It's been about a year since I've last watched a movie in the cinema, so I decided to attend a corporate screening organised by Inspidea just a couple of hours ago. There were folks from 12 different countries, all enthusiastically gathered like a big family in a hall to enjoy a night of giant mechas and Godzilla-like monsters on the big screen.

Much to my regret, I finished my bag of popcorns before the show even started. It's been a while.

Plot & theme: Slightly better than average

Well, the plot is standard action Hollywood stuff that's on the better end of the spectrum. I wouldn't say that it's entirely predictable, but the plotholes and liberal use of deus ex machinas are. Nothing to complain though. It has cool ass robots. It has the usual end-of-the-world scenario that pits human-beings against non-human and violent megabeasts. What else do you need in an epic and politically-safe action movie?

Casts & Performance: Not bad

Nothing mind-blowing. It's okay. Nothing much to say. There were some familiar-looking faces. The three that stood out to me looked like they're younger versions of Denzel Washington, Natalie Portman, and Willem Dafoe. Pretty sure they're not part of the cast, but I felt right at home with their lookalikes. The ensemble is stereotypically diverse and 21st century enough that it works for a global audience. There were only a couple of cringe moments that annoyed me, but who cares about my feelings?

Audio & Visual: Quite nice

This is a triple-A action movie. So it's not surprising that it's good enough to be worth the ticket price of ~$4.00. Nothing artsy of course, but it's movie magic enough. I guess ultimately it'd depend on the cinema that you're in though. Mine was the standard ticket in the average cinema. Can't really judge the audio, but it does sound sufficiently action-packed.

Verdict: Just go watch it

I felt like I didn't waste my time watching the movie. My left and right seats unanimously agreed that it's at least better than any of the Godzilla movies. Will I watch it again? Most likely not, unless I get a hot date with Jing Tian to watch her own movie for the 198th time lol. Regardless, I'd certainly like to follow-up on the next Pacific Rim! What did you think the "Uprising" in the title is all about? It certainly wasn't for the movie I just watched..

The trailer for Pacific Rim: Uprising

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_{Coincidentally, I was playing Into the Breach recently and just realised that it's a 16-bit homage to Pacific Rim. It's a super difficult game. Love it.}