I'm reviewing Pacific Rim to tie in with the release of its sequel, Pacific Rim: Uprising. Since March is almost over, I'm going to ahead and fill you in on the reviews you can expect to see through April, but I've made some changes to the previously outlined schedule because my finals are the same week that Avengers: Infinity War will be released. In order to get that review out as soon as possible for my readers, I'm easing my schedule by not reviewing anything else that week. Now that that's all cleared up, reviews you'll likely see through April include Throwback Thursday Reviews of Jurassic Park, Ocean's Eleven (2001), and The Avengers, a Triple-R for Avengers: Age of Ultron, and new reviews of Pacific Rim: Uprising, Ready Player One, Isle of Dogs, A Quiet Place, Rampage, and Avengers: Infinity War.
'Pacific Rim' Review
Pacific Rim thrusts audiences into a far-flung future where humanity has been besieged by monstrous sea creatures called Kaiju. As the beasts emerged from a dimensional rift in the Pacific Ocean, mankind developed massive robot fighting machines to combat the Kaiju. These mechs, dubbed Jaegers, were designed to be piloted by two humans locked together in a neural bridge. However, even with weaponized robots at their disposal, humanity's efforts to extinguish the Kaiju three has proved futile. As the Kaiju approach for their final strike, a former pilot and untrained trainee pair up to pilot an old, obsolete Jaeger in a last ditch effort to save the world from an impending apocalypse.
Pacific Rim is helmed by the recent Academy Award winning director Guillermo del Toro with a screenplay co-written by del Toro and Travis Beacham. When perusing through del Toro's filmography, you'll quickly take notice that he has a knack for spearheading creature-features so it only makes sense that he would have felt drawn to a blockbuster of this nature. It's about robots fighting sea creatures after all... Which is precisely why he was the perfect fit for the project.
Del Toro's passion seeps through every frame thanks to the exceptional work of cinematographer Guillermo Navarro and the various visual effects artists at del Toro's disposal. They each ensure the neon-infused atmosphere envisioned by del Toro was executed to the fullest. When researching the film to see if it was nominated for any Oscars, I was shocked to learn it wasn't nominated for Best Visual Effects in 2013 because I was sure it would have been, and it certainly should have been. Beyond its impressive visuals, Pacific Rim also features an epic score composed by Ramin Djawadi and some solid performances. However, the film falls a little short in the story department.
Despite a clear effort to establish the core characters as empathetic individuals, they weren't fully fleshed out enough for me to invest myself completely in their struggle. Sure, I want humanity to emerge triumphant... But not for anything the characters did to draw my interest. Mainly because I too am human. Most of the characters are little more than two-dimensional avatars when all is said-and-done because so many of them lack a personality. With all that being said, it's difficult to fault del Toro considering he's well aware that this is a "B" monster movie all about sheer spectacle.
For every criticism I could conjure for Pacific Rim, I'm able to come up with at least twenty more reasons why Pacific Rim is awesome as an action-oriented blockbuster. The concept behind it all is incredibly interesting, the Kaiju and Jaeger designs are unique, and the fight sequences are incredible. It's just the characters and story that are lacking.
Leading the rock 'em sock 'em ensemble are Charlie Hunnam and Rinko Kikuchi, who each imbue their characters with the essential attributes. Hunnam portrays Raleigh as a loose cannon while Kikuchi's Mako is a troubled trainee. Even though they fit their respective roles well, I've never quite bought their romantic connection as there's not much chemistry between the two of them. The romance then feels forced into the narrative for the sake of including one.
Meanwhile, Charlie Day and Burn Gorman play a pair of eccentric geniuses whose silly side quest seems to be a contrived scheme to obtain pertinent information. Other cast members deserving of a shout out include Ron Perlman, Max Martini, and Robert Kazinski who all manage to make a unique impact with varying screen time.
Despite adhering to the nuts-and-bolts of a traditional "B" monster movie, Pacific Rim remains an exciting popcorn movie that will scratch your itch to watch gigantic Jaegers punch it out with enormous Kaiju. While it underwhelms on a storytelling level, the interested audience members probably weren't even asking for that to begin with.
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