Film: Pacific Rim

When I first saw the trailer for Pacific Rim I was certain it would be a Transformers like action film just with robots fighting monsters instead of each other. But the fact that Guillermo del Toro was directing gave me hope, I loved the Hellboy films and thought he could make even this story exciting. Turns out my first instinct was right, Pacific Rim for all it’s great action scenes and amazing CGI isn’t very engaging, mostly because it’s hard to care about any of the characters. 

Set around 10 years in the future, the film establishes that giant monsters called Kaiju have been emerging from a rift in the ocean for many years. To stop them, mankind created giant mecha robots named Jaegers, to engage them in brutal combat. Suddenly the Kaiju become stronger than ever before, wiping out Jaegers with ease. Humanity is forced to plan one last ditch mission, dropping a nuclear device into the rift, hopefully closing it. 

Idris Elba’s Marshall Pentecost is forced to bring back one of his retired pilots, Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam) whose brother died in a Kaiju attack. The Jaegers are controlled by two people whose minds are merged, the death of Raleigh’s brother leaving him horribly mentally scared as their minds were still connected. Raleigh is paired with the inexperienced female pilot Mako (Rinko Kikuchi), obviously the two fall in love. There is also a Iceman-style rivalry between Raleigh and Chuck (Robert Kazinsky). None of the characters make a lasting impression. I am usually quite a fan of Idris Elba yet despite a few great lines even he couldn’t save this disaster of a movie.

Very little of the film’s plot feels original, essentially being a mesh of transformers and monster films such as Godzilla. This may not have been a problem if the film had embraced the campiness of the concept but it instead takes itself far too seriously. The dialogue is trite and stereotypical, it being easy to predict most points of the film. I honestly can’t believe that Guillermo del Toro was even attached to this film, let alone that he directed it. 

The action scenes are the only saving grace of the picture, being exciting and well shot with incredible CGI. The battles in Hong Kong stand out as a great set piece, showcasing all that the Jaegers can do. Each of the monster designs are distinctive and carry del Toro’s signature style, the series could cross over with Hellboy with minimal issues. Similarly each of the Jaegers has a great look, emphasised by different weaponry and nifty tricks, perfectly evoking anime. However when fighting occurs with one or more Jaeger it’s incredibly hard to tell each apart, when they start falling in combat I found it difficult to know who had died. Particularly the final fight scene is very confusing as it is nigh impossible to notice the subtle changes between the Jaegers in the dark environment.

If you are looking for some great action scenes then this is the film for you. However if you like some subtlety, interesting characters or intelligence in your films then I’d give this one a miss.