It’s like they took everything in the original that made it work and threw it out.
For people wondering how much impact a film director makes, this is a prime example.
I point to those two movies to illustrate a great director as opposed to an average one.
Pacific Rim is a brilliant film that pays homage to multiple films and genres.
Pacific Rim: Uprising is a terrible film that completely missed the point of the first movie.
Sicario 1 and 2 as well except it’s an example of an amazing director vs. a competent one.
At least Sicario 2 is quite watchable and has some amazing scenes. Can’t say the same for Pacific Rim 2. That one’s just bad and not even in a fun way. As you say, all the things that made the original work. It managed to miss all of them.