Pop Journal: Pacific Rim

Pacific Rim (MOVIE / 2013)

This is a movie that is all about execution. Not the killing kind, but the kind of execution that will make something that you've already seen before seem like new. This movie hits all of the beats that you would expect a summer tentpole feature to hit, and yet I was enjoying myself the entire time.



Pacific Rim is the latest in a line of Guillermo Del Toro films that show he has a better understanding of what his audience wants than any other director. There is absolutely not one ounce of self importance in this movie, it is meant to be a work of enjoyment.
Even while rousing speeches are being given, you never feel like the director is making a statement about current affairs or making an absurd analogy. It's fun, and you can tell the actors had fun in it.

The cast was great from the ground up, with the only real soft spot coming in the form of Rinko Kikuchi's Miss Mori. Where Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba and Charlie Day stand out, Rinko feels deadpan and lifeless. We are led to believe there is an immediate spark between Hunnam's Raleigh and Mori, yet Mori delivers lines in a way that you can't tell if it's love or friendship. There is also a great "gimmick" in the movie that allows the film to have a deeper human element with co-pilots working together, instead of the disconnect I'm sure I would have felt if it was one pilot.

But let's face it, you're probably coming to this movie to see giant robots beat up giant monsters... you will not be disappointed. Coming from the special effects team (ILM) that did Transformers, Pacific Rims robots feel much more weighty and massive. The Monsters all have a similar look to them, but you can tell ILM looked to old Japanese movies for inspiration, and not the more recent crop of unnecessarily complicated baddies (I'm looking at you "Super 8" and Cloverfield).

Everything works here. You laugh, cheer and awe when they want you to, and not in a bad way. You get what you paid for, while also giving your inner 8 year old a real treat.