It has been five years since the heroes of Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim canceled the apocalypse, and fans are finally about to get the sequel that many of them have clamored for since the last film debuted. Pacific Rim Uprising hits theaters this weekend, and many critics have already had the chance to see it. One such critic is CinemaBlend's own Sean O'Connell, and it looks like he had a blast with the highly-anticipated sequel. Sean wrote:
So Pacific Rim Uprising was a blast. Good story, amazing action. Had the DNA of Guillermo del Toro's monster insanity, but DeKnight put his own stamp. Liked the new cast, and John Boyega is a gigantic, charismatic Movie Star. Get a giant tub of popcorn and GO!
If you are looking for a big popcorn blockbuster that will thrill and excite you, Sean's reaction suggests that Pacific Rim Uprising is the right place to go. The film reportedly feels very reminiscent of the movie that preceded it, but Daredevil's Steven DeKnight also gets a chance to add his creative flair to it. Then there's the cast, and Sean's assessment notes that the charismatic John Boyega seems to be lifting off from his initial Star Wars exposure in The Force Awakens and is becoming a full-blown "movie star."
CinemaBlend's praise of the film was largely echoed by New York Daily News' review of Pacific Rim Uprising as well. That said, the praise of Steven DeKnight's action (which apparently even rivals that of The Shape of Water's Gullermo del Toro) is also tempered by criticism of the film's over-reliance on technical mumbo-jumbo. The review says:
DeKnight shows he can pilot a CGI fight sequence as well as his predecessor, Guillermo Del Toro ("The Shape of Water"). These movies can be fun once the colossal foes start grappling. They're even more fun with fewer explanations and more explosions. A movie about massive monster-fighting robots doesn't need so much engineering.
Another review that generally seems to praise Pacific Rim Uprising comes from Den of Geek. Specifically, while the analysis acknowledges some of the film's issues, it also compliments John Boyega's ability to anchor everything and the film's ability to deliver thrills. Den of Geek wrote:
Pacific Rim: Uprising does a couple of things better than its predecessor: Boyega is a more charismatic lead than Hunnam could ever be.. .I can't hate it; on some level every genre fan likes watching monsters and cyborgs swinging skyscrapers at each other.
Then there are the negative reviews. Specifically, while some have praised Pacific Rim Uprising's tendency towards mindless fun, The Playlist approached the film from a different perspective by criticizing its excess and lack of imagination. That review said:
What was once a refreshing alternative to the countless big-budget sequels has become a franchise as crass, unimaginative and unrelenting as everything else.
All in all, it looks like Pacific Rim Uprising has received mixed reviews that are skewing in the positive direction. As of right now, it currently has a 58% on Rotten Tomatoes, which may go up or down depending on how further reviews assess the project. Nevertheless, the main takeaway here seems to be that people seem to like John Boyega, and the viewer's reception of the city-destroying action will largely depend on his or her affinity for that type of genre before heading into the movie.
Pacific Rim Uprising will hit theaters this weekend on March 23. Keep an eye out for more of CinemaBlend's coverage of the behemoth sequel and make sure to head over to our 2018 movie premiere guide to keep yourself in-the-loop on all of the other films set to hit the big screen this year.
