When watching movies, I really do try to be open minded, but Pacific Rim Uprising, the sequel to Pacific Rim released in 2013, was by far one of the more disappointing follow ups I’ve seen up to date. Despite the film earning $65 million in China just over the weekend of its release and including some recognizable faces, I was left wondering whether the $11 I spent was actually worth the cost.

Before going to theaters, I saw multiple complaints online about how the sequel lost the authenticity and ruggedness of the Jaegers, a special kind of fighting robot originally used to fight against the Kaiju, the monsters that had previously attacked earth. And while the robot-like mechanics of the Jaegers slightly irked me in the first film, I gradually grew to appreciate the realistic nature of the machines. In Pacific Rim Uprising, however, the Jaegers moved with unbelievable ease; it was as if they were Transformers or those robots from Power Rangers. I understand that ten years had passed since the battle against the Kaiju, but it still baffles me that the researchers/mechanics managed to revamp all of their models into newer ones that hardly seemed like Jaegers anymore.

Throughout the film, a multitude of new faces in which the plot primarily rotated around were presented, but, frankly speaking, I wasn’t very interested in the new cast: I was busy wondering where half of the original cast went. Where was Herc Hansen (Max Martini), the man who lost his son and close associate in the first film? Was Hannibal Chau (Ron Perlman), the anonymous organ dealer and intellect of the Kaiju anatomy, still operating a black market somewhere? And most importantly, was Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam), the iconic Jaeger pilot and protagonist in Pacific Rim, actually dead? It was good to see several familiar faces, particularly Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi), the other main protagonist who had co-piloted alongside Becket, but (spoiler alert) she reaches an unexpected ending within only the first 40 minutes of the movie. Seriously. Only forty minutes into the movie, and we already lose the female lead from the first film. Perhaps the producers are trying to spark an emotional moment for Mako, but her death was anything but emotional; it felt unjust. While I won’t spoil anymore details regarding her end, I will say she definitely deserved an ending far better than what she got.

Branching off character development, the introduction to Jake Pentecost (John Boyega) for the first time in Pacific Rim Uprising felt straight up clumsy. I can see the argument that there might have never been a good moment for the producers to bring in or even mention Jake, but the fact that we didn’t even know of his existence says a lot by itself. Through the story, we learn that Jake is actually quite achieved and was pushed aside by his adopted sibling, Mako, making him the underdog in his relationship with his father. However, the backstory that Jake dropped out of the Jaeger pilot program while his father was still alive just seemed like a messy attempt to explain all these unanswered questions at once, one that just felt overwhelmingly underdeveloped.

As for the battles, the fact that the Jaegers were maneuvered by children threw me off. It seemed like the producers were trying a kid-friendly approach, and it worked: the film gave off a Spy Kids vibe, where kids stepped up to save the world. But for those, such as myself, who were expecting a heavier, slightly darker, feel to the plot, Pacific Rim Uprising wasn’t nearly as satisfying. The enormous lighting whip and the spinning spike ball the Jaegers were equipped with were cool and all, but the exhilaration of the new weapons quickly faded away when they didn’t really do much impact on the Kaijus, except when the plot intensified in the end.

Simply put, Pacific Rim Uprising was a combination of chaotic action and underwhelming scenes that failed to rise up to the expectations its predecessor had left behind for its viewers. I wasn’t too impressed with the final product of the film, but if giant robot-versus-monster action is your kind of thing, maybe you should give this movie a try: it may just be your cup of tea.