Pacific Rim: Uprising

Story

When this sequel to Pacific Rim begins, 10 years have passed since the Earth was invaded by gigantic monsters from another universe called Kaiju. At that time, the monsters were beaten back by gigantic war machines called Jaegers. Jake Pentecost (John Boyega), son of legendary Jaeger pilot Stacker Pentecost, is now a scavenger who raids abandoned Jaegers for parts to sell on the black market.

While Jake is on a raid, a 15-year-old hacker named Amara Namani (Cailee Spaeny) outsmarts him, but both Jake and Amara are then arrested by Pan Earth forces and taken to a Pan Pacific Defence Force facility. At the facility Jake is reunited with his estranged sister Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi), who offers both Jake and Amara an ultimatum: join the Rangers and pilot Jaegers or rot in prison.

Jake and Amara accept Mako’s offer, with Amara joining a group of young cadets while Jake is teamed up with his old Jaeger partner Nate Lambert (Scott Eastwood). Almost immediately the Pan Pacific base is attacked and destroyed by a rogue Jaeger.

Attempting to track down the rogue Jaeger, Jake uncovers a serious Kaiju invasion insidiously orchestrated by a traitor on Earth. It’s up to Jake and his team of Jaeger cadets to defend the Earth.

Themes

Science fiction; destruction of the earth; alien monsters and robots

Violence

Pacific Rim: Uprising has extended sequences of intense science fiction violence including guns and science fiction weapons. There are also battles between giant robots and monsters, the mass destruction of property, and some blood and gore. For example:

Some scenes include fist fights and stylised fighting between two men. One man holds a handgun to the other’s head and then punches him in the face and kicks him in the stomach. The man then says, ‘Someone please kill this guy for me’. The man runs away and three men chase after him firing their guns.
A young woman attacks a man with a metal pipe, then runs away and climbs into a large robot. The robot forms into a ball and rolls away. Larger robots chase the smaller robot and shoot it to disable it. The young girl is arrested.
A woman and teenage boy fight. They punch each other in the head until the woman slaps the boy in the face, stopping him.
Two teenage girls fight. They punch, kick, throw and choke each other.
News footage shows people protesting and rioting in the street. They throw projectiles at the riot police.
There are brutal battles between giant robots, during which the robots destroy tall buildings by slicing through the building with power swords or by firing missiles. A gigantic hole is blown in a robot’s torso and heads and arms are torn off. Among the destruction and devastation, a helicopter spins out of control, hurtling towards the ground. Through the window of the helicopter we see the face of a young woman, who is clearly aware of her impending death. A giant robot reaches out and tries to save the helicopter but misses, and the helicopter crashes into the ground and bursts into flames. A later scene shows a photo of the dead woman on a wall of honour.
In one scene a young cadet is burned on the arm with acid. Acid drips onto the skin and the skin smokes.
At several points young cadets are shown with bloody scrapes, cuts and scratches to their faces.

Sexual references

Pacific Rim: Uprising contains a small amount of sexual innuendo throughout. For example:

A man looks at a second man wearing colourful clothing and asks him, ‘What are you wearing?’ The man replies, ‘I’m sexy’.
In jest, a man refers to himself as handsome and sexy.
Two men discuss being interested in the same woman.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

Pacific Rim: Uprising shows some use of substances. For example:

One scene shows a party where people are consuming alcohol. The next day the ground and pool are littered with dozens of empty bottles. A man is swapping alcohol for food.
When a man is connected to an alien brain, it seems to give him a drug-like rush.

Nudity and sexual activity

Pacific Rim: Uprising contains infrequent low-level sexual activity. For example:

During a battle scene a man lands on top of a woman and for a second it looks like they’re about to kiss. They stop when someone asks whether the timing is appropriate.
A woman kisses two men on the cheek, one after the other. The men are puzzled about her intentions towards each of them.

Product placement

There is no product placement of concern in Pacific Rim: Uprising, but tie-in merchandise might be marketed to children and teenagers.

Coarse language

There is some coarse language in Pacific Rim: Uprising.

Ideas to discuss with your children

Pacific Rim: Uprising is the science-fiction action sequel to Pacific Rim and is likely to appeal to teenagers and adults who were fans of the first movie.

This movie has some violent and scary scenes featuring giant robots and alien monsters, so it isn’t recommended for children under 12 years. We recommend parental guidance for children aged 12-14 years.

The main message from this movie is that family members should be prepared to forgive each other for past issues and move on. The movie also promotes the value of teamwork.

You might like to talk with your children about the strong and positive female role models in this movie.