I just want to start by saying this: I will always be a fan of giant CGI robots. There has never been, and never will be, a film involving them that won’t leave me feeling like a hyper nine-year-old. And if you don’t believe me, then here’s the proof: unlike an overwhelming percentage of the population, I found all three Transformers movies highly enjoyable. Although that could also be because I’ve had a love for the entire franchise since I was seven.
Point is, there was never a possibility that I wasn’t going to like Pacific Rim. I mean, come on- it’s a film about robots twatting monsters in the face. The only way it couldn’t have earned its place in my heart was if all the monsters turned out to be sparkly Robert Pattinson in a suit. So what will follow is a very biased review from a person that could not have not enjoyed this movie. And yes, that does make sense.
Pacific Rim follows the story of Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam), a pilot of one of the massive fighting machines called ‘Jaegers’, which were created by humanity to fend off the attacks of huge aliens (called ‘Kaiju’) that emerge from an underwater portal located on- you got it- the Pacific Rim. Jaegers are controlled by two pilots, whose minds are connected through the machine’s computers (voiced by Ellen McLain, who also voiced the homicidal robot GlaDos in the Portal videogame series) through ‘neural drifting’, in order to perform more coordinated movements. Becket originally piloted the Gipsy Danger Jaeger with his brother Yancy (Diego Klattenhoff), but when he’s killed during a Kaiju fight off the shore of Alaska- which also heavily damages the Gipsy Danger- Becket just manages to pilot the Jaeger to the mainland before collapsing.
Five years later, and the Jaeger program is being shut down as it struggles to cope with the Kaiju, which appear to be adapting to fight the humans every time they come through the portal. As a last resort, Commander Pentecost (Idris Elba)- the officer presiding over the Jaeger program- finds Becket in Alaska, and brings him to Hong Kong, where the machines will take on their final mission: protecting the city as its defensive wall is finished. Here he meets the pilots of the three other Jaegers still in working order- Herc and Chuck Hansen (Max Martini and Robert Kazinsky) of the Striker Eureka, the Wei Tang triplets (Charles, Lance and Mark Luu) of the three-armed Crimson Typhoon, and Lt.s Kaidanovsky (Robert Maillet and Heather Doerksen) of the oldest surviving Jaeger, Cherno Alpha. He also meets Newton Geiszler (Charlie Day) and Hermann Gottlieb (Burn Gorman), two scientists working with Kaiju brains to try and understand them better. Becket also finds his new co-pilot for the rebuilt Gypsy Danger in Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi), Pentecost’s adopted daughter. Then, as the Jaegers are deployed to fight two new Kaiju, and Newton tries to find a whole Kaiju brain to drift with (with the help of black-market dealer Hannibal Chau, played by Ron Perlman)… well, some robots twat some monsters in the face.
Now, this may all sound like your generic smash’n’crash sci-fi film. And, to a large extent, it is. The Jaegers and Kaiju are gloriously detailed and realistic, and the fights are exciting and extended. There’s explosions and missiles and aliens crushing large cities.
And yet there’s also a level of emotion you wouldn’t expect from such a film- perhaps it’s the acting talent of Elba, Hunnam and Kikuchi, who form the beating heart of the story. Or maybe it’s because Guillermo del Torro directed the film; I got the feeling that if, say, Michael Bay or J.J. Abrams had been in charge, then that emotional aspect wouldn’t have been there. But there it was, and it was refreshing.
If I had to find one gripe with Pacific Rim, it would be that the Geiszler/Gottlieb pairing, which is quite obviously intended to be humorous, does rather fall flat on its face in that respect. Indeed, they are the characters which feel the least… fleshed-out, believable- nothing to do with the acting, more the way they’re written.
Oh, and a lot of people talk way too fast in this film, which is quite frustrating when they’re explaining what will turn out to be a crucial plot point.
And the music and sound effects very nearly drown out the dialogue in places, which creates the same issue.
Also, some lines- particularly in the latter half of the film- are so cheesy you could grate them up and serve them on a pizza.
… Okay, so there are a few issues with Pacific Rim. But I’m going to completely disregard all of them, because I bloody loved this film. As I knew I would.
It delivered everything I wanted from it, and everything I expected from a film of this type. It was essentially Transformers vs. Godzilla- and what’s not to like about that?
If you want a film with tearjerking moments and passionate exchanges of romantic feelings, then this movie is not what you’re looking for. You’re probably better off renting Pride and Prejudice on Netflix or something.
But if you want big robots, big aliens and big fun, then Pacific Rim is definitely the film for you.