If it's possible for a film with $190 million budget to have a "quiet release," Guillermo Del Toro's Pacific Rim has done just that, debuting in third place behind Grown Ups 2 and Despicable Me 2 last weekend. With $38.5 million earned in the domestic box office Pacific Rim isn't exactly a fiscal disappointment,but critics are left to wonder where the film failed amid generally positive reviews.
Pacific Rim stands unabashed in its simple premise and focus on nostalgia, but never fails to deliver on its main selling point: CG action on a massive scale. Just about every facet of the film takes cues from Japan's giant robot and monster genre films, even going so far as to name the film's antagonistic beasts kaiju, an homage to Godzilla and other famous on screen monsters.
The characters (or caricatures in the case of Ron Perlman and Clifton Collins Jr.) seem lifted directly from those films as well, led by Idris Elba's stereotypical yet endearing role as hardnosed commanding officer Stacker Pentecost. Pentecost and his crew are responsible for a series of military robots called jaegers (a meaning hunter in German), each of which requires two synchronized pilots to operate. Synchronization means that the two must also share memories and emotions in addition to physical control, providing an obvious vehicle for drama amongst the characters.
Though simple, Pacific Rim's characters are likeable, and even see some rewarding development amid the action. Charlie Hunnam plays protagonist/self-insert pilot Raleigh Becket, who shares a slightly less than forced romance with rookie pilot Mako Mori, played by Oscar nominee Rinko Kikuchi. Funny man Charlie Day of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia also provides some comic relief in the role of a doctor tasked with studying the kaiju.
Day's role reflects Del Toro's efforts to keep the movie from falling into overly dark territory despite its post-apocalyptic setting. While the stakes are high, Pacific Rim maintains an upbeat feel that has become increasingly rare in the box office. A wealth of expository information at the start of film prevents the plot from being dragged down into the particulars of how the jaegers and kaiju at the center came to be, allowing Del Toro to focus on making their battles as plausible as their existence.
Those battles stand out as the shining takeaway from Pacific Rim, presenting the sort of destruction that anime fans have dreamed of for decades. Jaegers and kaiju showcase the full scale of their conflicts while tearing through sea and city landscapes. Each of the mechs and monsters are given a designated code name and specific abilities, keeping things from looking to similar as the action progresses, and adding an element of detail for fans hoping to further immerse themselves in the movie's universe.
The film's emphasis on bringing anime concepts to the big screen ends up being its strong point, but could ultimately be the reason why it failed to bring in big box office numbers. A lack of big name stars and human drama may have hurt Pacific Rim financially, but moviegoers who wondered what the Transformers franchise might have been like without the Shia LeBeouf subplots now have their answer.
In the long term, Pacific Rim may end up largely forgotten in the wave of summer action releases despite its successful execution. For fans of mechs, anime or giant monsters however, the film is a game changer, carrying the promise of big screen fulfillment in the future. Video game producer and self-described "otaku" Hideo Kojima expressed this same sentiment on Twitter saying, "this film is not simply a film to be respected, but most importantly, it let us dream the future of entertainment movies."
Hopefully, the next film that dares to expand on that vision will be greeted by an audience that's ready to receive it.
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