When Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim came out, I didn’t initially love it, but over the years the earnest joy with which del Toro embraced his concept and owned it won me over. While both Pacific Rim and Transformers feature giant robots, I honestly wouldn’t think to compare them, but Pacific Rim: Uprising reminded me of a Transformers sequel. Eye-rollingly dumb and awful enough to diminish your appreciation for the original source material, and assuming more sequels without the capacity to even succeed in one. This wasn’t just disappointing; this was the worst film I’ve seen in 2018 so far.
Every film is the product of the (mostly) sincere efforts of hundreds, if not thousands, of people, so I hate bashing films. I try to keep my bad reviews short, or hold my peace altogether, but if you love Pacific Rim and haven’t seen this yet: do not go. The only thing making it more bearable than a Transformers sequel was that it was about an hour shorter, and my connection to the source material isn’t a huge touchstone to my childhood. The story and dialogue are awful. What’s done to the returning characters tarnishes the first film, and the return of the kaijus is such a stupid plot development I was literally dumbfounded at how awful the idea they’re running with is.
The cast is a significant step down from the first film. John Boyega plays the son of Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba) 10 years removed from the end of the war. Jake Pentecost will be the first to tell you he’s not his father, and Boyega is no Idris Elba. He can be charming and cool with good writing, but I doubt they spent as much on the script as the spent on two seconds of F/X. Are those F/X great? Absolutely. But in 2018, a blockbuster’s F/X SHOULD be flawless. If you want to get people into a movie theater, with all the other media options, you need to show them something on a big screen for which a small one wouldn’t do justice. The Jaegers (there is NO film in history that uses my last name more, and it’s a shame it has to be this steaming pile) look great. They also move and look a lot more like Transformers than the lumbering robotic/cyberpunk feel of the Jaegers in the original film. And, while the F/X look great, they do nothing to advance the craft or provide any particular “wow” moment.
Half of the score I’m giving Pacific Rim: Uprising is for those F/X and the other half is because it is kind of jazzy to hear your last name screamed when giant robots go running into battle. I can’t give it any more than a point for each of those things, though, when the rest of the film is just a waste of the audience’s time. How much difference does Guillermo del Toro make to a Pacific Rim film? If you really want to find out, you’ll find Uprising makes Pacific Rim look like the freaking Godfather. STAND DOWN, JAEGERS, STAND DOWN!
2.0/10
Oh dear. i was sort of looking forward to this. Guess I’ll just have to fill the time waiting for Infinity War with some nostalgia with Ready Player One.
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Yeah I had a feeling. Because who else but GDT could turn robots vs monsters into a superlative work of pop art? I’m glad I saw an animated work of art last weekend and waited on this. But I want you to know, I would have gone out of respect.
Meanwhile it’s like Boyega might be joining the ranks of People Who Are Only Stars Within the Confines of Star Wars.
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The 2 was really, really, really generous. It was so bad.
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And to think that the first Pacific Rim was but a prelude.
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And they clearly plan on another. I hope it doesn’t do well enough in China to make that happen.
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I’m worried this will tarnish the first one beyond repair. Seems like people are a lot more aware of it than they were GDT’s amazing original.
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It will. It is the kind of sequel that you wish you never saw because when you know what they do with the returning characters it takes you out of the film.
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Well, that sucks, not surprising from the trailers, but major suckitude none-the-less. 😦
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If a trailer is good, the movie might still be awful. Such is the power of marketing. But if the trailer is awful, there is a very good chance the movie will be awful too. Of course if the movie is a weird offbeat art film, maybe the studio/marketers won’t understand it, and it will get saddled with an unfair bad trailer. But if it’s a big mainstream film like Pacific Rim 2, and the trailer is awful, you can usually count on the movie being awful too.
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