I'd had a tiring day and had about 2 hours of laundry to bring it to an end, so I opted for the Pacific Rim sequel as my company since I figured it would not require me to pay too much attention at any point. I had quite enjoyed the first film, for what it was, and hoped maybe this could do the same. The answer was "sort of" because it replays the first film but without the weight of the novelty, and the weight of some of the stars. The plot this time sees the Jaeger forces slowly rebuilding, only to face a new foe in a unregistered powerful Jaeger who attacks the PPDC. All fingers point to China's new automated Jaeger drones, but is it that simple?
As a plot it is a pretty decent attempt at a different angle, and prevents it feeling like a total rehash, even though it is. It plays out well enough but it is lesser than the original film in almost every way. It is less fun, less dramatic, and the battles are less engaging and feel a lot more like a video game. It does still have plenty of action, and if you want robots hitting things then there are certainly other Hollywood franchises that are worse. The film benefits from its cast, in particular John Boyega, who brings his accent and tough charisma which put him on the map in Attack the Block. He plays it well and mostly he makes it work, with only 'bigger' moments and some malfunctioning banter letting him down. Spaeny is okay - better than her character at least. Gorman and Day are solid but not as fun as before. Supporting cast don't make much of a mark, but the very obvious leaning of the cast and plot towards the Chinese market does at least provide the film with some external interest points (although it seems the attempt to maximize box office in China didn't pay off).
For all its weakness, it is a solid enough distraction that delivers what you expected, even if it falls short of the original (which itself was not a hugely high bar). Distracting and noisy, but not too much more than that even if specific elements try hard.
As a plot it is a pretty decent attempt at a different angle, and prevents it feeling like a total rehash, even though it is. It plays out well enough but it is lesser than the original film in almost every way. It is less fun, less dramatic, and the battles are less engaging and feel a lot more like a video game. It does still have plenty of action, and if you want robots hitting things then there are certainly other Hollywood franchises that are worse. The film benefits from its cast, in particular John Boyega, who brings his accent and tough charisma which put him on the map in Attack the Block. He plays it well and mostly he makes it work, with only 'bigger' moments and some malfunctioning banter letting him down. Spaeny is okay - better than her character at least. Gorman and Day are solid but not as fun as before. Supporting cast don't make much of a mark, but the very obvious leaning of the cast and plot towards the Chinese market does at least provide the film with some external interest points (although it seems the attempt to maximize box office in China didn't pay off).
For all its weakness, it is a solid enough distraction that delivers what you expected, even if it falls short of the original (which itself was not a hugely high bar). Distracting and noisy, but not too much more than that even if specific elements try hard.