Film Review: "Pacific Rim: Uprising" (2018).

"A new generation will rise up." This is Pacific Rim: Uprising. This science-fiction film directed by Steven S. DeKnight, in his feature-film directorial debut, and written by DeKnight, Emily Carmichael, Kira Snyder and T.S. Nowlin. It is the sequel to the 2013 film Pacific Rim. The film centres on Jake Pentecost, a once-promising Jaeger pilot whose legendary father gave his life to secure humanity's victory against the monstrous Kaiju. Jake has since abandoned his training only to become caught up in a criminal underworld. But when an even more unstoppable threat is unleashed to tear through cities and bring the world to its knees, Jake is given one last chance by his estranged sister, Mako Mori, to live up to his father's legacy.

In June 2014, del Toro stated that he would direct the sequel, he had been working on a script with Zak Penn for several months, and it would be released by Universal Pictures, Legendary's new financing and distribution partner. In July 2015, it was reported that filming was expected to begin in November, until Universal indefinitely delayed the film. By October, till determined to have the film made, it was announced that del Toro had presented the studio with a script and a budget. In February 2016, the studio, and del Toro himself announced that he would no longer direct the sequel in order to direct The Shape of Water (2017). Instead DeKnight would take over directing duties, with a new script written by Jon Spaihts. Del Toro remained on the project as a producer. Ultimately, Derek Connolly, Carmichael, Snyder, Nowlin and DeKnight all contributed rewrites to Spaihts' script. By early November, John Boyega, Scott Eastwood, Cailee Spaeny, Jing Tian, Adria Arjona and Zhang Jin were cast, with Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, and Burn Gorman returned to reprise their roles. Charlie Hunnam did not return for the film due to scheduling conflicts. At the same time, with a budget of $150 million, principal photography commenced, and wrapped in late March 2017. Filming took place throughout Australia, as well as in Qingdao, China and Seoul, South Korea. In December 14, 2016, the official title was revealed. In January 2018, it was announced that Lorne Balfe was hired to compose the film's score, replacing original composer John Paesano. Double Negative, Atomic Fiction, Blind LTD and Territory Studio provided the film's visual effects, supervised by Peter Chiang and Jim Berney. Initially intended for an April 7, 2017 release date, the film was delayed to August 4, 2017. It was again delayed to February 23, 2018, and once again delayed to March 23, 2018.

The film stars Boyega, Eastwood, Spaeny, Tian, Arjona and Zhang, with Kikuchi, Day, and Gorman reprising their roles. Despite their best efforts, the new cast were no match against the previous cast. As for the returning cast members, they were totally wasted.

The only reason you might watch Pacific Rim: Uprising is if you're a fan of the first movie. It's no surprise this is terrible, considering it's a step down from the original.

Simon says Pacific Rim: Uprising receives:

Also, see my review for Pacific Rim.