rival Nate Lambert (Scott Eastwood). The two are rivals but when the rubber hits the road they act as a team. Go Jeagers!
I am sure it would have helped if I had re-watched the original “Pacific Rim” (ain’t gonna happen) and refreshed myself on all things Jaeger. As it is I have no recall of the story from the first film. I have blanked it all out. Next week I probably won’t recall much about this sequel either.
The plot, what there was of a plot, eluded me and got lost in some mystical mumbo jumbo. I barely figured out who the bad guys/girls were by the end of the movie and I never figured out why they did what they did. Plotting for the end of the world? Who does that!
Both Boyega and Eastwood are handsome actors with a lot of charisma but in this movie they have no characters to create. The script just says who they are not what they are. The backstories are non-existent. Other characters played by actors such as Charlie Day, Rinko Kikuchi and Cailee Spaeny pop up from time to time but they are also vague blurs on the personality landscape.
The movie is rated PG-13 for profanity and violence, which proves you can fill a movie with as much profanity and violence as you wish and still get this rating.
I am sure there are people out there savoring every scene in this movie and anxiously awaiting the next installment. God bless em. For me from minute one to the final credit it was all just “Transformers” from a different angle.
I scored “Pacific Rim: Uprising” a transformed 4 out of 10.
Jackie K Cooper
www.jackiekcooper.com
