Pacific Rim 2: Uprising

The Kaiju are back, and the giant Jaegers must once again take action. This time, Guillermo del Toro is only a producer of the megalomaniacal carnage, and the second film takes a slightly different path than the first. It's more colourful and spectacular. It's also pretty stupid. On the other hand, there are enough action scenes and spectacular fights to forgive all the nonsense and dysfunctional humorous inserts. It's bollocks, but if you can turn yourself into a ten-year-old for two hours, you'll enjoy it quite a bit. (26.07.2018)

Ich habe schon sehr lange keinen neuen Film gesehen, der die Zuschauer*innen "nur“ unterhalten möchte und dem es so gut gelingt. Pacific Rim 2: Uprising ist mehr als nur eine gute Fortsetzung. Im Unterschied zum ersten Teil hat dieser Film mehr Leichtigkeit. Es passieren in ihm wirklich verrückte Dinge (im Stil vom beliebigen Independence Day). Diejenigen, die auf dieses Spiel eingehen, müssen zugeben, dass es die Autoren mit ihnen wirklich gut spielen. Ich denke, dass maximal fünf Minuten ernst gemeint sind. Der Rest sind ein pures Kindervergnügen und Verspieltheit mit großartigen Tricks und einfallsreichen Actionszenen. Zum Beispiel die letzten dummen Transformers oder die ähnlich dummen Power Rangers können zu diesem Film mit Bewunderung aufsehen. Dass sich das Ganze in Asien abspielt, ist im Hinblick auf das Genre natürlich in Ordnung. Deshalb bitte ich alle, die über einen Film auf Bestellung sprechen, nicht zu klagen. (23.03.2018)

Pacific Rim 2 bleibt sichtlich hinter Del Toros erstem Film zurück, der höhere Ambitionen hatte, als nur eine audiovisuelle Orgie ohne tiefere Idee zu sein. Die Kämpfe zwischen den übergroßen Kaiju-Monstern und den metallenen Megarobotern sind rasant und actionreich, und im Hintergrund läuft wieder einmal harte Musik. Wenn man die Unlogik mancher Szene oder das alberne Verhalten der Figuren, die ähnlichen Filmen eigen sind, beiseite schiebt und sich einfach von der actiongeladenen CGI-Überladung an Tricks mitreißen lässt, wird man diesen Film im Kino genießen. Einer der vielen Filme, von denen man nicht zu viel erwarten und sie nicht zu ernst nehmen darf, weil er sich selbst auch nicht so ernst nimmt. (23.12.2018)

Del Toro's film was a respectful homage to the kaiju genre and despite its shortcomings (insubstantial characters, action entirely at night to make it easier to render the CGI) it had a kind of charm and for someone who grew up with Godzilla, Gamera and co. it was actually a nice experience. This sequel is just crap for the infantile Fuku and for kids with claws greasy with popcorn. That said, there are four lessons we can take from this: 1) Hollywood is now definitely firmly attached to Chinese titties full of giggles and with its head up to its ears buried in its OWN ass 2) Boyega has surprisingly the acting skills of a reliable movie star and will show us more in the future 3) the gender balance of today's Hollywood already goes back to prepubescence and I wonder in fear whether the next Bond won’t be a 13-year-old girl 4) Scott Eastwood is a wooden actor and doesn’t sweat it. (24.05.2018)

I'm glad I didn't go to the cinema for this film. I liked the first one five years ago, but I suffered quite a bit with the sequel and wasn't interested in it at all. An hour and a half of conversational tedium to wait for 20 minutes of action at the end was so tiring I don't know which of the two parts I liked better. The acting is average, the visual effects are okay, but nothing that made me sit on my ass. The bad guy is a dork, and the movie lacks humor, so I don't really know what to jump for joy about. Apparently, I've grown out of this bullshit. A hair better than the last Transformers though. 45%. (22.04.2018)

Much weaker in terms of story than part 1 and, even worse, the good actors from part 1 do not appear and their replacements aren’t up to the job. Thanks to this being a Chinese contract (Pacific Rim was an earner only in China), we see a greater (very colorful) amount of Jaegers and Japan gets a good beating. Luckily, they managed to maintain the impression of vast scale and it looks seriously good when the robots fight with monsters. The last half-hour is in fact brilliant. (01.07.2018)

The first film, upon its release, felt like a revelation. A movie about monsters coming to Earth through a dimensional rift seemed crazy at first glance, but the opposite turned out to be true. Del Toro’s grand project was indeed successful (though personally, I wasn’t blown away by it), likely thanks to his directorial vision. The sequel, after five years, didn’t bring anything innovative. Del Toro was only a producer this time, and the actors didn’t deliver anything extraordinary. However, where the film excels is undoubtedly in its action scenes. On the big screen, it’s a visual feast. Unlike the first film, most breathtaking sequences take place during the day, so viewers don’t have to guess and can simply enjoy. I do understand the budget here. Acting-wise, it’s nothing special. Boyega does a decent job, delivering a few funny dialogues with young Eastwood, but he couldn’t match the charisma of Elba’s character from the first film. I still don’t get the role of the teenage girl who essentially saves the world with her actions. Hollywood once again missed the mark there. The first half of the film is better, with the initial action sequence standing out as the best moment, but let’s be honest, most probably enjoyed the massive fifteen-minute battle in Tokyo that successfully concluded the film. It was exaggerated, at times a bit childish, but I had fun and wouldn’t mind seeing a third installment. The movie theater experience definitely helped. I give it 70%. (26.03.2018)