Review: PACIFIC RIM
Fri, July 12, 2013 
In the not too distant future, legions of monsters appear from an inter-dimensional drift at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. To combat them, Nations from around the world joined into a group venture, the Pan Pacific Defense Corps, to fight them using Jaegers. Massive mechanical weapons, operated by two pilots in perfect neural synch with each other and the machine.
When I 'Get Hype' for a movie, it's because I usually follow it from womb to tomb. From the director being picked, to casting, to shooting, to posters, and basically everything in between.There's only been a few movies that I've followed since the very beginning that have lived up to everything I wished they would, and I'm just here to say that in a summer of disappointments (Star Trek Into Darkness, Iron Man 3, World War Z, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, White House Down) PACIFIC RIM does not falter or fail in what it has set out to do from the beginning, and succeeds and amazes more often than it stumbles.
Guillermo del Toro, going off of a screenplay by Travis Beacham, who apparently wrote half of the good part of 2010's Clash of the Titans, has 'Rim' play out like a larger than life cartoon, full of exaggerated characters and insane action that never feel insulting to the audiences intelligence- a problem so many have with Bay's 'Transformers' series- but never go beyond it either.
I can't describe anyone in the film in any way other than they all play giant charicatures of a character from an anime, comic, or manga, and that's not an insult to the film or writing because it WORKS.
Charlie Hunnam and Rinko Kikuchi, the film's two leads, are really charming to watch on-screen and an important relationship is set up to explore in the (hopefully) inevitable sequel. Hunnam is the angry ex-pilot called into duty again to pilot the old Gipsy Danger, and Rinko is the book-smart and combat-ready younger pilot who dreams of one day strapping into a Jaeger and getting revenge for the death of her family. Some of the writing is a tad hammy; but never groan-inducing or bad pseudo bullshit like The Dark Knight Rises, or anything.
The supporting cast though, almost ends up stealing the show. Charlie Day and Clifton Collins Jr. play wonderfully off of eachother, and althoughhe;s not in it much, Ron Perlman channels his utter sleaze into Hannibal Chau, and it works so well. Day's character actually has a lot of potential past comic-relif, which you see brief glimpses of, and turns out to be one of the more important characters.
The action is silly, awesome, pure fun. The Jaegers feel weighty, like actual monoliths constructed by man, and in every swing they take and weapon they fire you literally hear and feel not only the physical weight of the mechanical beast; but also the emotional weight that these are it, these are humanity's last defense.
The Kaiju, monsters from beyond our world, and terrifying. They're large, super-powered, screaming creatures that are marvelous to look at; but fierce and deadly to where every battle you legitimately become concerned for the pilots up against it.
Del Toro, as in his previous films, handles all of this action with superb grace and skill. Every frame is a treat to look at, especially in IMAX 3D; and it's a movie that will definitley be used to show off how sweet your new TV is.
The film also does try really hard at an emotional center, which it reaches more with Mako and Pentecost, and then with the Australian pilots, than it does with Charlie Hunnam's Raleigh Beckett. That's not to say you don't feel for him, it just sees there were character building scenes cut out to save time for both of them; but the film doesn't fall apart because of that, because you still feel and watch the emotional bonds being linked by these characters.
One especially powerful moment was when a young Mako is running for her life from a giant crab-like Kaiju, and it is both an emotional and absolutely terrifying experience to watch unfold.
The other being when the father and son Aussie pilots say goodbye to each other, and it struck me and the friends I saw it with very deeply out of nowhere, too.
I can't think of anything else to say about Pacific Rim other than that the richly detailed and brightly cartoonish world is a welcome break from the grimdark and serious nature of blockbusters these days. None of the heroes have deeply annoying internal struggles, nor are they mopey and sluggish. Even at the world's darkest, when all hope seems lost, not one moment in the film is over-bearing and "LOOK AT HOW SAD THIS IS". It's a welcome return to seeing a summer movie that is without angst; but with genuine fun and heart, that was made just entertain people. I won't go and say Pacific Rim is an intellectually challenging masterpiece; but it's the reason 'summer blockbusters' became a thing, and it's a 'summer blockbuster' that's a return to genuine "holy shit" moments that captivate and wow you.
This isn't 2 hours of decent wire-fighting and stunt jumps; this is 2 hours of shit you've never seen before, and when you leave the theater you'll think, "I need to see that just one more time"
Reader Comments (2)
Well put Charles. This movie was so fun, I left the movie theater exhausted from all the ear-to-ear grinning I did.
And for once, I think del Toro's 3D version rose far above the gimmick application we usually see in most movies these days.
Thanks, man, same here, haha I haven't smiled so much in a long time.
And I know, for a post-converted 3D job it was really nicely done, it's the kind of film IMAX was MADE for.