Monday Movie Mania - Pacific Rim Uprising

I'll be honest. I wasn't expecting much from Pacific Rim: Uprising other than some loud, fun robot-monster, oops!, make that Jaeger-Kaiju action. I was pleasantly surprised they had a decent story with a logical twist that harkened back to the original.

I give John Boyega a lot of credit for not resting on only his acting chops. His company, Upperroom Entertainment Limited, co-produced this film, giving John a producing credit as well as top billing.


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SPOILERS


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PROS
1) Boyega's Jake is the black sheep of the Pentecost clan. Ten years after the Battle of the Breach, Jake is living large as a black marketer. Boyega effortlessly shows Jake's switch from punk to the military leader that his father thought he could be.

2) Cailee Spaeny was adorable as Amara, a Jaegar fan and mechanic.

3) Rinko Kikuchi is back as Jaeger pilot, now PPDC secretary-general, Mako Mori. *fangirl squee*

4) Another *fangirl squee* for the incredible Jing Tian (The Great Wall) as industrialist Liwen Shao. Again, she did an incredible, seamless switch between greedy corporatist to much-needed ally of the PPDC.

5) The sad betrayal involves a member of the previous cast, and if you've seen the original Pacific Rim, it's totally believable.

6) The post credits scene implies plans are in place for a franchise continuation. *crosses fingers*


CONS
1) A certain female character was fridged. Yeah, I'm pissed and disappointed.

2)  I only wish the story had done more to explore Mako and Jake's relationship, especially since Mako became the Jaeger pilot Stryker expected Jake to became.

3) Poor Scott Eastwood was mere eye candy despite second billing in this film. The poor guy could do a decent job if someone could give him a role with some meat.


Overall, I give Pacific Rim: Uprising 8 stars out of 10 for good, old-fashioned monster fun.