The basic thing to understand about PACIFIC RIM and the sequel PACIFIC RIM UPRISING is that everything is a pretext to see people in giant robot suits fight giant monsters and destruction ensues. PACIFIC RIM UPRISING is an enjoyable experience as PACIFIC RIM if you were a fan of the first movie. The sequel takes place ten years after the end of PACIFIC RIM. The war is over, but the training for pilots to pilot the robot Jaegers continues. Jake, the son of Stacker Pentecost (Jon Boyega who is better used in this movie than the latest STAR WARS film), is forced back into the pilot training program to train the next generation of pilots. He had been making his living in the cities that haven’t yet recovered from the destruction caused by the monstrous Kaiju. One of the new trainees is a teenage girl who built her own Jaeger. Meanwhile, a Chinese corporation is pushing for drone controlled Jaegers, but it is all put into question when a rogue Jaeger causes destruction in Sydney, Australia. Also a secret is revealed about how the drone program works.

PACIFIC RIM is at its best with world building and the battle sequences. Maybe the character development isn’t as good as the first film (and it might have benefited from developing Pentecost’s son’s journey at the beginning more), but the action scenes and the world building makes up for it (and thankfully there are no annoying characters in the bunch). It could have focused more on the destruction and recovery of the world, but it focuses on the bonding of new and old pilots and a changing landscape where pilots could become obsolete. PACIFIC RIM UPRISING is a popcorn movie that is more satisfying than the POWER RANGERS ever could be. There is stinger at the beginning of the title credits which hints a second sequel.

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