I don’t think Pacific Rim: Uprising knows who its core characters are. Based on promotional materials it’s most certainly banking on audiences recognizing John Boyega from the latest Star Wars films, and as such he is the closest thing we have to a central character. However, it does not build any sort of arc or partnership between he and the other two characters key to the climax in the same manner that the first film developed Mako Mori and Stacker Pentecost through the conduit personified by Raleigh.

This is, perhaps, the most curious aspect of the first film. Raleigh is positioned as the main character, but he’s more of a cipher. His arc is largely complete once he agrees to return and pilot a Jaegar. From then on the story is more about Mako, her drive to become a Jaegar pilot, and Pentecost’s simultaneous wish to keep her out of danger and to see his mission complete before he passes away. The climax brings these – and other relationships – to a… functional conclusion, though the satisfaction of it may vary depending on how much you care about the human drama.

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