Movie Review #50: Pacific Rim (2013)

When I saw the first trailer for Pacific Rim, I thought it looked like Transformers verses the Cloverfield monster. After now seeing the film, it is nothing like Transformers at all. These robots make Transformers look like ants!

Pacific Rim is directed by Guillermo del Toro whose has directed both the Hellboy films. I personally love the Hellboy films and I like his directorial style because he uses a lot of great makeup and effects. He understands how to blend CGI with practical effects in a way that doesn't look fake or cheap.

In Pacific Rim, giant monsters known as Kaiju have emerged from a rift in the Pacific Ocean. The only way to defeat them is to fight them with massive robots called Jaegers that are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds have melded together and locked in a neural bridge. If you don't understand what I just said, then watch the movie. They explain it far better than I ever could and the way they show it is really cool.

Instead of going on and on about the Jaegers and Kaiju, I'm going to talk about the wide cast of characters because even though we went to see robots fighting monsters, it's the characters that get us invested in the story and the matter at hand.

Our main character is played by Charlie Hunnam and even though he was kind of generic, he was likable enough and you bought him as the hero. But anyone could have played his character. His co-pilot played by Rinko Kikuchi is far more interesting. Her character was really cool, sweet tough and adorable. Idris Elba gave the best performance by far. He plays the general in charge of the Jaeger Program and he gives the Bill Pullman speech from Independence Day which was awesome. There are these two scientists played by Charlie Day and Burn Gorman who are basically the comic relief but they actually serve a purpose to the plot. Charlie Day's character was one of my favorite parts of the film.

But the best part of the film are the action sequences. The visuals are astounding to say the least. The fights are also well shot. It isn't like watching Transformers: Dark of the Moon, you can actually tell what is going on during the epic fights.

Final Report: The human aspect might not be incredibly deep but let's face it, we didn't go to see this movie for the human aspect. We went to this to see giant robots fight giant monsters in all their giant glory. Pacific Rim is a jaw-dropping spectacle that must be witnessed on the big screen.