![]() ![]() In the sequel, Mako comes back as the sister of Jake Pentecost (John Boyega) and has a handful of lines before she’s summarily killed in a helicopter crash. ![]() She got to go on an empowering, inner journey that lead to a stronger sense of self.Īnd yet, all the good work the original film did with Mako’s character unravels in Pacific Rim Uprising. ![]() In Pacific Rim, there was the bare hint of a romance between Mako and her co-pilot, but the story focused on her growth outside of her relationships with men. Along with intense fight scenes, Mako got actual character development and growth, and she grew into her own power.įor that reason, she resonated with fans who came up with the Mako Mori test, a simple checklist to see if at least one female character in a film gets her own narrative arc that isn’t a love story and that isn’t in the service of a male protagonist. But Pacific Rim gave her something rarely seen in action movies. Mako didn’t fit the stereotype of most women in action movies, she was shy instead of brash, deferential instead of bullish, Asian instead of white. While Pacific Rim didn’t come close to passing the Bechdel test, it still resonated with female fans in surprising ways. Second, and most importantly, was the appeal of the film’s female lead, Mako Mori, as played by Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi. First, as NPR’s Glen Weldon noted, the film had the “lived-in, rich” palpability of director Guillermo Del Toro, which took it a step above another silly disaster movie. While the film had plenty of shortcomings, from terrible accents to an almost incomprehensible timeline, it became something greater than the sum of its parts for several reasons. After giant monsters invade Earth, humans built giant robots to fight back.ĭespite its goofy premise, the original Pacific Rim, which was released in 2013, managed to work and became something of a cult favorite. The premise of Pacific Rim, and its subsequent sequel Pacific Rim Uprising, which topped the box office this weekend, has always been a little silly. ![]()
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