Outlook: Likely boring with the chance for some eye-candy action.
Release Date: March 2018
I almost exited out of the YouTube page halfway through this trailer. I LOVED Pacific Rim, and was stoked to see that Legendary Pictures released a trailer for its sequel. However, this trailer left a peculiar taste in my mouth: the taste of a forced reboot. The closest comparison I can draw it to is 20th Century Fox’s Independence Day: Resurgence that came out last year before Saul and I founded Title Roll. If we had been writing reviews then, I would have proudly given the second Independence Day 0 out of 5 stars due to its lead actors’ wooden acting, uneven plot, and obvious forced creation.
Idris Elba in Pacific Rim as Stacker Pentecost.
This trailer smacks of Independence Day: Regurgitation: In both movies, the humans thought they had won a war against an alien enemy only to discover that the enemy was not dead, but came back stronger. The films’ leads were filled by skilled actors (Will Smith in Independence Day and Idris Elba and Charlie Hunnam in Pacific Rim). However, none returned to their respective roles for the sequels. Another similarity that points to lazy writing both Smith and Elba’s characters’ sons are now the main characters, I’m sure seeking revenge for their “dead” fathers. And, of course, both movies’ plots center around “the fate of the world rests on our shoulders” mentality that is now too often voiced in trailers.
John Boyega as Stacker Pentecost’s son, Jake Pentecost.
Even though Pacific Rim‘s plot also rested on “the fate of the world depends on our success,” it didn’t state that fact outright nor did the movie commence with that statement unlike Uprising‘s trailer. Instead, Pacific Rim opened with a rich history about the war between the Jaegars and Kaiju. As the movie progresses, its history becomes more detailed as the main characters fill it in with their respective pasts and how the Kaiju effected or destroyed their lives. I believe this was the movie’s main strength.
Also, the fact that Guillermo del Toro is not in the director’s chair makes me nervous. His movies are always incredibly beautiful which was another major pleasure point of Pacific Rim. This sequel’s CGI pales in comparison to the first movie. It resembles the pitiful, cheap, and light CGI that Lions Gate utilized for this year’s Power Rangers film. I’m not sure if this is due to del Toro’s absence, a smaller budget, or the skill of untested director, Steven S. DeKnight, who is taking over for del Toro. While DeKnight has vast experience as a showrunner for Spartacus and Daredevil, he has never directed a movie nor has he had any involvement with a major motion picture. While this is not a damning factor, it does not bode well for Pacific Rim: Uprising.
The upsides to this trailer are obviously the Tupac remix, which was fitting for its war filled scenes, but what intrigued me most was the Jaegar v. Jaegar clip. I hope that this means there is some infighting amongst the Jaegar pilots. Hopefully this can lead to character development and a deeper plot that what this trailer revealed.
By Hagood Grantham
Title Roll Reviews 