Summary
Pacific Rim: The Black stands out as the strongest entry in the franchise, with impressive animation and well-developed characters and storylines.
Pacific Rim Uprising fails to live up to its predecessor and the animated series, with clunky dialogue and a lack of connections to the original film.
Pacific Rim, the first entry in the franchise, delivers stellar action scenes and compelling drama, but struggles to develop all of its characters effectively.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
Across two live-action movies and an animated Japanese-American TV series, each entry in the Pacific Rim franchise has its own charms, but one is clearly superior to the other two. The most prominent non-Godzilla entry in the beloved Kaiju movie genre, Pacific Rim sees its protagonists pilot gigantic mechs known as Jaegers to defend the world from alien threats. Although the Pacific Rim movies are not a part of the MonsterVerse, the spectacular fight scenes between alien and machine pay homage to many of the spectacles on display in the Godzilla franchise.
The Pacific Rim franchise has developed a consistent following that has helped support the franchise’s longevity nearly a decade after 2013’s Pacific Rim. Furthermore, murmurs of Pacific Rim 3 being a possibility speak volumes about the Kaiju movies’ impact on the genre. While Pacific Rim demonstrated director Guillermo del Toro’s love of the genre and its sequel, Pacific Rim Uprising, was a faithful continuation, audiences have yet to see a live-action third installment. The Pacific Rim franchise is filled with quality content between the two live-action movies and the animated series.
Related
Guillermo del Toro’s Sci-Fi Blockbuster Hits Netflix’s Top 10 Chart In US
Guillermo del Toro’s sci-fi blockbuster, which is now over a decade old, works its way onto Netflix’s top 10 list in the United States.
4
3 Pacific Rim Uprising (2018)
Pacific Rim Uprising fails to adequately develop the franchise beyond being a sequel.
Despite Pacific Rim Uprising’s bigger and bolder approach to its narrative structure, the sequel comes up short against its predecessor and the animated series. Rife with heavy exposition and a noticeable lack of appearances from the cast and characters of the first Pacific Rim, Pacific Rim Uprising ultimately feels more like it would have worked better as a spin-off movie or perhaps even a TV show. Instead, the movie bogs viewers down with clunky dialogue and needlessly complicated storylines that were clearly the filmmakers’ attempts at connecting the movie to Pacific Rim.
Rife with heavy exposition and a noticeable lack of appearances from the cast and characters of the first Pacific Rim, Pacific Rim Uprising ultimately feels more like it would have worked better as a spin-off movie or perhaps even a TV show.
However, despite its flaws, Pacific Rim Uprising is still worth viewing as it remains faithful to the extravagant fight sequences audiences have come to expect from the genre. In addition to the quality action scenes, the new characters are interesting in their own right, as the interactions between protagonist Jake Pentecost and Nathan “Nate” Lambert offer plenty of laughs and drama when the movie shifts from its action-packed set-pieces. While not as emotionally engaging or coherent as Pacific Rim: The Black and Pacific Rim, Pacific Rim Uprising still offers viewers an entertaining time.
2 Pacific Rim (2013)
The central characters aren’t as interesting as Guillermo del Toro’s action sequences and special effects.
Directed by del Toro, Pacific Rim is the first entry in the franchise, and it features stellar action scenes, compelling drama between its human characters, and enough homages to the Godzilla films it’s partly inspired by to ensure the movie would be a truly special and memorable event. While the movie’s plot of humans banding together to defend Earth from a new alien threat has been done time and again, the inspired performances of its leads and supporting castmake Pacific Rim feel fun, and the specific mechanics involved regarding the Jaegers provides a fresh take on the genre.
Although Pacific Rim is a solid first entry to the Pacific Rim franchise, it attempts to fit too much into its 132-minute runtime, which means that some characters receive far more attention and development than others. As such, the characters who end up making an impact are protagonist Raleigh Becket, his superior Stacker Pentecost, and the comedic Dr. Newton “Newt” Geiszler. Everyone else in Pacific Rim is generic with predictable motivations, which leaves much to be desired. While star Charlie Hunnam is open to Pacific Rim 3, the would-be sequel would need to strengthen all of its characters.
1 Pacific Rim: The Black (2021 – 2022)
The animated series is the perfect blend of engaging action and likable characters.
Pacific Rim: The Black shines as the strongest entry in the Pacific Rim franchise because it blends impressively animated fight sequences with better-developed human characters and storylines that the first two movies lacked, respectively. Additionally, Pacific Rim: The Black highlights heavier themes such as one’s mental health, bouts with grief and depression, and emphasis on the horrors of war make it an excellent entry to the franchise. Adding to the animated series’ impressive quality is the voice cast, who each deliver performances that make the characters likable and memorable.
While Pacific Rim: The Black is great, and the CGI is among some of the best in an animated TV show, the CGI can be a little inconsistent in quality. As seen early on, some of the action sequences aren’t as impressive as later episodes because the frame rates – that is, the visual fidelity of a CGI-animated production occasionally drops to compensate for all the action on display. Nevertheless, Pacific Rim: The Black does an excellent job expanding the lore with its unique characters and monsters, which all bode well for Pacific Rim’s future.
Pacific Rim: The Black is available on Netflix.
Pacific Rim
Release Date July 12, 2013
Director Guillermo del Toro
Cast Charlie Hunnam , Idris Elba , Charlie Day , Ron Perlman , Rinko Kikuchi , Clifton Collins Jr.