MOVIE SCOOP: 'Pacific Rim Uprising' Review

‘Pacific Rim Uprising’ Review Written By B. Gunn

Wassup, y’all! March Madness is in full effect! Teams are battling it out to become champions. Giants fight each other with reckless abandon in an all-out war for supremacy. Good guys versus monsters. The motto is: Protect the rim! Wait, wait, wait. No, not the basketball rim – the Pacific Rim. Yes, the Jaeger pilots hope to repeat as champions in the sequel, “Pacific Rim Uprising”. The film stars John Boyega, Scott Eastwood, Cailee Spaeny, and Charlie Day.

It’s been 10 years after the Battle of the Breach, and some people are trying to make a living by selling Jaeger parts on the black market. Jake Pentecost (Boyega), son of the War hero Stacker Pentecost, is one of those sellers. He makes it clear from the beginning that he is nothing like his father. That is, until, an unexpected danger threatens to wipe out humanity – again. When “Pacific Rim” came out in 2013, it was lit. The film was directed by Guillermo del Toro and had a vision. Well, del Toro is the producer, not the director for this sequel, and yeah, this one has a vision, too – blurry vision.

“Pacific Rim Uprising” isn’t the champ it was four to five years ago. The starting players have graduated and gone onto much bigger things. This particular cast isn’t McDonald’s All-Americans, rather, big on hype until it’s time to show and prove. We’re used to seeing Boyega as Fin in the “Star Wars” movies as a charismatic, humorous hero. He is somewhat humorous, but the comedy is as dry as the Tatooine deserts in those “Star Wars” movies. His heart just doesn’t seem to be in it. Even in the dramatic scenes, his performance lacks feeling. It’s not only him, either. The entire cast treats this film like an exhibition game. Eastwood is supposed to inject life into this sequel but his character is stiff and stale. He’s almost the same character he was in “The Fate of the Furious”.

Newcomer Cailee Spaeny appears to be straight outta acting class. Her emotion looks more manufactured than the illegal Jaeger her character builds. She needs a little more practice before she can shoot her shot. Charlie Day is back as the same character but with a new title. He plays a vital purpose, but that purpose had no purpose being in this film. His comedic scenes remind you of someone being cajoled into going onstage at amateur night at a comedy club to tell jokes – ugh. No cast member is memorable. No one stands out except for Boyega, and the only reason he stands out is because he has more screen time. You can’t develop an emotional attachment for this cast. Let me rephrase that: You WON’T develop an emotional attachment for this cast.

“Pacific Rim Uprising” has decent action. The fights between the Jaeger and the Kaiju don’t disappoint. The special-effects team spares no expense when it comes to behemoths clashing and buildings smashing. There are some surprise fights as well, not just from the Kaiju. Here’s the problem: The fighting has to end at some point. When it does, dialogue takes over, and boooooy, is it dull. You become uninterested in what the characters are saying because the writing is so subpar. There’s little to no chemistry between the actors, zero character development, and unnecessary subplots that go absolutely nowhere.

There’s a scene where some of the characters have an epiphany to counter the villains and then comes a montage that makes no sense because it defies the time it takes to bring that vision to life while the villains close in on their ultimate goal. I’m looking at the screen like, “Maaaaan, these must be some SLOW-a$$ monsters.” Listen, good people, if you like fantastic action scenes but no substance at all, “Pacific Rim Uprising” is for you. You could also watch an MMA match since there’s no worthwhile plot in that, either. The choice is yours. As for me,

I’m giving this movie a straight-to-streaming co-sign, only because the fight scenes excel and the 3rd act is…aiight.

Someone asked me if there really was an uprising. I said yeah, it had me up rising from my seat shaking my head.