This sequel sizzles

Pacific Rim: Uprising

Starring: John Boyega, Scott Eastwood, Cailee Spaeny

Director: Steven S. DeKnight

Genre:  Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Rating: PG-15

RUNTIME: 111 Mins

The continuation of the grossly underrated 2013 alien versus robot battle royale, Pacific Rim: Uprising returns with a vengeance. It’s what sequels are made of … rogueish, a little shallower than its predecessor, and packing a heavier punch on the visual effects.

A decade after the historic defeat of the Kaiju by the heroic Jaeger Stacker Pentecost, humanity is on track to rebuilding what remains of its major cities. The generation born into war is now celebrating their hard-earned victory.

Jake Pentecost (John Boyega), the irresponsible and talented son of Stacker, reunites with Mako Mori to lead a new generation of Jaeger pilots, including his old rival Lambert, and 15-year-old junkyard mechanic Amara Namani (Cailee Spaeny), against a new Kaiju threat.

Pacific Rim: Uprising might have been a greater success if it wasn’t trying to graduate from the B movie status of its ancestor. If that was an unpretentious world full of potential from ace director Guillermo Del Toro, then this sequel has definitely emphasised style over substance.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s highly enjoyable. In fact, this is probably one of the most enjoyable films that has been released in the last few months. It’s pure, mindless fun, and fans of the original will find exactly what they’re looking for.

Giant robots, giant alien kaiju, and absolutely no subtlety to be found here. The visual effects are truly stunning, and the fight sequences manage to walk the line between colossal beasts almost too big to move and slick, last-minute sucker punches that keep you on your toes.

John Boyega’s charming, Han Solo-esque Jake Pentecost is the hero this film deserves, but perhaps not the one it needs. He’s filled with confidence, funny one-liners, and plenty of emotional depth to top it off.

His character carries the movie through a lot of difficult moments, but he does it alone. It’s a shame that the talented young cast don’t get quite enough chances to really shine.

Amara Namani is the new blood here, a skilled junkyard mechanic who doubles as a pretty effective Jaeger pilot herself. Her scrappiness makes a nice change of pace to all the overtly masculine army types strutting around the set.

Other notable favourites include the return of Charlie Day as Newt, his sinister boss Liwen Shao (Tian Jing), and the ostracised but highly entertaining and inspiring Hermann (Burn Gorman).

They don’t get nearly as much screen time as they deserve, and all their scenes leave you wanting more.

The problem of the film is that it neglects to build on a lot of the meaningful and cool concepts introduced in the 2013 film. The whole idea of drift compatibility is given very little attention, despite being the founding principle that separated the Jaegers from the Kaiju in Pacific Rim.

A half-baked affair, with just enough impressive graphics and lovable characterisation to convince you that you’re enjoying yourself. The fun is all in the fight. Anytime you think you’ve seen just about everything, the movie ups the ante and shows you a bigger gun, a bigger enemy, a bigger problem.

If you enjoyed Pacific Rim, you will most likely enjoy Pacific Rim: Uprising.  It’s all B movie glory, steel versus flesh apocalyptic extravaganza, but it’s still a shame that it seems more focused on moving up to the A game rather than digging deeper into its roots.

Now showing in: Cineco, Seef II, Dana Cinemas, Wadi Al Sail, Mukta A2, Al Jazeera

Anna’s verdict: 3/5