First and foremost, thank you to Universal Pictures Home Entertainment for allowing me to review Pacific Rim Uprising Blu-Ray Combo Pack!
The first thing that I will say about the movie, the CGI is TOP NOTCH! My 12-year old son had never seen the first Pacific Rim, so for him to sit through something that he was unfamiliar with says something about the visual effects as well as action that takes place throughout the movie. I only really have one complaint about Pacific Rim Uprising, sort of wish the Kaiju/Precursors would have shown up a little earlier in the movie.
John Boyega plays Jake Pentecost, the son of Idris Elba’s character from the original Pacific Rim, who has issues with authority and conforming. Pentecost is a rebel and also thief, doing whatever he can to survive, mainly stealing parts from Jaegers that have gone to battle and are left behind, since the world believes the war against the Kaiju is over. During one of his “excursions” trying to find a particular part, he runs into Amara Namani, played by Cailee Spaeny, who is herself a thief. They both steal to survive, although Amara is doing whatever she can to build her own Jaeger, named Scrapper, that can be piloted with only one pilot. Namani takes the battery core, the piece that Pentecost and his crew were after. Pentecost chases after her, following her to he home and follows her into her Jaeger where they are found by the Pan Pacific Defense Corps. The two are jailed. Pentecost’s adopted sister comes to his aid in getting out of jail, with the premise that he joins the Pan Pacific Defense Corps and trains younger trainees on how to become Jaeger pilots. Namani is also recruited by Pentecost’s sister.
When Pentecost and Namani arrive at the PPDC training facility, things are fast-tracked due to the fact that they will be “the last class” to actually be in Jaegers, as Shao Industries is proposing Drone Jaegers, that can be piloted remotely. The drones were created by Newton Geiszler, played by Charlie Day. The part that Geiszler has hidden from everyone, is that he is infected by a Precursor that he names Alice. While designing the Drone Jaegers, he also placed code that no one knew about, so that he could take control after they were sent to different parts of the world, establishing an army that would destroy the last of the Jaegers and anything/anyone standing in the way of the Breach being opened to allow the Precursors/Kaiju to take over the Earth. PPDC is also attacked a couple of different times by a rogue Jaeger, named Obsidian Fury. During a bit of digging around, Namani discovers that Obsidian Dawn was created by Shao Industries.
During the delivery of the Drone Jaegers, the rogue code inserted by Geiszler is activated. This causes an unlikely partnership between the PPDC and Shao Industries leader Liwen Shao (Tian Jing). Dr. Hermann Gottlieb, former partner of Geiszler, implements some of his rocket propulsion ideas into Jaegers, giving them the ability to fly. The Kaiju are focused on getting to Mount Fuji, where they want to interact with rare Earth minerals, to cause everything on the planet to cease to exist. The battle that takes place on the side of Mount Fuji is where Pacific Rim Uprising shines. It’s also where you can see that Namani (Cailee Spaeny) is going to be a superstar. She and her Junior Jaeger, Scrapper, get to do some work. The rest, you’ll have to check out Pacific Rim Uprising on 4K Ultra HD/3D Blu-Ray/Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital HD) to find out what happens!
The bonus features are really good! Again, my 12-year old didn’t want to get up without seeing EVERY.SINGLE.ONE. There’s a lot of details that are shown, including the commentary with director Steven S. DeKnight, which I am a big fan of director commentary. I like seeing through the eyes of the director and why certain things are done a certain way and the reasoning.
RATING: B+
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment’s Pacific Rim Uprising home release info (4K Ultra HD/3D Blu-Ray/Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital HD):
In Pacific Rim Uprising directed by Steven S. DeKnight, John Boyega (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) stars as the rebellious 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 our cities and bring the world to its knees, he is given one last chance to live up to his father’s legacy. Jake is joined by gifted rival pilot Lambert (The Fate of the Furious’ Scott Eastwood), 15-year-old Jaeger hacker Amara (newcomer Cailee Spaeny), returning veterans Charlie Day (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”), Rinko Kikuchi (Pacific Rim), Burn Gorman (The Dark Knight Rises) and a talented crew of fiercely young cadets. The international cast also includes Tian Jing (Kong: Skull Island) and Adria Arjona (“Emerald City”). Rising up to become the most powerful defense force to ever walk the earth, they set course for a spectacular all-new adventure on a towering scale.
Cast:
John Boyega, Scott Eastwood, Jing Tian, Cailee Spaeny, Rinko Kikuchi, Burn Gorman, Adria Arjona, Charlie Day
Synopsis:
The globe-spanning conflict between otherworldly monsters of mass destruction and the human-piloted super-machines built to vanquish them was only a prelude to the all-out assault on humanity in Pacific Rim Uprising.
John Boyega (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) stars as the rebellious 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 our cities and bring the world to its knees, he is given one last chance to live up to his father’s legacy by his estranged sister, Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi)—who is leading a brave new generation of pilots that have grown up in the shadow of war. As they seek justice for the fallen, their only hope is to unite together in a global uprising against the forces of extinction.
Jake is joined by gifted rival pilot Lambert (The Fate of the Furious’ Scott Eastwood) and 15-year-old Jaeger hacker Amara (newcomer Cailee Spaeny), as the heroes of the PPDC become the only family he has left. Rising up to become the most powerful defense force to ever walk the earth, they will set course for a spectacular all-new adventure on a towering scale.
Pacific Rim Uprising is directed by Steven S. DeKnight (Netflix’s Daredevil, STARZ’s Spartacus) and also stars Jing Tian, Burn Gorman, Adria Arjona and Charlie Day.
Trailer:
- Deleted Scenes with Commentary by Director Steven S. DeKnight
- Hall of Heroes – John Boyega takes us through the awesome weaponry and cutting-edge enhancements of the latest generation of Jaegers featured in the film.
- Bridge to Uprising – The cast and crew discuss how the world of Pacific Rim has changed in the ten years since the events of the original film.
- The Underworld of Uprising – Humanity won the Kaiju War, but every war has casualties. John Boyega and Steven S. DeKnight give a tour of the coastal “Relief Zones.”
- Becoming Cadets – Step into the Shatterdome, and learn the grueling physical and mental preparation required of the young actors who portrayed the PPDC cadets.
- Unexpected Villain – Learn the secret reason that turned one of the most beloved heroes of the original film into a villain obsessed with humanity’s destruction.
- Next Level Jaegers – The cast and crew discuss the amazing technological advances of the Jaeger program in the years since the events of the original film.
- I Am Scrapper – Actress Cailee Spaeny shares the backstory of Scrapper, Amara’s incredible self-built Jaeger and its many unique abilities.
- Going Mega – Filmmakers take us through the technical and creative challenges of creating the most deadly threat the Pan Pacific Defense Corp has ever faced: the Mega Kaiju!
- Secrets of Shao – Meet the woman behind Shao Industries. Actress Tian Jing shares her insights on the enigmatic tech tycoon Liwen Shao.
- Mako Returns – Actress Rinko Kikuchi and director Steven S. DeKnight explain the significance of Mako Mori’s return and her importance to the events of Pacific Rim Uprising.
- Feature Commentary with Director Steven S. DeKnight
