Pacific Rim

[JasonEvans]

There is nothing worse than coming into a movie with sky-high expectations.

I am a fan of Guillermo Del Toro's work and had been hearing good things about Pacific Rim for many months. I began hearing strong buzz from early screenings about a week ago. Harry Knowles, of AintItCoolNews, did a screening and retweeted all the positive comments he got on the film. I asked him if he had refused to retweet negative comments and he told me there were none. So, I went into last night's screening with huge expectations!!

Again, there is nothing worse than coming into a movie with sky-high expectations...

...and nothing better than having them met!!

Pacific Rim was a wondrous journey filled with engaging characters, a compelling story, and amazing effects. It is one of the better pure sci-fi movies of recent years. No, it is not for everyone -- some people simply want no part of giant robots versus giant monsters -- but if you even have the slightest inkling that you might enjoy this film, GO SEE IT!!!



Interestingly, for a film about big monsters, big robots, and a big topic (the fate of the world) it is some of the smaller things that really make this movie work. For example, the giant robots in the film are so complex that a lone human cannot pilot them. It takes two people -- one controlling the right half and one controlling the left half. The only way to make this work is for the two human pilots to share one consciousness, a process called The Drift in which they go into each others brains and share all the emotions and memories contained in there. It is an incredibly cool concept and one which plays an integral part in the success of the film. It is the exact kind of thoughtful and nuanced thing that make this film wonderful and would never, ever be found in something trite like the Transformers films.

Del Toro said he was sick of the dark, brooding summer popcorn movies and he wanted to make something different. He has wildly succeeded, even if Christopher Nolan and Bryan Singer would hate this film. It may be the most obvious comparison ever, but I cannot resist saying that Pacific Rim is everything the Transformers movies wanted to be, but weren't.


There are a few performances worth noting -- Idiris Elba chews up the scenery as the commander of the giant robot (Jaeger) program. He exudes toughness and grit and your eyes are drawn to him every moment he is on the screen. Rinko Kikuchi is also magnetic, at first shy and quiet, her character eventually comes out of a shell and makes a real emotional connection with the audience. She's most certainly a star to watch (and has been since her Academy Award nominated work in Babel). And you are sure to love Charlie Day and Burn Gorman as a pair of mismatched scientists as well as Ron Perlman as a black marketeer who sells pieces of the giant aliens for a very lucrative profit. The three of them provide some needed comic relief to the story while also giving us important details about how the battle with the giant aliens can be won. It would seem weird if I did not mention the film's lead, Charlie Hunnam. He is fine, neither a big plus nor a big minus for the film. He gets the job done and manages to convincingly deliver some fairly cheesy lines at times.

Of course, the effects are top notch. I saw this movie in IMAX 3D and it looked just gorgeous. The sheer scope of some of the Jaeger building scenes was tremendously impressive and gets you completely immersed in the story. The battles between the Jaegers and the gigantic Kaiju are relentlessly brutal, though I was sad that almost all of them occurred at night or in the rain, making it hard to see all the action.

I want to be clear, Pacific Rim is not super smart -- there's a lot of silly stuff going on and much of it doesn't make complete sense when you stop to think it through, especially surrounding the ending -- but it is smart enough to not be ridiculous and that is all we really need with a movie like this. Somehow, Del Toro manages to give us somewhat one-dimensional heroes who are still compelling and worth hanging out with for 2 hours. This is not cinematic art, but it is a lot of fun.

-Jason "I would love to be surprised, but I suspect American audiences won't even give Pacific Rim a try, but I bet it is going to be HUGE in Asia" Evans

[Reisen]

Great review, but pictures aren't showing up for me.

[JasonEvans]

I had not looked at what other critics were saying (other than the ones I follow on Twitter) before I wrote my comments, but I am thrilled to see that they largely agree with me about this being a truly enjoyable experience at the movies.

Pacific Rim is currently at 79% on Rotten Tomatoes, making it one of the best-reviewed films of the summer. It has an even more impressive Metacritic score of 70, which is really high. Among big, mainstream films, only Star Trek Into Darkness' 72 is higher. Of the 20 critics cited on Metacritic, 14 gave it a positive review, 4 gave it a mixed one, and only 1 critic gave it a negative review.

-Jason "still, early word is that the tracking is fairly poor and Pacific Rim will only do about $35 million in boxoffice its opening weekend... what a pity more folks won't give this flick a chance" Evans

[BD80]

Well, at least my sleeper pick for the Top 5 is dreamy ...

Jason, thanks for trying to rig the contest in my favor (even convincing people to try IMAX and 3d!), but it seems that the last two Transformer flicks poisoned the well.

[JBDuke]

Jason, do you think it's worth the extra dollars to see this in IMAX and/or 3D?

[JasonEvans]

Jason, do you think it's worth the extra dollars to see this in IMAX and/or 3D?

The IMAX looked really good, but the 3D is all post-conversion stuff (it was not filmed with 3D cameras) so I would say IMAX is probably worth it but not 3D.

-Jason "it all depends on how much that $3-$5 means to you -- but see it in 2D/3D/IMAX whatever... it is worth it" Evans

[davekay1971]

Idiris Elba chews up the scenery as the commander of the giant robot (Jaeger) program.

So you're saying he's the Jaeger Meister?

[davekay1971]

-Jason "I would love to be surprised, but I suspect American audiences won't even give Pacific Rim a try, but I bet it is going to be HUGE in Asia" Evans

This film is a really interesting example of how worldwide box office considerations are shaping Hollywood studio decisions. Warner Brothers put a reported budget of $180 million into a picture with no big-name American stars (Idris Elba is great, but hardly a box office opener), but a notable Japanese lead, focused the story line on Asia, even named the picture accordingly, did a story concept that is geared more for worldwide moviegoers...and they've did it knowing they'd have a really good probability of turning a significant profit, even starting a franchise, regardless of how the movie does in America. My guess is that if the studio sees anything close to a return on their reported budget in the American box office, they'll be happily surprised, but anything over $100M in US box office will be just fine with them.

[JasonEvans]

My guess is that if the studio sees anything close to a return on their reported budget in the American box office, they'll be happily surprised, but anything over $100M in US box office will be just fine with them.

Pixar's blatant cash grab, Cars 2, similarly featured a storyline and settings designed to entice the Asian and European audiences.

Oh, I also think they are going to do well over $100 mil domestically. In the past several days, the opening estimates have begun to jump through the roof as more and more critics are singing the praises of this film. Last week, there was talk of a $30 mil opening. Now, everyone is saying $50 million. Fandango says 60% of their advance ticket sales right now are going to Pacific Rim.

-Jason "see it... trust me, you won't be disappointed" Evans

[JasonEvans]

I don't know who is reading this... but if you do, go see Pacific Rim! Tell Hollywood that it can make smart, fun big-budget films that are not based on a comic book or TV show... please!!

-Jason "that is all" Evans

[Native]

I don't know who is reading this... but if you do, go see Pacific Rim! Tell Hollywood that it can make smart, fun big-budget films that are not based on a comic book or TV show... please!!

-Jason "that is all" Evans

Seconded!

Just got out of a 12:30 show. I loved every single minute of this movie. I might've enjoyed it more than Man of Steel.

Del Toro did a fantastic job here. I really liked that the movie doesn't have much of the dragged-out scenes you'll see in other popcorn flicks. I think he did a great job of pacing Pacific Rim so that you're always interested but never exhausted. The visuals are stunning - even in 2D - and the action sequences are great. The final fight didn't drag on for an hour; enough happened fairly quickly to make it seem more believable.

I'm a fan of Charlie Day and think he's pretty hilarious, and I thought he did a great job. Also enjoyed Ron Perlman's performance, but Idris Elba is the heart and soul of the movie for sure, as many reviewers are saying.

It did exactly what it was supposed to do: give me an interesting (if somewhat archetypal) story but make the action sequences awesome while I clean out a bucket of popcorn. In that regard, it certainly succeeded. Give this one a chance, folks.

[weezie]

Does Idris Elba get to speak in his normal British accent? If so, I'm in. He's not only dreamy (see above) but one hot, hot hunk of man candy.
Meee-oooowwwwww.

[davekay1971]

Does Idris Elba get to speak in his normal British accent? If so, I'm in. He's not only dreamy (see above) but one hot, hot hunk of man candy.
Meee-oooowwwwww.

He had a British accent in the trailer I saw. So enjoy your man candy with a British twist!

[accfanfrom1970]

Seconded!

Just got out of a 12:30 show. I loved every single minute of this movie. I might've enjoyed it more than Man of Steel.

I agree, I think it was better than Man of Steel - enjoyed it, summer great popcorn movie. Excellent in Imax.

[JBDuke]

Saw this tonight, and I'll add my voice to those that have already expressed opinions here. A fun, big, popcorny, summer action flick. Yes, it's trite. Yes, the characters are archetypes. Yes, I didn't identify much with them. Yes, there are logical flaws. But it sure was a lot of fun. Very loud, very big, very boyish fun.

[Mabdul Doobakus]

It was a fun movie that didn't take itself too seriously. There's a lot about this movie that made no sense, but I've reached that stage in my life where I realize it's just a movie and who really cares.

I don't think I've ever seen a movie that captured size better than this one did. I feel like these summer movies keep trying to deliver bigger and more violent battles. Like every trailer has that one moment where the music stops and they reveal some giant CGI monstrosity, and we're supposed to be amazed. But this movie really captured the enormity of both the hero robots and the evil Godzillas better than any movie I've seen previously. The last hour of the movie basically consisted of two extended battle sequences, which were for the most part very well constructed and beautifully shot. You could actually follow what was going on, as opposed to the end of the first Transformer movie, where I couldn't figure out for the life of me what the hell was happening, so I just went to sleep.

My biggest complaint about this movie would be the acting. There was some notable exceptions. I'll never have anything bad to say about Idris Elba. But I thought the main duo--our hero and his Asian lady friend--and particularly the Australian duo were somewhere between "kind of bad" and "what the hell". Granted, they had some clunky lines to deliver, but I haven't seen less convincing performances in a Hollywood blockbuster in some time.

I'm really surprised this isn't doing better at the box office. I mean, robots AND aliens, I would've thought people would've eaten this up.

[gus]

Does Idris Elba get to speak in his normal British accent? If so, I'm in. He's not only dreamy (see above) but one hot, hot hunk of man candy.
Meee-oooowwwwww.

I saw it this weekend with an Irish guy and an English guy. Both agreed his accent was terrible, always slipping in and out.

"Guys -- that was Idris Elba. You know he is actually english right?"


It was a fun movie. I can't imagine seeing that in Imax. A normal 2D theatre was intense enough. Apparently I missed a scene by leaving with the credits.

[brevity]

Apparently I missed a scene by leaving with the credits.

Advantage #1,784 of a smartphone: searching the Internet for "[Name of Movie] post-credits scene." The house lights are back on, and the ushers don't care about your phone by then. Obviously you could also check before you see the movie, but most people won't think to do that.

[accfanfrom1970]

Advantage #1,784 of a smartphone: searching the Internet for "[Name of Movie] post-credits scene." The house lights are back on, and the ushers don't care about your phone by then. Obviously you could also check before you see the movie, but most people won't think to do that.

I didn't stay for any post credits scene (Jason didn't tell me there was one!)...what was it?

[gus]

I don't know who is reading this... but if you do, go see Pacific Rim! Tell Hollywood that it can make smart, fun big-budget films that are not based on a comic book or TV show... please!!

-Jason "that is all" Evans

I don't know if reviewers track gold stars or something, but your review was the reason I decided to see this movie.