Because let’s be real, when you make a sequel to a movie about giant robots fighting giant monsters, you have to make everything bigger and badder. Pacific Rim Uprising looks like it will do exactly that.
Set ten years after the first movie, our new hero is Jake Pentecost, played by the awesome John Boyega and son of the deceased Stacker Pentecost. Together with Mako Mori, he will apparently reluctantly lead other Jaeger pilots in repelling a new, bigger invasion by the Kaiju. Of course. Sequels demand bigger invasions.
Naturally, fans are wary about how Uprising will turn out. There’s no Del Toro this time around, and making a sequel to monster movie battle royales tend to be hit or miss at best. There are already fears about how the Jaegers are moving around in this trailer since they don’t have the same weight to them. Fans also worry it will be generic and uninspired compared to the first.
I won’t pretend these issues aren’t valid, but I’m not watching this movie for something genre-defining. I’m going to watch John Boyega pilot a giant robot that beats the crap out of monsters. This trailer got me hyped for that much. It would have to be truly god-awful to ruin that much.
Pacific Rim Uprising hits theaters on March 23. It is the feature directorial debut for Steven S. DeKnight.
