I’ve been writing down my movie opinions for nearly four years now and after attending so many movies I’ve grown to become an expert in a certain respect. Regardless of length, I never have to pee during a film. I made it through “The Hobbit” and that move was somewhere close to two and a half days long (or at least that’s what I remember it seeming like). I have a highly specialized technique that involves not drinking anything prior to the film and going to the bathroom right before the film starts. You can use this technique if you want to, permission granted.
But despite my expertise, I couldn’t make it through “Pacific Rim”. There was a particularly harrowing sequence about half way through the film’s 130 minute running time that involved a huge robot cracking on a giant monster’s skull in downtown, futuristic Hong Kong that left me feeling like an 8 year old boy arriving at Disneyland for the first time. My excitement manifested itself and I had to (HAD TO!!!) go relieve myself. There is stuff in this movie that is so epic and awesome that you might lose control of your primary functions.
SEE THIS IN IMAX!! SEE THIS IN 3D!! See this in the biggest format you can. See it projected on the side of an aircraft carrier if you can get that lined up. The extra couple bucks are actually worth it. Trust me. “Pacific Rim” has numerous chucks of action that are unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. In this day of repeat, reboot and remake it is a welcomed experience to have your mind blown. The movie is pure spectacle and is exactly what a Hollywood Huge Event Picture should be: something that transports you to a place that you could only imagine in your dreams if you were a mad genius.
The mad genius here is director Guillermo del Toro. He has figured out how to tell a “Godzilla” story in the best possible way. When we see a giant monster destroying a city in a film we usually experience it through the perspective of the little humans running through the streets, trying to survive. This limited point-of-view reduces our villain to a giant foot on the ground with the occasional shot of the skyline being pummeled by the beast. In “Pacific Rim” we witness equally enormous, 750 foot tall robots battling the creatures and the scale is never reduced. Only Super-Sized fun. By doing this, del Toro’s canvas is gargantuan and you will feel the enormity in your chest as the titans battle it out.
While the scope is groundbreaking, people well-versed in Japanese Anime may be very familiar with the premise of the story. In fact one excellent series, “Neon Genesis Evangelion” features huge robots controlled by the brain that are battling giant monsters in much of the same fashion. So the nuts and guts of the film may have drawn inspirado from another source but that’s fine. Maybe it’s new to you…
It is in modern times when a legion of creatures called the Kaiju began emerging from the depths of the ocean to wreak havoc on humanity. Helpless at first, mankind banded together to create the Jaegers, giant robots that are able to do combat with the horrific beasts. Seven years pass and the Jaegers are no longer effective. Only four remain to take a last stand and save the planet from the monsters.
That’s all I really need to tell you. “Pacific Rim” has some dense mythology but the movie packages it incredibly well and you will be speaking the language in no time flat. This is a welcome change of pace as current films like “Man of Steel” and “The Lone Ranger” have tried to convey thick plotlines that just come off as convoluted.
The story mixes bits and pieces from other blockbusters and the overall effect feels like del Toro making his version of a James Cameron film. In fact a movie hasn’t been this successful at epic transport since “Avatar”. While the movie has unprecedented success in its spectacle, the people and the dialogue are stiff and, at times, silly. I don’t know if this is del Toro’s way of riffing on the Big and Dumb Hollywood Movie or if he thinks you have to shove your story into this template to make a billion dollars. Either way, this detracts very little. Just don’t plan on caring about any of the actual people in the film with the exception of Charlie Day playing a blithering scientist and Mr. Ron Perlman playing his requisite badass.
After many duds in the last few months “Pacific Rim” is what this summer needed, a hard shot of adrenaline to the heart. May it make a billion dollars.