Pacific Rim: Uprising

Apparently I’m one of the few that actually enjoyed Guillermo Del Toro’s mechas versus giant monsters film, Pacific Rim. It came off like a live action anime film mixed with Godzilla filled with loads of sci-fi action and cliched but likeable characters. The sequel, Pacific Rim: Uprising, follows in the previous film’s mecha-sized footprints which gives us just enough differences to be entertaining without straying too far from what makes it fun.

Our own Travis Seppala saw this at the movies and has a more detailed review for you to check out. But in the meantime, here’s my brief summary of the plot. Picking up ten years after the events of the original movie, every country in the world has fully committed to the Jaeger program and has cranked out unit after unit to make sure the planet is safe from the kaiju monsters. Stacker Pentecost from the first film has a son named Jake (John Boyega) that’s taken to a life of crime instead of following his father’s example of being a leader against the kaiju. He eventually crosses paths with hacker/scavenger named Amara (Cailee Spaeny) who has managed to build an illegal Jaeger. Of course it’s not long before they’re caught and they’re given the choice of rejoining the Jaeger program or life in prison. Jake and Amara take the first option and train together just in time for the kaiju to appear again and cause destruction, and it’s up to them and their teammates to put a stop to it.

If you liked the first film like I did, you’ll enjoy this one too as the action and special effects are really good. I felt like I was watching some sort of Gundam, Neon Genesis mash-up as in the original movie. While the characters and their cliches are nothing you haven’t seen before in these sci-fi action flicks, they’re still enjoyable and fun to watch as they struggle to save the world. Thanks to viewing it on a 4K Blu-ray, the visuals and audio are top notch and throw you right into the middle of the kaiju battles thanks to having a highly detailed picture and sound to match. The HDR also makes the already colorful colors pop out even more than in the first film if that’s even possible.

There’s also some short but cool special features to check out, starting with some tried and true audio commentary featuring director Steven S. DeKnight who discusses some of the production, cast performances, the story, special effects and more. “Becoming Cadets” goes into the new cast of characters, “Unexpected Villain” talks about the twist one character goes through to become a villain of sorts, “Bridge to Uprising” has some of the cast and crew discuss the connection between this film and the first, “Next Level Jaegers” shows off the shiny new Jaegers. There’s a few more small extras such as these that offer small, inside looks into the making of everything of the movie, and will keep fans busy for a bit.

Those who enjoyed the first movie will find more to love in Pacific Rim: Uprising. It does enough to keep viewers happy and entertained with its mecha versus giant monster action while also having some cliched but fun characters in tow. Follow it up with some short but nice 4K extras, and that the movie looks and sounds fantastic in 4K HDR, and you’ll want to dock this hit into your mecha collection.