Review: Pacific Rim (2013)
Cast: Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Country: USA
Genre: Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi
Official Trailer: Here
Editor’s Notes: Pacific Rim is now open in wide release.
Robots and monsters! Or rather Kaiju and Jaegers. It’s all very fantastical and bombastic, but here’s the thing: let’s say you’re a really well known and loved director and you instinctually know how to create the equivalent of a stylish wrestling pop in film. Guillermo de Toro is no stranger to awe inspiring visuals with Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy or The Devil’s Backbone. It was with a bit of hesitancy though that I went to see Pacific Rim. I am a giant monster movie fan (the original Godzilla and King Kong scared the hell out of me as a kid, but at the same time I watched them with relish), I was skeptical thinking del Toro might intellectualize the genre, but went into the theatre basically expecting what I wanted: a big old monster fight.
Guillermo de Toro is no stranger to awe inspiring visuals with Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy or The Devil’s Backbone.
I’m happy to say that it delivered.
A dimensional rift has released monsters, Kaiju from within Earth’s ocean. The Jaegers are robots controlled by two humans linked through a technological/neurological bridge called The Drift.
The battles are huge and bloodless (much like summer’s earlier blockbuster Man Of Steel) and (unlike Man of Steel) are completely satisfying. I particularly appreciated that del Toro stuck with the tradition of basic wrestling moves for the fight scenes. Not only that, but with each Kaiju being different, there was a chance to showcase tiny tributes to King Kong (Otachi pounding the ground with rage), Godzilla (Mutavore breaks through Brisbane, Australia’s wall and stomps through the city), and Rodan (Otachi the flying Kaiju).
The cast with Charlie Hunman, Idris Elba, and Rinko Kikuchi, all look like they’re having fun with the with what they’re given, especially since it’s less setting and more green screen. The script itself has something left to be desired, but then again, when I watch a movie about monsters versus robots, I’m not really looking for a thought provoking analysis on the existential state of the world. There definitely could have been more word play or subversive dialogue in it for the adults. However, when thinking of the genre: monster flicks such as these, are expected to have a few things: a cocky hero (Hunnam), a headstrong love interest (Rinko Kikuchi), wise old man (Idris Elba), the awkward, bumbling scientists (Charlie Day, Burn Gorman), oversized toys and special effects. Of course, King Kong is the exception here since it was really a statement about the way humanity deals with the unknown and its confrontation of humanity’s own animalistic urges. The graphic novel deals with those issues and it is glossed over here in the prologue. I feel if they had explored that it would have suffered from a case of extreme set up.
The script itself has something left to be desired, but then again, when I watch a movie about monsters versus robots, I’m not really looking for a thought provoking analysis on the existential state of the world.
The Ramin Djawdi score does what its supposed to do, but I wonder if any Hollywood entertainment flick can survive without the Inception-like “BRONG!” these days. The soundtrack is great on it’s own even hinting to the Transformer’s theme song in parts eliciting a childlike wonder in its audience. C’mon there’s really no need to “BRONG!” when you already have an intergalactic battle with cosmic titans!
Pacific Rim is a bang up blockbuster mind escape; one that, visually, it never stops giving. It’s like being placed in the robots that you used to have fight against each other as a kid.
79/100 ~ GOOD. Pacific Rim is a bang up blockbuster mind escape; one that, visually, it never stops giving.
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Jacqueline Valencia
Staff Film CriticI'm a published writer, illustrator, and film critic. Cinema has been a passion of mine since my first viewing of Milius' Conan the Barbarian and my film tastes go from experimental to modern blockbuster.
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