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.
