Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018)

I rewatched Pacific Rim (please don't go read the pathetic review I wrote years ago) about a month ago and two things I realised. First, it was not as good as I remembered, and second, it did not need a sequel. But we all know how Hollywood works, so Pacific Rim: Uprising happened. 

Ten years after the Battle of the Breach, in which humanity defeated the Kaiju monsters by sealing the entrance into our world. Jake Pentecost (John Boyega), the son of Stacker (sadly Idris Elba does not appear in this), makes a living by stealing Jaeger parts. While on a job, he meets Amara (Cailee Spaeny), an orphan teenage girl, who gets both arrested by the Pan-Pacific Defense Corps, and Jake is tasked, with the help of his former co-pilot, Nate Lambert (Scott Eastwood),  to train a new crop of Jaeger cadets in case the Kaiju return.

And guess what? They do return and the whole movie is about them. It is so much about them that the writers didn't even bother developing the plot. Because who needs not a solid, but at least decent plot when you can have big robots fighting big monsters on the big screen? Okay, I'm not being fair, they did try to do something, like too many subplots --the rivalry between Jake and Nate, Jaeger drones making human pilots obsolete, the rivalry between Amara and another young cadet-- that do absolutely nothing for the film. There's a twist but I saw it coming miles ahead. 

Another issue with Pacific Rim: Uprising is its characters. Every single one of them is one-dimensional. They have no depth, but what's worse is that they are uninteresting and unlikable. How do you even care for characters like these? You can't, that's how. Not to mention that some of these characters --Jake-- came out of nowhere. 

Universal Pictures

With such a poor script, there's absolutely nothing the cast can do. John Boyega is very charismatic and charming, probably even more than Charlie Hunnam, and yet he does not manage to make his character likeable. All the forced jokes he has to deliver are a part of the problem. Scott Eastwood is nothing more than a pretty face who lacks the talent of his father. Cailee Spaeny isn't terrible but her chemistry with Boyega --he's basically Finn, she's basically Rey-- is non-existent. Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day and Burn Gorman reprise their role but they all are quite weak. The teen actors (considering how Hollywood works, they probably are 30 years old or something) are unwatchable.

The action too is a mess. Pacific Rim: Uprising being about monsters fighting robots, there's very little action in this. Also, the sequences aren't exciting and very forgettable. As for the special effects, they are good but nothing above average with today's standards. 

GIVEAWAY: Pacific Rim - Win the BLU-RAY!

Hey there you filthy animals, we've got yet another giveaway for you! This time it is Pacific Rim on Blu-ray. We here at Slaughter Film are HUGE fans of this film, as you may remember from Podcast 57, in which we disguised the film.

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PODCAST 57: Pacific Rim [Giant Robot Edition]

The Slaughter Film crew lose their minds as they gleefully review Pacific Rim, directed by Guillermo Del Toro. The gang pop hard boners as they share their thoughts on a film that will easily be one of the best of 2013.

CONTINUE READING

New Trailer For Guillermo del Toro's PACIFIC RIM!

Guillermo del Toro's PACIFIC RIM is looking better and better in each new glimpse of the monster flick, in what has been to date a very well run marketing campaign. Case in point is this second trailer which expands upon what we have already seen in the first iteration.

This trailer was released at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Here's the storyline for the movie:
When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity’s resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes—a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi)—who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind’s last hope against the mounting apocalypse.

PACIFIC RIM is slated for release on July 13. 

Hit the jump for the trailer...

It's HERE! MUST WATCH: First Trailer For PACIFIC RIM!!

Ummm Wow. Talk about entertainment! Guillermo del Toro's PACIFIC RIM looks staggeringly amazing. I can't believe the realism with such immense creatures!

Did you see the rocket propelled elbows to land a massive punch? My jaw dropped when I saw that!!

What an amazing trailer. Well worth the wait. Now it's a matter of waiting for the movie because this one, you're going to want to see again and again.

Here's the movie's storyline:
When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity's resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes--a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi)--who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind's last hope against the mounting apocalypse.

Genre: Science Fiction, Action and Adventure
Official Site: http://www.pacificrimmovie.com
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Cast: Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, Ron Perlman, Robert Kazinsky, Max Martini, Clifton Collins, Jr., Burn Gorman, Larry Joe Campbell, Brad William Henke, Diego Klattenhoff

Hit the jump to watch the trailer...

Move Like Jaeger! PACIFIC RIM's Marketing Is Now Firing On All Cylinders!

Guillermo del Toro's PACIFIC RIM is making some big noise in all the right ways! Warner Bros. viral marketing website has been dropping Jaeger Bombs across their global map lately.

Let's get you up to speed on what's happened:

First of all we have blueprints to study for four of the Jaegers thus far (pictured). Countries build their own breed of Jaeger with unique strengths and to date we have the just released Australian Striker Eureka along with the Russian Cherno Alpha, Japanese Coyote Tango and the American Gipsy Danger.

Awesome concepts or what! And pragmatically very brilliant - regions of the world will be rooting for their own robot driving in audiences everywhere.

Precious little information about the Kaiju that attack our cities, but a couple of very cool teaser clips exist - one showing the chaos from an attack on San Francisco (below). ENJOY!

Everything we have been seeing from this production has seemed to be epic. It looks like Guillermo has been able to leverage every cent of a massive budget to pull off what seems to be a must-see event movie.

Hit the jump for more...


Here's the storyline for the movie:
When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity’s resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju.

On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes—a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi)—who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind’s last hope against the mounting apocalypse.

PACIFIC RIM opens on July 12, 2013. The first trailer for the movie drops on December 14 pre-rolling with THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY in 3D. What a cinematic day that will be!

Kaiju Attack Clip:



Sources: EIGA | Wired | PACIFIC RIM Movie Site

**UPDATED - Is This A Jaeger From PACIFIC RIM?

**POTENTIAL SPOILERS**

**UPDATE: Apparently not. Guillermo has stated that this clip has nothing to do with PACIFIC RIM. Oh well. Still nice.

WHOA. A very nice spoiler if it's true and certainly the footage is bound to have some pedigree from Guillermo del Toro's PACIFIC RIM due to the nature of the visual FX company Mirada and the guy who owns it: Guillermo del Toro.

Due to the nature of the video and the screencaps I have posted for you, you are risking a pristine viewing experience by going further. You have been warned.

Hit the jump for more...

Click to enlarge

Yes, it's a giant robot and it's firing shoulder mounted missiles at something. There's a nice sequence revealing a forearm based missile system as well.

The size of the robot is on par with the office buildings beside it. Perhaps some concept work that was done prior to PACIFIC RIM? Regardless, it looks darn good.

In fact the whole clip is amazing. Looks like Merida means business and is here for the long run.

PACIFIC RIM stars Idris Elba, Charlie Hunnam, Charlie Day, Rinko Kikuchi, Max Martini, Clifton Collins Jr., Rob Kazinsky, and Diego Klattenhoff.

Click to enlarge

Here's the storyline from the movie:
When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity’s resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes-a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi)-who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind’s last hope against the mounting apocalypse.

PACIFIC RIM opens on July 12, 2013.

Check out the VFX reel (specifically at 1:14):



Source: CBM via Collider

PACIFIC RIM 3D Conversion Silver Lining - And What A Silver Lining!

You guys know me by now, if you're going to release a movie that's been converted to 3D you have to plan the production around that. So I mean, have a stereographer working side by side with the director to ensure the shots that are being set up and shot will work very well in three dimensions. That probably means a depth script even though it's not being shot in 3D. It also means consideration to how the movie is lit as well.

But then there's Guillermo del Toro. Obviously he was cleared to shoot PACIFIC RIM in 2D and no one is going to blame him for his reasons for doing so. He's the creative force. I may have a different opinion but would I have gone to see it in 2D? Absol-freakin-lutely.

Here's the thing though. Guillermo is one smart director. Legendary is calling the shots as far as money is concerned and wants it converted. So how can del Toro turn this into something wonderful? He's already in a compromised position due to the fact that he is now going to have a 3D movie that was shot for 2D. So how does he pull this off?

With suitable del Toro gusto. I love this guy! Guillermo is well versed in what makes great 3D and here's the proof - in his own words - on how he approached the executives (Warner Bros and Legendary):

"What happened was, in the weeks and months following Comic-Con, what I asked from the studio was to agree to four points that I wanted to do," he says. "The more the ILM shots arrived, the more I realized that there were only a few shots that would miniaturize. I asked the studio, number one, that we would not hyper-stereo-lize the thing. That we would not force 3D on the beauty shots. That we would keep the giant dimensions. They agreed. Number two, they agreed to something very unusual. Normally a conversion takes a few weeks. I asked to start it immediately so we could take the full 40 weeks to do the conversion. As an example, 'Titanic' took about 50 weeks to convert. The final thing that I asked that they agreed to, which was amazing, was that I asked them to give me an extra budget, which is considerable, to actually have ILM composite the shots that are CG native 3D. We're not giving elements. ILM is giving the composite in 3D from the get-go. That's a huge, huge element. Now I'm going to be involved in supervising it. What can I tell you? I changed my mind. I'm not running for office. I can do a Romney."

So to be clear, here's his list:
1. Don't exaggerate the 3D during some of the massive robot shots - his 'beauty shots'.
This makes sense. Some shots simply will not hold water if you force 3D upon them. Further, audiences need time to relax their eyes in between full immersive 3D. A 3D movie does not need to be, nor should it, always be forcing 3D - unlike some movie blog sites out there that claim they should be by how they rate the genre.

2. He got Legendary to agree to a 40 week conversion!
This is massive. Of course there is more to getting this job done than time, but time is one of the key components of any great conversion. You need time, money, appropriate content and resources. With 40 weeks, you can strike that component concern off the map. Love it!

3. Asked for and received more money - then throwing this at ILM for native 3D visual effects scenes!
The most intricate conversions would have been the action and impact scenes. In one fell swoop, Guillermo negotiated for and won the right to pay Industrial Light and Magic to not only fulfill his visual effects needs, but to render them in native 3D from the beginning. No need to convert these scenes and we'll end up with awesome 3D.

Don't fool yourself. Guillermo del Toro knows what he is doing in 3D. He hasn't shot in native 3D yet, but given his past awareness of the format (he spoke about myself and 3D right here), his clear knowledge of the format in what he negotiated for and won from Legendary for PACIFIC RIM, and of course his close friendship with James Cameron (they were going to do AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS together) - shows his affinity for what we know and love here at MarketSaw.

Best of luck with the conversion Guillermo! You truly have my support in this. You've addressed your needs to make a great 3D conversion and I for one, believe you can do this thing. You've rightly said that TITANIC took 50 weeks and it was a stunning conversion. Can't wait to see this thing on as large a 3D screen as I can find! Bring it on GDT...

PACIFIC RIM opens in 3D on July 12, 2013.

Source: STYD
Thanks: David S. Cohen

It's Official Now: PACIFIC RIM Will Be A 3D Movie

We assumed this was going to happen when we heard last fall about the unofficial word out of Warner Bros. that Guillermo del Toro's PACIFIC RIM was going to be post converted to 3D. Now comes official word, that yes - it will be 3D, from the studio who is spending $200m on the tentpole.

Guillermo has come out against using 3D for the movie for various reasons (he says the robots are too big for 3D, but to me TRANSFORMERS DotM was an awesome 3D movie visually). In the end though it is the studio who is shelling out the big bucks that will of course decide what happens with the property. It's the age old debate that rages on today: Should studio executives be able to override creative talent on how productions should ultimately look? Christopher Nolan for example seems to have enough sway to hold off the studio execs and protect his decision to shoot and distribute in 2D. Ultimately - in most cases - money talks. The second a Nolan tentpole fails to achieve, is the second where his considerable influence dwindles significantly.

So, now. What about this PACIFIC RIM thing? I am grimacing due to this disconnect for PAC RIM. Did Guillermo shoot it with a 3D conversion in mind? Apparently not. BAD. Will del Toro be intimately involved with the conversion? Undoubtedly yes. GOOD. Will the studio try to further interfere and stipulate how the conversion should be done over del Toro? Don't know. But today's advanced 3D conversion technology soaring with new business, I am fairly confident that we are going to see a great end product here. There is a right way and a wrong way to convert and while sure, there are a some things to raise an eyebrow over - I think Warners and del Toro have a winner here. In 3D and in 2D.

PACIFIC RIM opens on July 12, 2013.

What do you think? Will we get a superlative 3D product with PAC RIM?

Source: THR