Pacific Rim

 

Guillermo del Toro is my absolute favourite director - the man has never made a bad film.

I did raise my eyebrows after reading the plot summary for Pacific Rim but I kept the faith.  My reward was a ridiculously exciting trailer.  To say that anticipation levels were through the roof would be an understatement.

PLOT:   Giant monsters known as the Kaiju enter earth through a portal deep in the Pacific Ocean.  Nations across the globe pool their resources and build giant robots to combat the monsters.  As the Jaeger project appears to be failing funding is terminated and the remaining robots are transferred to Hong Kong to protect the city until a wall around it can be completed.  Unfortunately for mankind as the Jaeger project is winding down the Kaiju increase their attacks.  END PLOT

The hardest part of blogging is writing a short and snappy synopsis.  It is a skill I lack as exhibited above.  The storyline of Pacific Rim sounds ridiculous so I can understand why smart arses are calling it Power Rangers vs Godzilla.  It goes without saying that the film is better than this.

The opening section explains the initial invasion of the Kaiju and the development of the Jaeger.  The technology is advanced but the exposition is kept simple – this works as less is always more when keeping movie science grounded.

This was a rare occasion when I did not have the option for a 3D viewing and in my typical contrariness I wouldn’t have minded it as the effects and set pieces were absolutely stunning.  I was like an open mouthed, wide eyed kid on Christmas Day during the action scenes.  I haven’t felt like this in the cinema in a long time – everything I was watching felt fresh and brand new.

The balance between CGI mayhem and human emotion was perfect.  There were a few scenes which struck an emotional chord with the "red shoe" sequence being my favourite part of the film.  The outcome of the flashback was not shocking but it flowed perfectly.

In a film with lavish CGI effects it is easy for the human element to become lost but luckily Pacific Rim had a decent mixture of characters.  The characterisation may have been a little clichéd but Idris Elba, Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day and the supporting actors all gave very strong performances.   Ron Perlman, del Toro’s go to actor, had a small roll and was having a blast.

Guillermo del Toro read the “how to make a successful action film” manual and followed the instructions to the letter.   It isn’t del Toro’s best film and the screenplay isn’t going to win any awards but Pacific Rim is the perfect summer blockbuster.  

Pacific Rim gets 9.5/10 – my heart wants to give it a perfect 10/10 but the daddy clichés are stopping me.