Pacific Rim: Uprising doesn’t pull its punches when bringing heart-pounding robot vs giant monster fights, but when it focuses on its human-sized protagonists it misses the mark completely.

Ten years after the fall of the Kaiju and the heroic sacrifice of Stacker Pentecost, his son Jake (John Boyega) now must lead a new generation of Jaeger pilots. While dealing with trying to train a young hacker (Cailee Spaeney) to become a great Jaeger pilot and dealing with his rival (Scott Eastwood), Jake must be ready when a new Kaiju threat comes to the surface and becomes stronger than ever.

Pacific Rim: Uprising is at its strongest when it puts its protagonists in the destructive and mighty Jaegers as they face off against the deadly Kaiju. The battles are literally earth-shattering and each one feels fresh as each different Jaeger uses a unique move or adds new tech that changes the dynamic of the fight. These moments are what fans and moviegoers want to see: city destroying fights between giant robots and mountain-sized monsters.

However, when they are out of the suits, these protagonists become shallow and generic action wannabes that can only spout cheesy one-liners. Most of the characters in Pacific Rim: Uprising have such limited screen-time that you won’t really learn much about them and have shallow personalities that are hard to relate to. Not to mention that even characters that are returning from the original are sidelined to only a few major scenes and will disappoint fans due to their lack of importance.

These new characters also constantly deliver groan-worthy dialogue that was clearly intended to make them feel more like action heroes but is so overdone that it just becomes their shallow personalities. It makes the film more painful to watch and more generic.

So for viewers going to Pacific Rim: Uprising for epic giant monster fights, they won’t leave disappointed. But for those expecting great characters to be invested in and care about, they might want to look elsewhere.