The 'Not-So-Critical' Critic: PACIFIC RIM: UPRISING

The 'Not-So-Critical' Critic: 

on PACIFIC RIM: UPRISING (2018, 111 minutes, PG-13)

The Quick of It -

Well, my brain hurts.  Writing these types of reviews grows tiring.  I’m not saying this is a ‘must skip’ film or you have drop everything to bask in its glory.  Just that there are no surprises and you get what you expect.  If nothing else, at least it delivers.

PACIFIC RIM was a money grab-bag.  I can comfortably say its sequel won’t be so fruitful.  When I sit down for a 3D viewing just after work and there is no one else, the promise of matching the budget makes me quite skeptical.  I do feel bad about it.

Director Steven S. DeKnight, coming from the producer side (‘Daredevil’, ‘Spartacus: War of the Damned’, ‘Angel’, and ‘Smallville’), did not fail in the way that you think.  The effects are on par, if not groundbreaking to some degree, with what is currently the ‘bar’.  You can safely watch knowing there is no “Baying” going on here, the action sequences aren’t spinning, undecipherable steel.  The settings are varied enough that you kinda get the feeling that they put a Mech in any situation they thought would be awesome.  They were not wrong.  The ice fight is quite… chilling.  The pacing and the script was not a huge anchor to being a successful project down.  DeKnight is not at fault, sorta.

So, why am I having issues?  It’s that you get what you expect!  Thought I said that…

This movie is a fun film.  It’s also so bland on the surface, you are only left slightly satisfied when you walk out.  The acting is good enough.  You get John Boyega and Scott Eastwood (yes, his son), so you know they delivered the lines that hold just enough conviction to help you stay in the film.  Beyond that, it is what it is.

Grade: B