It’s monsters vs. battle robots in “Pacific Rim.” Two reviews by J.P. and Richard.
“WARNER BROS. PICTURES AND LEGENDARY PICTURES PACIFIC RIM”
Warner Bros. Pictures / Legendary Pictures
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for “sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence throughout, and brief language”
Run Time: 131 minutes
Studio Synopsis:
From acclaimed filmmaker Guillermo del Toro comes the sci-fi action adventure “Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures Pacific Rim.”
When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity’s resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are synched via a neural bridge, called “The Drift.” But as the enemy grows more powerful with each attack, even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju.
On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes—a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi)—who are teamed to drive a seemingly obsolete Jaeger. Together, they stand asmankind’s last hope against the mounting apocalypse.
“Pacific Rim” stars Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, Rob Kazinsky, Max Martini, Clifton Collins, Jr., Burn Gorman, and Ron Perlman.
Oscar® nominee Guillermo del Toro (“Pan’s Labyrinth”) directed the film from a screenplay by Travis Beacham and del Toro, story by Beacham. Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni, del Toro and Mary Parent produced the film, with Callum Greene serving as executive producer and Jillian Zaks co-producing.
Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures present a Legendary Pictures/DDY Production, a Guillermo del Toro film. The film will be released in 2D and 3D in select theaters and IMAX®, and will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5guMumPFBag’]
J.P.’s Take:
What writer/director Guillermo Del Toro and writer Travis Beacham have created here with “Pacific Rim,” is a modern day mythology. It’s evident that the Del Toro/Beacham combo has a knack for great storytelling, while Del Toro’s fondness for the Mecha/Fantasy genre shines through the film’s visuals. Watching this “Godzilla” vs. “Robots Jox” action machine brings to mind epic battle scenes found in movies such as “Clash of the Titans” or “Jason and the Argonaughts.” Special effects wizard Ray Harryhausen masterfully brought those fantasies to life. I can even recall watching Japanese creature features “Godzilla” or “Rodan,” directed by the brilliant Ishirō Honda, which stick out in my mind vividly. Off hand, those two names are mentioned in tribute at the very end of “Pacific Rim.” I can clearly see those influences on Del Toro’s creation; only his world is presented in hyper futuristic 3D. Don’t let the trailers fool you into thinking “PR” is all eye candy … what’s equally impressive is the in depth storyline.
You have all the makings of a classic mythos, as you behold gargantuan sea creatures called Kaiju – which in Japanese means “strange creature” – stream from a hellish realm beneath the Pacific Ocean. Years ago, the Kaiju first attacked the human populous — leveling cities even countries around the world. With each ghastly encounter, the Kaijus evolve into cleverer, monstrous and ferocious beasts. These are strange creatures indeed: some having six arms with bright glowing eyes and body markings. In a couple of scenes, you’ll witness sharp clawed beasts that can ravage metal armor. Others can spit highly acidic saliva. You’ll be overwhelmed by moments where national monuments and structures are struck down by these colossal creatures.
What drew me further into the film was the explanation given for the yin/yang relationship the pilots have with robotic machines called Jaegers. Conventional military methods have proven unsuccessful over time and thus the Jaeger project was born. Humanity is able to fight back utilizing these robotic skyscraping brutes, which are like giant marionettes. An unique approach is taken in motivating these massive machines, because the Jaegers are too big to operate by a single pilot. A coordinated effort from two pilots is required, while sharing in both physical and mental responsibly to drive them. To access weaponry or take evasive actions, one pilot is responsible for the left hemisphere of the brain. A second pilot is responsible for the right, creating a neural bridge between the two lobes. There is a bit more of a detailed explanation of how this all comes together as the film trains on.
Aside from the awesome effects there is a human story here as well. The characters provide an emotional anchor to the plot, as they carry out a theme of togetherness. Through out the movie the relationship dynamic reoccurs in many incidences. Commanding Officer Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba) takes a fatherly approach to a vulnerable Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi) as he seems very protective of her. Jaeger pilot Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam) and his brother Yancy Becket (Diego Klattenhoff) were a solid team, until Yancy was tragically killed in battle. Now Raleigh feels as though no one can replace him as a pilot. Gottlieb (Burn Gorman) and Newton Geiszler (Charlie Day) are two scientists who have two different opinions on how to defeat the Kaiju. Yet in the midst of the Kaiju/Jaeger war, they realize that a meeting of the minds will end the war. Ron Pearlman as Hannibal Chou is another character to pay attention to. Again there’s plenty more that you just have to see for yourself.
By the end of the movie I was highly satisfied with the result. “Pacific Rim” basically blows many sci-fi film of today out of the water. I may have to go back a second or even a third time — that’s how good I thought it was.
[youtuber youtube=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8pru0Pc0go’]
Richard’s Take:
Watching “Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures Pacific Rim” (that is how the studios want the film to be titled) felt like revisiting an old–fashion Japanese monster movie…of course, with an extremely higher budget. Think of Godzilla and his monster friends destroying cities, and then the humans trying to stop the building tall creatures with their own 90-story battle droids.
The story is set in the 2020’s, where Earth is being attacked by monsters called Kaijus (according to Wikipedia, a Japanese word that literally translates to “strange creature,” but lately universally translated and defined into English as “monster” or “giant monster”). To combat these large creatures, humans have created large robot-looking, humanoid machines called Jaegers, which requires two “drivers” or pilots that are linked together to control the action.
Directed by Guillermo del Toro (“Blade II,” “Hellboy”) with a screenplay by del Toro and Travis Beacham (graphic novel prequel “Pacific Rim: Tales From Year Zero”), the film opens with the Kaiju creatures already attacking Earth (San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge is one of the first man made landmarks to be destroy). “Top Gun” pilots Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam, TV’s “Sons of Anarchy,”) and his brother Yancy (Diego Klattenhoff) take their Jaeger called Gipsy Danger to witness a Kaiju at the Alaskan coastline. Against orders by their commanding officer, the brothers attack the creature, with a fatal outcome for Yancy.
Flash forward, more Kaiju creatures come to Earth via a portal beneath the Pacific Ocean and have become better adapted in fighting the Jaegers. The governments of the world, who have since united, are dissatisfied with the Jaegers service and have decided to end the program. To bring glory to the program one last time, Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba, TV’s “Luther”), the commander of Jaeger forces, decides to bring back a still grieving and traumatized Raleigh to the fold. The rest of the film’s plot focus on the pilots training for the pending battles and Raleigh working with his new co-pilot, Mako Mori (Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi, “Babel”), a trouble woman with nightmares over a previous Kaijus attack when she was younger.
In another subplot that is meant for humorist-styled moments, scientists Newton Geizler (Charlie Day, TV’s “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) and his colleague Hermann Gottlieb (Burn Gorman, TV’s “Torchwood”) have been studying Kaijus, and Geizler has created a device that can link with a Kaiju brain. Needing another brain to experiment with, Geizler searches for Hannibal Chau (Ron Perlman, “Hellboy”), a black market mobster, who has been trading illegal Kaiju body parts.
Scenes of the Kaijus destroying cities give you the same feeling of watching Godzilla, Mothra, and other popular creatures from the Japanese cinema, while the humanoid Jaegers battle machines have the close resemblance to “Transformers,” the animated “Robotech,” and the old Japanese and the USA Mattel toy, Shogun Warriors (anybody remember those?). Pilots in the Jaegers are similar to the “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” controlling the action in their enormous Megazord. Likewise, I also felt the film has some campiness in it with its actors, like the legendary “Starship Troopers” did. Out of the cast, Alba and Perlman are the standouts in the film, with a nice choice in adding a Japanese actress as the lead female role.
Surprisingly, I have to say I enjoyed “Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures Pacific Rim.” Because I grew up with the classic “Godzilla” films, the $190 million budgeted feature was simply a fun and loud ride with a battle royal between Kaiju and Jaegers featuring moves that would make the WWE wrestlers proud. While I don’t usually care for over-the-top, CGI films, like the recent “John Carter” were effects were more important than story, the visuals were perfect for this type of film. I recommend “Pacific Rim” for those who love the classic monster movies and fans of anime. This film could be a nice spark in the genre for the upcoming, rebooted, big-budgeted “Godzilla” film next year.