I have not seen the first Pacific Rim film, which some might think would drastically impact my understanding of the second one. However, at no point was I confused by the sequel’s plot involving building-sized robots fighting building-sized monsters. Incredibly, I was able to understand it all, soaking in its rich themes and the captivating social commentary that runs through it like a tapeworm in a cat’s intestines.
Some time has passed since whatever happened in the first film. The kaijus haven’t crawled out of their dimensional hole in years, and now the Jaegers – the ‘Honey, I Blew Up The Transformers’ machines that humans use to punch the creatures in the gullet – are rusting away in tetanus-filled playgrounds.
Playing the wayward son of Idris Elba, who was apparently a character in the first one, John Boyega must realise his potential and help save the world when a bunch Jaegers go rogue and yet more kaijus appear to claim their acting credit – a premise I quickly established was an elaborate metaphor for the growing tensions between China and the US over the trade of broiler chickens.
Pacific Rim: Uprising actually addresses various political issues, like gun control, which is poignantly illustrated by a scene in which a robot fires torpedoes out of its shoulders and cooks a fool’s head with its plasma fist. And when another robot pulls down a building with its gravity cannon, it is obviously symbolic for the turbulent Brexit negotiations.
If there is one complaint to be made about the film it’s that it’s actually too political. I used up an entire A4 notepad writing down my thoughts, and I could hear two journalists debating whether the villain was more like Margaret Thatcher or John Major. They got into a huge altercation, firing pen lids at each other while making rocket noises and using Post-it notes as force fields. Admittedly, it was more entertaining than what was happening on the screen.