HBO Max's Forgotten 111-Minute Monster Epic Is Taking Over the Streaming Charts

Published Aug 7, 2026, 7:21 AM EDT A writer and a filmmaker with a penchant for classics, Shae Sennett has written for Screen Rant, Slash Film, and more. She has conducted interviews, written reviews, and covered breaking news across several publications. In addition to her journalistic writing, Shae Sennett’s prose and poetry has appeared in several publications including X-Ray Literary Magazine and Spectra Poets. Shae is heavily involved in the New York independent film scene, where she has been based for over a decade. She has worked in various crew positions, participated in indie film fundraisers, and volunteered at a local film archive co-founded by Andy Warhol. She has also appeared as an actress or background extra in several films, including a prominent ensemble role in a feature film. Shae’s own shorts Times Square Love Story and The Honest Movie have screened at the Manhattan Film Festival, Downtown Film Festival, NoBudge Festival, and other local screening series. They are both available to stream on NoBudge. Her forthcoming feature film, Slyboots, is currently in post-production. Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim was such a monster hit both in the U.S. and overseas that fans were immediately eager for a sequel. The critically acclaimed 2013 movie set a very high bar for the rest of the franchise, and even with an incredible cast, Pacific Rim: Uprising failed to meet the mark. The 2018 movie starred John Boyega, who had already made a splash as Finn in the new generation of Star Wars media, opposite breakout star Cailee Spaeny. This was Spaeny's first full-length movie, but she has since gone on to score many memorable roles, most recently as Ashley Miller in Season 2 of Netflix’s Beef. With this latest release, Spaeny’s performance is generating a lot of buzz, causing fans to revisit some of her older work that may have been overlooked. This is one of several reasons why Uprising has climbed to the top of streaming charts lately, despite failing to reach the critical heights of the franchise's first installment. Pacific Rim: Uprising is far from the perfect movie, but it is the perfect movie to watch on a hot summer's night, or a rainy summer's day, or one of those weekends where it's too hot to leave the house. It is a spectacle of visual effects and a fun journey into a dystopian world of robots, monsters, and teenagers, featuring a stellar cast of stars with long, illustrious careers ahead of them. It's a little surprising to see its popularity surge in the U.S. so many years after flopping upon its initial release, but the popularity is undeniable— Pacific Rim: Uprising is charting as one of the country's most-watched movies on HBO Max, at the time of writing. Pacific Rim: Uprising Expands The Pacific Rim Universe Image via Legendary Pictures Pacific Rim (2013) is a mecha monster movie with a heart of gold. It is set in a not-so-distant future in which giant sea monsters called Kaiju have invaded Earth via an interdimensional portal that has been opened under the Pacific Ocean. In order to defend themselves, humanity creates and deploys humanoid robots called Jaegers that are large and strong enough to face the Kaiju in combat. Pilots are tied to their mechas through a mental link called The Drift, which adds layers of psychological and material complications to combat. Fans of Neon Genesis Evangelion, if this sounds familiar, you aren’t crazy— there are a lot of similarities here. In fact, a more recent entry in the Pacific Rim universe is Netflix's anime series Pacific Rim: Black. The cast of the original movie includes the internationally acclaimed eight-time Emmy nominee Idris Elba, Academy Award nominee Rinko Kikuchi, and Sons of Anarchy star Charlie Hunnan, who has since won an Emmy for his starring role in Monster: The Ed Gein Story. Elba's starring role in Pacific Rim almost went to Tom Cruise, but he was ultimately unavailable. In a stroke of casting genius, Pacific Rim also features Charlie Day of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, an unconventional move that should come as no surprise to longtime Sunny viewers— del Toro has a recurring role on the show as Pappy McPoyle. Day is also one of few main cast members who returns for the sequel. Pacific Rim: Uprising is set ten years after the events of the first Pacific Rim movie. Boyega’s character, the son of Elba’s Stacker Pentecost, lives in the ruins of his father’s battles at the edges of the city and sells Jaeger parts on the black market. His most avid client is a scrappy young orphan, played by Spaeny, who is assembling her own Jaeger illegally. When the government catches them red-handed during a sale, their only choice to avoid prison is to join the newly reinstated Jaeger program. Why The Pacific Sequel Flopped— And Why It Is Suddenly Successful Image via Universal Studios The 2018 sequel performed decently at the box office, particularly overseas. Uprising even managed to dethrone Black Panther, which held the top spot for five weeks straight before Uprising's release. The sequel had a poor reception among critics, which is not totally uncommon for sequels. The Pacific Rim sequel was directed by Steven S. DeKnight, who has done all his other work in television, with del Toro attached instead as a producer. This might explain why the second movie lacks the same whimsical touch as the first. The writing might lack the heart and fast-paced plot that earned the original Pacific Rim its fans, but its strength lies in its incredible cast. Many of the actors in Uprising have ascended to new career heights since making the 2018 movie. Adria Arjona, who has a supporting role in Uprising as a government agent, has since made a name for herself in Hit Man opposite Glen Powell and in the all-star ensemble of Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut, Blink Twice. Kikuchi also revives her original role as Mako Mori and does an equally phenomenal job with her limited screen time. Spaeny earned a Golden Globe nomination in 2023 for her titular role in Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla and has gone on to star in blockbusters like Alien: Romulus. Pacific Rim: Uprising was actually the first feature film that Spaeny ever shot. Thankfully, she had her co-star Boyega to guide her through entering the big-budget whirlwind of sci-fi franchises. "[Boyega] definitely saw me every once in a while having a little freak out, to be like 'I don't know what to do right now, I don't know how to do this," Spaeny told Screen Rant. "And he'd take me to the side and be like, 'It's going to be okay, you got this. We'll break it down for you." Spaeny was still new to acting, but she was extremely committed to her role. "I learned how to weld," she went on. "And I welded a piece to the actual set, which is crazy!" The actress "tried to get in to the head space" of her character, Amara, "as much as possible," and it definitely shows in her incredible performance. Is Pacific Rim: Uprising Worth Watching? Image via Legendary Pictures So, does Pacific Rim: Uprising deserve its newfound love? The truth is, it does not hold a candle to the first movie. It is a fun reprisal of the old monsters, robots, and people that so many people fell in love with Pacific Rim, and it features early career performances from several actors who have gone on to become big stars in the short time since the 2018 movie was released. The truth is, the cast of Pacific Rim: Uprising is carrying the movie on its back. Uprising is the perfect lazy day watch for big fans of Pacific Rim, as well as fans of Boyega, Arjona, and Spaeny. It is for people who love mecha monster movies and cinematic spectacles. Pacific Rim: Uprising might not be a timeless classic or an underrated del Toro gem like Pacific Rim, but it scratches the itch for a fun summer blockbuster, and for that it deserves a watch. Release Date March 23, 2018 Runtime 111 minutes Director Steven S. DeKnight Writers Emily Carmichael, Kira Snyder, Steven S. DeKnight, T.S. Nowlin, Travis Beacham Producers Guillermo del Toro, Jon Jashni, Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Thomas Tull, Femi Oguns Prequel(s) Pacific Rim Franchise(s) Pacific Rim