Friday, July 19, 2013

Pacific Rim: A Blockbuster Knockout With The Power To Keep All Previous Giant Robot Movies At 'Bay!'


"We're no longer an army - we're the resistance." - Stacker

Guillermo del Toro sure loves his trans-dimensional beings. That's the idea behind the conflict of this latest big-budget blockbuster - assembling the classic giant monsters of Japanese creation (the Kaiju) and breathing new life into them. That leaves us, puny humans left to figure out what to do about these creatures. When faced with extinction, we're given tough choices to make. Do we fly or fight? Lie down, surrender, or pick up the hammer as we stand back up? It's an ageless tale that we've already heard, but we've certainly never seen it portrayed like this. The film may take its punches from the classic summer movie playbook, but Pacific Rim is a solid blockbuster knockout with the story and power to keep all previous giant robot movies at 'Bay.'

 Mankind was winning the war against the giant sea monsters, known as Kaiju, until the new arrivals started to become stronger, starting to adapt to our Jaegers, giant mechas that require the neurological link (or handshake) of two human pilots. Raleigh Becket was one such pilot, linked to his brother, making an unstoppable team until a new breed of Kaiju entered the rift and yanked his brother away. Years later, the Jaeger project is being shut down as they are being destroyed faster than they can be built. Without the government's support, a new plan is devised - take out the rift at its source, meaning the director of the Jaeger program must rely on any remaining (or surviving) resources. Raleigh will need a new partner first - and Mako is not what he expected.

I'll admit, the idea of giant robots has always fascinated me as a kid, growing up with the likes of Robotech, Voltron, and Gundam (if you're asking about Power Rangers, please don't). Having an idea of what I was getting myself into, I was confident that I would enjoy this movie while expecting nothing new from its storyline. And that's fine. You go to a movie about giant robots fighting giant monsters and you get a movie about giant robots fighting giant monsters. It's not rocket science. This expectation meant everything would end well, even if all the cool characters are killed off or they sacrifice themselves for the cause or the greater good - nothing new here.

The execution, however, is able to override the predictability factor with waves of awe when these massive, majestic mechs take to the screen, filling our eyeballs with "two thousand and five hundred tons of awesome!" The symbiotic match up against these giant monsters is a feast of wanton destruction. Iron fists, handfuls of freighters, and cargo ships used as baseball bats is only a lonely corner in this outrageously entertaining boxing ring, and the concept of two pilots sharing each other's brain takes trust and reliably issues to a whole other level. Throw a wink and a nod by Ron Perlman, music from Iron Man's Ramin Djawadi, and the emotional dilemma portrayed by the lovely Rinko Kikuchi and you have a classic mech story on your hands.

And if I may be so bold, one of the best - or the best mech story ever made. Try watching other live-action mech movies from the past and try not to laugh - that is, if you can find them ...

Pacific Rim isn't the kind of film that requires a brain to see, but it has enough heart and decent enough performances to drop our suspension of disbelief. Action reigns supreme in this picture, in what may undoubtedly be the sleeper summer hit we've been waiting for. With several mech movies planned in the not too distant future, it's easy to see why del Toro jumped in first.

Cosmic Cruller Rating:
What's your take on giant mechs? Are they awesome or overblown? What's the best way to deal with giant monsters?

I'm David, and today ... we're cancelling the apocalypse! 

27 comments:

  1. It had enough wow factor and giddy moments that I was sold. Jaw dropping action.

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  2. I loved it. It's really irritating it didn't do better at the box office in America.

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  3. I love robots too, hubs and I plan to see this. We live in the Pacific Rim area (Vancouver BC) but looks like this movie kept the monsters and such away from our city.

    I've read a few mech stories and always get sucked in. Robots and their possibilities are endless. Not big on the monsters, but go Robots!!

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  4. I LOVED this movie and my nephew did as well. I do't think our jaws closed the entire time. I'm all ready for a the sequel. Can I just say I love the way you gave a little snarky aside to Michael Bay?

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  5. I enjoyed it. A pleasant surprise of a movie.

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  6. This movie was amazing...had me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end!
    I can't begin to understand why it didn't do much better in America though...:/

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  7. Haven't seen it yet but am planning on it. Yep, I'm a sucker for giant robots and all those other wonderful things :)

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  8. I think we may be headed to see this tonight--hubby love del Torro--so thanks for the review! I'll admit I was a little "giant robots flattening a city...again?" when I saw the preview, but sounds like it'll be much better :)

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  9. Huzzah! I've seen it a bunch of times now. But yeah...it's so good.

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  10. You know, I've heard really great things about this. I'm sold!
    Thanks for the solid review, David! I hope all is well with you and yours!

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  11. I swear I must be the only one to not have heard of this, but I just saw it on two blogs today. Can you tell I don't watch much TV? lol

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  12. My son still has all his Robotech and Voltron VHS from when he was a kid. Haven't seen Pacific Rim but I hear lots of good stuff.

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  13. Giant Mechs are awesome and Hollywood is finally figuring that out. Television did a long time ago with Gundam and Megas XLR (which might be making a comeback). Glad you enjoyed the movie and I so need to see it.

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  14. I'm going to go see "Pacific Rim" as soon as my husband watches "A Walk to Remember". That's mean, huh? Don't judge me...I'm taking him to see "The Wolverine" without any strings!

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  15. I enjoyed Pacific Rim. It's the most surprising film I've seen this year thus far!

    My friends including YOU, DPK, had to convince me to see it on the big screen. ;)

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  16. I can't wait to watch Pacific Rim, your review has me even more excited now!

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  17. Haven't seen it yet but will do if I can!

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  18. I didn't love it, but I did like it. I was the only girl at my grade school that loved Godzilla movies, so I ate up the monsters in Pacific Rim.

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  19. Square-cube law be damned, this movie looks great. As long as it's good enough, the believability bar can be lowered a little.

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  20. I wouldn't expect this movie to have much depth but that's okay, the action sounds great.

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  21. I'm glad that this manages to be a great movie, despite the predictability. I love the sound of it and can't wait to see it now. Thanks for the brilliant and helpful review!

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  22. I'm looking forward to seeing it!

    Allison (Geek Banter)

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  23. I wasn't really interested in this but I've been hearing a lot of good reviews for it. I may end up checking it out.

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  24. I seem to remember a giant mech in POWER RANGERS -- unfortunately, that's been my only exposure so far.

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  25. my boys saw that, and loved it. def a guys' manly movie!

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  26. Haven't seen it yet, but it's definitely on my list.

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