Pacific Rim Uprising - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Pacific Rim Uprising

Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
I really don’t hide the fact that I think of 2013’s Pacific Rim as one of the most FUN movies of that year. I had slogged through what seemed like a mountain of boring blockbuster movies (the boring Man of Steel, the mediocre Star Trek Into Darkness and the abysmal Iron Man 3), but was complete floored by the big sloppy grin that adorned my face getting out of watching Pacific Rim. Months later I watched the film a second time, and the Blu-ray fast became one of my favorite home theater discs of the year. It had it all. Big monsters, Guillermo Del Toro, Anime references, cheesy one liners, a doggy, big explosions, more big explosions and Gundam like robots to get into giant death matches with said big monsters. The Blu-ray was big, bold, colorful and had an aggressive sound mix that was sure to stretch the limits of any home theater system of the day (although I will admit that this loudness came with a cost in the form of heavy built in clipping). The movie needed no sequel, but I was more than eager to see Del Toro bring his baby back to life in another outing.

Years went by and the idea of a sequel fell along the wayside. Del Toro constantly tried to get it started and re-started, but to no avail. Initial production even was underwent only for, once again, the project to get sidelined. Plagued with production faults, Del Toro was no longer attached to the project and Universal went ahead with a new director and new writing staff. After nearly 5 years of waiting, we FINALLY got to see a trailer a few months back and the project was once again going full steam. Sadly, the movie suffers from a great many faults, with the major ones being a lack of creative excitement behind it. Pacific Rim Uprising could have a been a good sequel to a great guilty pleasure movie, but instead falls prey to the typical lack of cohesion with these types of movies, including the lack of returning characters, poor writing and a lack of understanding what made the first movie great.

It’s been 10 years since the world destroyed the last of the Kaijus (giant monsters from another world) and closed the breach between our world and the Precursers (big bad evil aliens who were sending the Kaiju’s through to pillage and destroy). In the time being mankind has successfully started to rebuild the world, with the help of the Jaeger program (Jaeger’s being the giant robots humans created to fight the Kaiju). Idris Elba’s Commander Pentecost gave his life to close the breach, but his son Jake (John Boyega) has gone a different direction in life. Instead of continuing on with the Jaeger program, Jake has become a hustler in the world, surviving on his wits and stealing parts from destroyed Jaegers in a hopes of getting rich. This all changes when he encounters a young girl by the name of Amara (Cailee Spaeny) who is building a mini Jaeger of her own. When the two get picked up by the Earth Defense force for building an unauthorized Jaeger, Jake and Amara are conscripted back into the Jaeger team to help continue the safety of earth.

However, their roles as Jaeger pilots may be short lived, as the Shau Corporation (where our nerdy friend Newt Geizler is residing since the first film), is about to unleash a drone program wherein Jaeger ‘s can be piloted remotely by a single human, instead of needing a second pilot to “drift” with in order to operate. Thus technically revolutionizing the whole Jaeger program. As you can all guess when a big corporation comes in with drones to take over human jobs in a movie, things go sideways in a hurry. A rogue Jaeger takes out some of the Earth Defense Force, forcing the deployment of the drones which reveals a hidden agenda by a mysterious foe deep within the Shau corporation. A foe that very well bring forth the apocalypse the Precursers were hoping for before their breach was closed.

Pacific Rim Uprising feels rather alien and foreign from the creepy shadow laden world that Del Toro gave us 5 years ago. The new direction deviates quite a bit from the campy humor Pacific Rim and decides to actually take itself waaaaaaaaaaay too seriously. The campy joy that came from watching Del Toro’s invention was partially tongue in cheek, with the audience fully aware that they’re watching one of the greatest awful movies of all time, or one of the worst great movies of all time. It was cheesy, fun, hilariously bad one liners, and the characters just ate up the scenery like a fat man at a buffet. Uprising? Well, Uprising tries to continue on with the story line, but instead misses the little memo from Del Toro that this is basically a Voltron/Gundam movie with crazy monsters. An ode to a time long ago meant to make children squeal with delight over shiny things, and middle aged men and women to remember the cartoons they used to watch growing up. It doesn’t help matters that John Boyega has the acting range of a turnip, only to be supplanted by Scott Eastwood, a dude bro facsimile of his father with an acting range of a really shriveled up turnip. Sadly DeKnight and crew couldn’t get back any of the original cast (I’m not saying Charlie Hunnam was any bastion of acting himself) except for Rinko Kikuchi as Mako (even though she’s basically a throwaway character) along with Charlie Day and Burn Gorman to reprise their roles as the two crazy doctors.

While there’s a lot wrong with Pacific Rim Uprising, there’s enough stupidly cheesy fun to make it a semi entertaining watch. The Jaeger battles are still thrilling to watch (even though they try to replicate some of the “one and done” funny moments from the first film a little toooooo much I thought), and the film is one bright and shiny display of colors and explosions. Things go boom, the film plays like the live action Power Rangers film in terms of tone, but big robots punching big monsters in the face is still the primary focus of the movie.




Rating:

Rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and some language




4K Video: Video:

Uprising was shot using Arri Alexa cameras and finished with a 2K digital intermediate and, like it’s predecessor, manages to eek out a stunning looking 4K UHD disc despite not having a native 4K master. Most of this is (again) due to the use of HDR and Dolby Vision on a film that is so filled with primary and neon colors that it practically just BEGS for its use. I actually watched the 4K disc BEFORE watching the Blu-ray, and flipping back and forth between the two there really is no comparison. The 4K disc is just so much more impressive in the colors and black levels that the Blu-ray almost looks weak in comparison. The film is actually darker in 4K, or I should more accurately say, doesn’t look as bright as the Blu-ray, something which looks better in motion than what I’m describing it as. The colors just pop off the screen with neon colored lights, shiny Jaegers and glowing Kaiju entrails. The blacks gain a huge boost from the HDR, with inky blackness and no visible crush to my eyes. I have to say this, they look a LOT better than their 1080p counterpart, with black levels going so low that I swore I was watching on a Kuro plasma. They have a sense of depth and detail to them that really stand out. Fine detailing is simply magnificent, with every little bit and design on Gipsy Avenger showing up perfectly, as well intimate detailing on the pilot’s outfits (including the weak mustache that John Boyega tries to sport). Overall, this is a demo worthy disc that REALLY shines in 4K.







Audio:

Luckily Universal is one of the “good” studios that doesn’t leave off the Atmos track on the Blu-ray in favor of putting it on the 4K UHD disc as a carrot to upgrade, but rather puts the same stellar Atmos track (with a 7.1 Dolby TrueHD core for those without the equipment) on the Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray AND the 4K UHD disc (so this portion will be the same for both the Blu-ray and the 4K UHD review). As you would expect, the Atmos mix is big, bold and in your face with lots and lots of action going on. The dialog is evenly balanced with the sonic assault, and I never once felt the need to raise and lower the volume to accommodate overly hot surround channels. Speaking of surround channels, Uprising makes GREAT use of them, filling the sound stage with an encompassing cacophony of noises that that range from the whirring of servo motors, to the roar and rumble of a Jaeger dropping in from the sky. Overheads get some wicked use as well, using the 3 dimensional nature of the Jaeger vs. Kaiju battles to create a fully immersive mix. The LFE is deep and punishing, adding to the roaring power of the robotic and alien monsters on screen. My only notice of curiosity is that this is a MUCH different use of LFE than from Pacific Rim. Pacific Rim got a lot of accolades for a it’s over cooked use of bass that just sonicly ASSAULTED the listener (and I loved the mix too), but it came with a major caveat. The overly cooked bass was rife with clipping in the source material, which created some distortions in higher end gear. This use of LFE is much more balanced and clean. There is not as much low end craziness, but the nuances create a cleaner sound, with enough rumble and roar to really light those subs up.






Extras:

• Feature Audio Commentary with Director Steven S. DeKnight
• 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.

Final Score: ​

Pacific Rim Uprising didn’t light my hair on fire like Pacific Rim did, but it makes for a moderately fun watch as a dumb popcorn film if you enjoy watching big robots pummeling big monsters. The film is pretty, gorgeous on both Blu-ray and 4K UHD, and comes with a killer audio mix as well. One thing I noticed was that for once the Extras are ON the 4K disc as well as being on the Blu-ray, something which hasn’t been the norm until recently. Whether you though the movie was horrible or a load of fun, Universal’s 4K UHD is a nice improvement over the Blu-ray (which is already great) and is one of a long line of demo worthy material we’ve been getting the last month in the 4K UHD department. Recommended as a decent watch.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Scott Eastwood, John Boyega, Cailee Spaeny
Directed by: Steven S DeKnight
Written by: Steven S. DeKnight, Emily Carmichael, Kira Snyder, T.S. Nowlin
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), Spanish DD 7.1, French (Canadian) DD 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish
Studio: Universal
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 111 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: June 19th, 2018

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Decent Watch