I'll be honest, I didn't have high expectations for Pacific Rim. I mean, come on, it's Transformers meets Godzilla. No thoughtful plot points here. So I was skeptical about seeing it, but on the other hand, its freakin' ROBOTS vs MONSTERS. I had to be curious,, plus it just looked so damn cool. So, with nothing else to do, my dad and I went to go see it.
Pacific Rim is the latest special-effects laden monstrosity directed by Guillermo del Toro set in the near future when alien monsters classified as kaiju start to emerge from the ocean and lay waste to cities on the Pacific coast. To fight back, humanity unites and creates the Jaeger program, which builds giant mechanical warriors controlled by two human pilots to keep the monsters at bay. The film opens strong, with exposition detailing the events of the Kaiju war, from initial terror to cocky Jaeger victory. But as the war wages on the world gets weary .the grim reality that the Jaegers are only buying time on the clock sets in. Politicians got tired of funding the expensive Jaeger program and are opting for building a giant wall to keep out the monsters instead, but when that fails, the last remnants of the Jaeger program are brought together for one last effort to save the world.
The main protagonist, Raleigh (Charlie Hunnan), is a washed-up ex-Jaeger pilot who left the program after his copilot brother was killed in action. He's a cocky pilot, channeling Tom Cruise from Top Gun; rough around the edges, but at the end of the day, a responsible pilot who is serious about the mission when he needs to be. He gets dragged back into the war by his former general Pentecost (played excellently by the commanding Idris Elba).Pentecost has a "Hail Mary" play up his sleeve; he wants to close the portal from whence the beasts came.
One thing I really want to point out that I liked about this film is the lack of the "Americans save the world because we're awesome" theme.Raleigh is American, but the military he's a part of, the Pan Pacific Defense Corps, is comprised of Jaeger pilots from all the Pacific Rim countries, including Russia, China, and Australia. This and the fact that most of the action takes place in Hong Kong gives the movie a more truly global feel. The monsters don't just attack New York or Los Angeles, but Sydney and Cabo San Lucas.
The visual effects and fight scenes are absolutely AMAZING, and though it gets a bit shaky at times, you don't lose track of what's going on. A lot of punches get thrown, monsters get clobbered, and bad-ass melee weapons are brought out (engage: elbow rockets and handsaws!!). All the effects-laden fighting makes it easy to compare this movie with other "big-dumb" spectacles like the Transformers series and the ridiculous Battleship-all have the same "technology +aliens = destruction" formula. But Pacific Rim brings a bit more to the screen. Guillermo del Toro crafts awesome and unique designs for the Jaegers and the kaiju, while establishing a futuristic world that isn't all shiny and new. It's lived-in, with massive crowds and Hong Kong slums reminiscent of Blade Runner. Interestingly, it also briefly explores how the global political economy would change if sea monsters really did attack. Notable performances include Ron Perlman plays a rough, eccentric black market boss that harvests and sells kaiju parts for profit. Charlie Day (from It's Always Sunny ) plays a Rick Moranis-type geek scientist obsessed with the kaiju, providing some comic relief and keeping the movie from taking itself too seriously. Sure, the characterization isn't very deep, but it's enough to make you care and hope that they can win. It's fun, and you want them to survive together rather than die alone.
That being said, Pacific Rim does have its flaws. Some of the science is a bit odd .the Jaegers require two pilots to neurally connect to each other and the droid through a "mental drift" in order to be successfully operated. (Uhh .yeah, sure).In our present era of drone programs and nuclear weapons, it seems a bit odd that they chose to make giant robots instead, but hey, it creates a need for the characters to connect in order to operate the machines. But anyways, Raleigh ends up choosing a young Japanese woman named Mako to be his new copilot. Mako is a bright scientist who, as a young girl, lived through kaiju terror that left her alone and with a vendetta.Her connection to Raleigh and the Jaeger piloting program is rocky at first, but it works in the end.
All in all, I recommend Pacific Rim. It's a fun visual effects experience that has just enough depth to make you care about the characters and the fate of their world. Don't get me wrong, it isn't going to win any Oscars for the screenplay or the acting, but it's original, entertaining, and it sure as hell deserves to make more money than Grown Ups 2. That's right, a crappy Adam Sandler comedy sequel is currently ahead of this visual effects marvel. So go see Pacific Rim, it's a great thrill ride and it deserves better than getting cast off as another Transformers movie.
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