Pacific Rim - Uprising (2018)

In the world after the last attack peace is slowly returning to the cities, yet some coastal areas have been left abandoned... scavengers run amok here; gather what they find for food. One man's trash is another man's treasure, and the war is long forgotten.

The hero's son lives in these parts, and he is not his father. Well, not until he one day winds up in the hands of the law and is forced to make a tough call... after meeting young Jaeger-building prodige Amara Namani and attempting to escape in her miniature Jaeger. It starts good, but then...

I'm not sure why I watch these blockbusters anymore. I mean they are great. The battles are gargantuan. Everything's amazing. I'm happy to see John Boyega start landing some lead roles (he's good at it too), and in good company of Cailee Spaeny. Some of the main characters from the first movie are here too. But still, it all feels a bit one-dimensional.

I was disappointed in how fast everything moved, and how at the verge of defeat (or victory) they just snap their hand and change the flow of battle completely. That some characters die seems planned to maximize sadness. And the Kaiju voice for effect. And the drones, of course, you know how that'll go. Everything about the movie... it's just too planned. Too political. Too predictable. It's awesome but still disappointingly normal, like it's trying to follow some standard blockbuster formula.

And regarding the special effects: are we starting to accept mediocre scenes? When things go fast they don't bother with the details here. The billowing smoke and shattering glass... it's just a haze.

Maybe this is clearer in the cinema than it is if you see it at home, but maybe not. Some close-ups and other bits are awesome. The props are awesome. The special effects at beginning and end and introductions are particularly awesome, but some bits in between... it feels like they get lazy, because they get hazy. It's probably tedious work doing CGI on a scale such as this, but if you are doing CGI on this scale you had better do it right.

I did enjoy the movie, but not as much as I hoped I would. It feels like a forced sequel, especially since it seems there might be another one on route. Awesome moments though it did have. Cool credits too.

 rated 3/5: not bad