Pacific Rim: Uprising

Much weaker in terms of story than part 1 and, even worse, the good actors from part 1 do not appear and their replacements aren’t up to the job. Thanks to this being a Chinese contract (Pacific Rim was an earner only in China), we see a greater (very colorful) amount of Jaegers and Japan gets a good beating. Luckily, they managed to maintain the impression of vast scale and it looks seriously good when the robots fight with monsters. The last half-hour is in fact brilliant. (01/07/2018)

I haven't seen a new film in a long time that plans to “just" entertain audiences and that is successful at it. Pacific Rim is more than a good sequel, compared to the first installment even more lighthearted, in which very crazy things happen roughly in the style of any Independence Day, but for those who buy into the game, they have to acknowledge that the creators play it really well with them. I would say they really took seriously five minutes at most, the rest is sheer kid's fun and playfulness with bombastic special effects and imaginative action scenes to which, for example, the last idiotic Transformers or similarly silly Power Rangers can only look up admiringly. That all this takes place in Asia is obviously fine given the genre, so please, to all those who whine about something in the film - stop whining. (23/03/2018)

The first film, upon its release, felt like a revelation. A movie about monsters coming to Earth through a dimensional rift seemed crazy at first glance, but the opposite turned out to be true. Del Toro’s grand project was indeed successful (though personally, I wasn’t blown away by it), likely thanks to his directorial vision. The sequel, after five years, didn’t bring anything innovative. Del Toro was only a producer this time, and the actors didn’t deliver anything extraordinary. However, where the film excels is undoubtedly in its action scenes. On the big screen, it’s a visual feast. Unlike the first film, most breathtaking sequences take place during the day, so viewers don’t have to guess and can simply enjoy. I do understand the budget here. Acting-wise, it’s nothing special. Boyega does a decent job, delivering a few funny dialogues with young Eastwood, but he couldn’t match the charisma of Elba’s character from the first film. I still don’t get the role of the teenage girl who essentially saves the world with her actions. Hollywood once again missed the mark there. The first half of the film is better, with the initial action sequence standing out as the best moment, but let’s be honest, most probably enjoyed the massive fifteen-minute battle in Tokyo that successfully concluded the film. It was exaggerated, at times a bit childish, but I had fun and wouldn’t mind seeing a third installment. The movie theater experience definitely helped. I give it 70%. (26/03/2018)

Pacific Rim: Uprising visibly lags behind Guillermo del Toro's first film, which had higher ambitions than being a mere audiovisual orgy without a deeper idea. But it’s still quite watchable, the fights between the kaiju and the giant robots were properly action-packed and once again there was some badass music playing in the background. If you ignore the dodgy logic of more than one scene or the silly character behaviour inherent in similar films and just get carried away on the CGI action overload, you will enjoy this film in the cinema. One of the many films that you must not expect too much from and take too seriously, because it doesn't take itself that way either. (23/12/2018)

Del Toro's film was a respectful homage to the kaiju genre and despite its shortcomings (insubstantial characters, action entirely at night to make it easier to render the CGI) it had a kind of charm and for someone who grew up with Godzilla, Gamera and co. it was actually a nice experience. This sequel is just crap for the infantile Fuku and for kids with claws greasy with popcorn. That said, there are four lessons we can take from this: 1) Hollywood is now definitely firmly attached to Chinese titties full of giggles and with its head up to its ears buried in its OWN ass 2) Boyega has surprisingly the acting skills of a reliable movie star and will show us more in the future 3) the gender balance of today's Hollywood already goes back to prepubescence and I wonder in fear whether the next Bond won’t be a 13-year-old girl 4) Scott Eastwood is a wooden actor and doesn’t sweat it. (24/05/2018)