Oh, the joys of a quality summer blockbuster! Director Guillermo del Toro is one of my favorites and I’ve been waiting for Pacific Rim for quite some time. It met my expectations.
In the not too distant future, a dimensional rift opens at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Massive monsters emerge from this rift, demolishing everything in it’s reach. After 4 of these beasts emerge to rampage and kill within a few years time span, the citizens of Earth ban together to create the “Jaeger” project to defend the planet . These giant, man piloted robots prove to be far my effective than military strikes. So much so, that the robots and their pilots become superstars on the world stage. Things look good for humanity as each “Kaiju” that appears is crushed by our Jaeger’s. But then things take a turn for the worse. The Kaiju become bigger and more advanced and appear more frequently. Jaegers start losing their fights.
Raleigh is a pilot of one of the Jaeger’s, “Gipsy Danger”, along with his brother (it takes 2 human pilots to manage a Jaeger). They are on the front lines when the tide turns, Raleigh watches and experiences his brother die right in front of him during battle. Raleigh leaves the program for many years until his old boss comes knocking. The Kaiju are winning and Raleigh is needed for one last desperate push to end the war for all: the rift must be closed.
The movie is set up very quickly and smartly from the very start of the movie. We are quickly brought up to speed with what’s going on, the technology behind the Jaeger’s and what’s at stake here. The rest is the trip to save the world. Putting the teams together, coming up with a plan to close the rift and then going on the last mission. Of course the Kaiju have other plans and some of the best action scenes unfold in front of your dazzling eyes. The scale and visceral impact is just staggering. The SFX are world class, top of the line, Oscar worthy caliber. Everything looks amazing. The designs of the Jaeger’s and Kaiju are so cool. The animation is shockingly good. It looks and sounds so real that this insanity is totally believable.
It’s a very straight forward and concise story that’s got goofy characters, military machismo and buck wild action pieces. Some people say it’s stupid and too simple, but I don’t agree. I like the vibe that the movie establishes and keeps. It’s a lot like watching a quality anime, just enough believability and spirit to keep it fun but cuts a lot of unnecessary and insulting garbage that bogs down many other movies in this genre (looking at you Transformers). It all hums along and works with the added lore that is discovered as it progresses.
I had so much fun watching Pacific Rim. It’s a love letter to Guillermo del Toro’s youth, the monster and science fiction movies that shaped his creative eye and made him want to become a film maker. Godzilla, just about every mech based anime and manga get a nod to the inspiration of Pacific Rim. Using those past works as a frame, del Toro has gleefully made his own sand box filled with gigantic toys and invites you to come play with him. It totally sucked me in and I was smiling and laughing along watching the pilots pump their legs and gyrate around, their Jaegers matching every move to crush evil into chum. If I was 10 I’d say this is the best thing I’ve ever watched in my entire life.