Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018)

Rating: 6.5/10
Genre: Fantasy/Sci-fi
Related Titles: Pacific Rim, Transformers, Power Rangers
By Leanne Harragan

Jake Pentecost once legendary pilot, abandoned his training and ended up caught in the criminal underworld. When an unstoppable force starts tearing through the world, he is given one last chance to live up to his father's legacy. 

A film franchise that it's fair to say that I knew nothing about. After watching the first one, I was worried this sequel would be nothing more than a money grab. While it hasn't got the most developed characters or the heart of Guillermo Del Toro's original, it is better than I expected.

Opening with a quick catch-up of what has happened to the world since the first one with narration from main character Jake Pentecost (John Boyega), it doesn't take long for the film to jump into the action and from this moment it doesn't stop. The action and fighting of the Jaeger's and Kaiju's is constant.

I think one of the things that made it work so well was the way that it didn't take itself too seriously and there were plenty of laughs, provided mostly by Boyega (I've said this before but if you haven't seen it - check out Attack the Block asap.) I also liked female lead Amara Namani played by Cailee Spaeny, she was tough and did her own thing, her friendship that developed with Pentecost as the film went on was nice too. Personal highlight however, has to be Charlie Day reprising his role as Dr. Newton Geiszler - he is funny and is definitely the needed comic relief of this film. While it is funny, it definitely has moving moments that help further character development of the two leads. The plot itself is similar to the first, the world is under attack and it must be saved, with the added twist of a human villain assisting the Kaiju on their mission. 

Although it's not the most original of films or plots, it has plenty of fighting, amazing visuals and a good cast that help make it work. The only real issue I have is that some of the tech isn't really explained as much as it could be (what the heck is 'neural handshake'?) This doesn't detract from the film because explanation enough is given so that you can understand what is going on.