Pacific Rim

It was a curious thing being on line for certain Hollywood programmers in summer 2013, mediocre stuff like 2 Guns or White House Down that neither impressed nor offended too much, and then the split in hearing some other folks talking about Pacific Rim and how awful it looked.

Perhaps I came to it with a small chip on the shoulder – this is THE Guillermo mother-flipping del Toro, after all, a man who has created dark, supremely designed imaginations with Pan's Labyrinth and the Hellboy movies, and here he is getting to take on stuff he loves in a completely B-movie landscape: gnarly monsters, giant robots, comic-book stakes, and action with some substance. And Pacific Rim, for what it set out to accomplish as a sensational blockbuster, reached its aims for what I wanted. When taken in total, it may not have much more or less action than a Man of Steel, but it is much smarter, or just more creative and skilled and knowing of its audience, in layering out its action set pieces, and even in the broad strokes it takes as, basically, a B-level Saturday matinée flick. Del Toro cares about these characters, or at least tries to, deep down, and can show some of that like with the Asian pilot Mako Maori.

Is any of this deep? I'm still not sure. Does it need to be an artistic meditation on the cancelling of the apocalypse? Maybe another watch or two of five - because there will always be a part of me that can keep a hold on to an inner 13 year old - will bring that into focus. And aside from the monsters-and-robot work, which contains such good sights to behold, weight and depth to the designs, and the know-how to pace the action and to let us see it – in 2D, anyway, I didn't bother with 3D so I can't speak to that experience – there's some just good fun dialog (Charlie Day! Ron Perlman!!) and a sense that, 'Yes, this is a Godzilla experience, but we can still make it EXCITING'. So much of what I wanted this summer and only got in smaller doses (look at the end of the article for a bit on that) was in full-bloom in this production, which had a 190 million budget and the money looked like it was up on the screen, and not just in the CG but in the big sets and technology, and a story told by a Big Kid that would only hope the rest of the audience can genuinely feel like Big Kids if they aren't young already.

In other words, the director accomplished what Michael Bay has, over and over again, failed to do: inspire wonder, and put some basic thought into the process itself, in story and craft, and without a large dollop of cynicism.

PACIFIC RIM is Guillermo del Toro's tribute to the kaiju and Japanese sci-fi movies of his youth; you know, the ones involving giant monsters trashing cities and huge robots sent out to protect mankind. I had an inkling he wanted to make this movie after the giant plant creature in HELLBOY 2; well, now he has.

And this is a lot of fun, a decent popcorn flick for a change and a film that's well made enough to erase memories of the disappointing TRANSFORMERS movies. It's a great Hollywood tribute to Japanese cinema, filled with all of the wonderful effects and super-sized action that you'd hope for. Del Toro is one of those directors who hasn't made a bad film yet; you can always rely on him for entertainment.

Sure, the stuff with the human characters isn't as interesting as the giant stuff. But at least we get plenty of British actors in the cast (Burn Gorman, Idris Elba, Rob Kazinsky, Charlie Hunnam) which keeps it fresh and interesting. The CGI effects are excellent, as you'd expect, and while the storyline is very predictable, that's not the point. The point is to deliver huge bouts of destructive action, and that's what del Toro does. And it's a lot of fun.

I usually don't watch action films. They just aren't my sort of thing. However, my daughter insisted that I watch "Pacific Rim" and I was feeling absolutely horrible when I watched the film, as I had just gone through some painful surgery that morning. So, to take my mind off my aches, I gave it a try. And, thankfully, it turned out to be exactly the sort of tonic I needed--entertaining and crazy fun. While I didn't see it in the theater (the best way to see this type of movie), I did see it on a very large screen at home and watching it on a small screen is practically a waste of time. For once, I loved that a film has eye- popping visuals, explosions and action--and it manages to deliver an entertaining experience without leaving you feeling dumb for having enjoyed it--a problem too often associated with movie of this style. Well worth your time.

This film starts of with a monologue that explains in twenty seconds how big monsters start appearing from the sea and destroying everything. The only defence against them is to kick their heads in with massive robots. Cool! Starting so quickly out the blocks I expected this to be a fast paced action movie.

It really isn't. About every film element ever used, runs its course before the inevitable big battle. You get a fall from grace, a rivalry, a training period, a love story, forgiveness, reconciliation, etc. etc.

The battle sequences are epic, the monsters and robots are amazing, Kids especially will love them, and the action goes on and on.

The dialogue is cheesier and hammier than a 60 foot pizza monsters, and coupled with the extended scope of this film can make watching it gruelling if you are not instantly gripped.

This will keep any kids gripped for hours (nearly three of them) but if sci-fi isn't your thing get comfy and bring a pillow.

Pacific Rim really surprised me when it was first released in 2013. My initial thought was that this was just gunna end up being another movie about Colossal sized monsters similar to Cloverfield or Godzilla only with a Hollywood big budget and while it shares some similarities to Godzilla it does stand out on it's own with it's unique monsters and awsome robots plus with the movie being directed by Guillermo del Toro it has a unique style to it that only Guillermo del Toro can bring to a movie.

Pacific Rims story isn't a particularly complicated one but it's certainly got some interesting ideas. When the world is invaded by Colossal sized creatures known as Kaijus mankind bands together creating a defence against the Kaiju in the form of Colossal sized battle robots known as Jaegers each unique in style and armed to the teeth which are each piloted by two pilots who control the robot via neural interfaces the only problem is both pilots must be drift compatible meaning they have to be to link minds and create a stable neural link to be able to control the Jaeger during this both pilots share each other's memorys, feelings and thoughts. The Kaiju begin appearing faster than Jaegers can be assembled so with time running out before there are more Kaijus than Jaegers to fight them the last few remaining pilots prepare for a final assault on the portal the Kaijus are coming from.

The movie is like a mix between Godzilla and Power Rangers only a lot more adult and with much better effects. The Jaeger robots look amazing especially when fighting against the Kaiju monsters. There's plenty of cool action scenes which show the Kaiju monsters being shot, blown up, punched by robot rocket fists and even decapitations.

The characters are likable and interesting my favourite characters personally are the two mad scientists who dissect and study the Kaijus while they are meant to be the kind of comic relief of the movie they are very funny and likable both arguing over scientific theories and trying to prove each over wrong.

I highly recommend watching this movie if your a fan of movies that feature Colossal sized monsters crashing through city's while fighting with Colosal sized robots with swords, guns and rocket fists. This isn't a movie intended for kids in case your wondering this movie is definitely for a more mature audience even though the synopsis for the movie sounds like it was made for kids who watch Transformers cartoons.