Pacific Rim Review

Our Heroes are going to cancel the apocalypse in Pacific Rim

Photo Credit: Warner Brothers Studios

Pacific Rim

A-

A Review by Frederick Cholowski

There are few films that can really bring out the child in me. A blockbuster film must require a sharp balance of the visual pop and emotional pull to drive me back to these emotions. For the first time since JJ Abrams’ original Star Trek film just over 5 years ago it has happened again with Pacific Rim. Pacific Rim is just 2 hours and 10 minutes of blockbuster filmmaking at its most impactful as it features a ton of action offset with just the right amount of decently written human character. The best thing I can say about Pacific Rim is that it defied my expectations. This is not a dumb film instead co-writer and director Guillermo Del Toro never forgets the human within all the carnage. While at times it may be flawed it always brought a since of excitement, tension, and giddiness that not a single other blockbuster was able to provide this year.

The premise is pretty simple, there are giant alien monsters that begin coming in through rifts under the sea and begin attacking humans and decimating cities. The human’s way of handling these giant alien monsters is building giant robot monsters of our own that have to be piloted by two humans through the sharing of thoughts. After five years and bigger aliens the program is sent underwater and in its place they begin to build giant walls (that as can be predicted don’t work so well). After losing his brother in a robot vs alien battle five years earlier Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam) is called back to pilot his old machine for the now underground defense force led by commander Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba who is always amazing). Becket must team up with a rookie fighter with little grip on her emotions Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi) as well as the two central researchers (Charlie Day and Burn Gorman) to find a way to stop the monsters once and for all.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about the plot in general is how much time Del Toro has for the humans. Usually in giant robot movies the humans get lost in the shuffle, often delegated to being the ones who scream and panic in the danger while the robots fight around them. In Pacific Rim the Humans aren’t bystanders they are a part of the action and thus bring their emotions and dynamics into the battle. Del Toro makes an effort to makes sure that the human element is never lost in the chaos and for the most part it’s effective. By the end of the film I found myself caring about the situations the characters found themselves in and even almost began cheering and booing along with the situations.

Pacific Rim isn’t without its flaws the biggest being some pacing issues. The subplot with the researchers, while at times decent comic relief, seems a little out of place tonally as well as pacing wise with the rest of the film. The film is best when it’s focusing on the main action with the robots itself and while the end payoff makes the researchers necessary much less time could have been spent returning back to the subplot as it brings the film down just a touch.

Another problem is that sometimes Charlie Hunnam seems like he’s overacting just a touch. He often feels like he is trying to have charisma instead of having it. It doesn’t damage the film too much but a little more subtlety or general quieting would have been nice. The performance highlight in Pacific Rim and one of the main shining parts of the film is Idris Elba who gets to chew mass amounts of scenery here. Elba steels every scene he’s in and he provides many of the film’s finest moments. The rest of the supporting cast is solid and gets the job done without unfortunately standing out too much. They work well together though and in the end that’s what counts

Visually this film is absolutely beautiful to watch. The battles between the robots and the monsters are truly awe inspiring. Del Toro decides to shoot the action with a steady hand, allowing the action and the audience to breath. It also helps that the action is completely coherent in every way because of this allowing for some truly amazing sequences. The Hong Kong sequence in the middle of this film is one of the best action scenes I’ve seen in a while with a great gradual build and a fantastic since of tension. The 3D works well for the most part although some scenes are a little dark when the glasses are on. The score isn’t special but it works well enough to accentuate the on screen action.

While it may be flawed, Pacific Rim manages to deliver a near perfect blockbuster film mix. It has great, easy to follow action mixed with the best human story in a blockbuster this year. Best of all though the film made me feel like a child again as I was transfixed by the images being presented to me the entire film. Flawed yet in a way perfectly balanced Pacific Rim is easily the best blockbuster to hit theaters this summer.