*Note: This movie review may contain spoilers,so for those who haven't seen the film,proceed reading at your own risk...
Yes,that is Pacific Rim's tagline and it does indeed prove that it's big.Before I talk about the film,I just wanna say first and foremost that Pacific Rim is great as a summer movie.For those who haven't heard about the film (I doubt),Pacific Rim is about man fighting in machines called "Jaegers" against legendary monsters called Kaijus.That's about as brief as the film's synopsis can get.Anyway,Pacific Rim is directed by Guillermo Del Toro (Hellboy/Blade II) and stars Charlie Hunnam (Green Street Hooligans/TV's Sons of Anarchy),Idris Elba (Prometheus/Thor),Rinko Kikuchi,Charlie Day (Horrible Bosses),Burn Gorman (The Dark Knight Rises) and Ron Per(Drive/Blade II)
Just like what I said,Pacific Rim's brief synopsis would be about us,humans fighting in machines called Jaegers (German for "hunter") against giant monsters called "Kaijus" (Japanese for "strange beast").But just to give details about the whole Kaijus and Jaegers thing,the opening scene for the film tells about the first attack of the Kaijus,where they came from and of course,why the united governments initiated the whole "Jaeger" program.So I can pretty much say that the opening scene was ominously reminiscent of the Transformers Trilogy and Battleship for that matter.I don't know,but that's what I felt.Moving on from the opening scene,the movie also talks about Raleigh Becket (Played by Charlie Hunnam),brother of Yancy Becket who died from a Kaiju attack while defending the Alaskan coastline in a Gipsy Danger Jaeger while Raleigh saw his brother's death leaving Raleigh traumatized.After that incident,leaving the Gipsy Danger Jaeger deformed and destroyed,the Jaeger program is discontinued due the Jaegers' lack of effectiveness in defeating the Kaijus. Years later,the Jaeger program is reborn and Raleigh gets recruited once again by Stacker Pentecost.Well,does that sound familiar? Sure it does.Maybe.Actually,the whole "brother's death" theme instantly reminded me of Battleship.Only this one was much better.So far,I have found no plot holes whatsoever since almost all the questions raised about the Kaijus were answered.But still,the greatest mystery for the set-up sequel is...will there be more Kaijus? Well,yeah there would definitely be.But the question is in case there would be more Kaijus,where would they come from since their portal is (SPOILER ALERT) destroyed in the ending? Anyway,enough of that.In Pacific Rim,the two pilots of the Jaegers "drift".In the film,the merging of two brains is called "drifting",and one of the plot points of the film involves Dr.Newt (Charlie Day) drifting with a Kaiju brain.So needless to say,part of the plot is all about the neuro or the brain talk.In promotional material,Pacific Rim highly supports the rising up of humanity against the Kaijus,it may work in the trailers or TV spots,but in the film it seems that it isn't working well.In Transformers,it worked well but here,it just doesn't fit the hole that well.But it is still nice to see humanity kicking alien ass.Just for the sake of it,the ending seems to be have a little "been there,done that" feeling since well,the ending is somehow similar to Independence Day as the heroes destroy the invaders' mothership or in this film's case,the portal where they came from.But then again,it feels like Independence Day again. Pacific Rim's plot seems to be reminiscent to Transformers and other tentpole summer films of the previous summers.Talking about that,it maybe needs to have a little more improvement in the storytelling.But despite the plot's deja vu,it is mostly influenced by great creature features in the likes of Godzilla and King Kong even.In that way,it works well in homaging them.But for those who grew up watching Daimos,Gundam and Voltes V and other mecha themed animes, you will surely love the movie because of the way it will make you feel.It will give you a spark of nostalgia.All I can say about Pacific Rim's plot is that it is reminiscent and effective.
Pacific Rim doesn't have a lot of A-listers,but the cast was still a good choice.We have Charlie Hunnam,Idris Elba,Ron Perlman,Charlie Day,Burn Gorman and Rinko Kikuchi.Charlie Hunnam plays Raleigh Becket,the tough-headed brother of Yancy Becket.Charlie fits the role,he was tough,determined and awesome.Kinda like a stereotypical protagonist in these type of films.His performance in the film was good just in case you're asking.Then we have Idris Elba who plays Stacker Pentecost,Becket's commanding officer.Elba did a good job and this should be one of his finest performances yet.Ron Perlman serves as a small character with small screentime,but here he is still good despite lack of screen-time.Charlie Day portrays Dr.Newton Geiszler,a Kaiju-obssesed scientist who serves as both a comic-relief and an important character in the film.Charlie's performance was okay,I loved his humor and his scientific madness but I would love to see more of him in the sequel.Burn plays the more intelligent rival of Newt,Gottlieb.Burn and Charlie's charismatic chemistry was a relief in the film and it was good and fun to see these 2 mad scientists together onscreen.For Rinko,I would want to say that while she did well,she still needs to improve.Just sayin'.Pacific Rim has a B-rating cast but they still are good,though in the sequel,they need to cast more known stars.But good job to them though.
Pacific Rim is visually rich as the trailer implied so in the movie,it proves that it is.The film is packed with non-stop mecha vs. giant beast action and the fight scenes between the Jaegers and the Kaijus are very well impressive.The opening scene in that shows the first Kaiju attack in San Francisco will definitely look stunning in 3D.You will feel the fighter jets swooping in as well as the Kaiju's deadly force.Sad to say that I didn't watch it in 3D due to lack of budget.Damn.Back to topic,as what I said earlier the film will make your jaws drop because of all the impressive top-notch visuals and most of the action scenes are placed mid-way in the film.Needless to say,this film may used the 3D well.But maybe not as good as Transformers: Dark of the Moon's.About the cinematography,it was good.But most of the camera angles in some scenes felt like I was watching Transformers again,it gave me a sense of Deja Vu.Perfect example of this is in the scene where the Jaeger falls down in a bridge or something like that.That scene made me feel like I was watching the opening scene of Transformers: ROTF.Only a little better with more kick.All I wanna say is that,Pacific Rim will make your jaws drop and will make you smile.Ramin Djawadi's score fit the film perfectly,it sounded a bit like the score he did in Iron Man added with more humanity and courageousness.Getting back on the cinematography,I just noticed that the film is "dim" dim as in dark in lighting.I don't know but maybe it needs a little light.But since it is set in a near-future Earth where there are only few cities standing,it seems to be a nice fitting for the film's color tone.Now I wanna talk about the giants in the movie,as in the Jaegers and the Kaijus.The Jaegers look terrificly gigantic.Their design may be very well influenced by anime mechas.And their weapons are anime-ish too such as the Gipsy Danger's sword.Talk about awesome.Correction 2,500 tons of awesome as Dr.Newt says in the film.About the Kaijus,they were amazing in detail and size.I just love their glowing blue mouth and their humongous destructive size.Both of the beasts of opposing forces look really amazing,that's all.Overall in terms of visuals and technicality,Pacific Rim is succeeds thanks to the heavy-action packed fight scenes,the rousing score and both of the beasts' awesomeness.
Guillermo Del Toro made Pacific Rim as maybe one of his best films as he directed it meticulously by giving it a spark of nostalgia,a lot of mecha anime references/influence and a ton of jaw-dropping visuals.So,to Guillermo Del Toro I would want to salute you for bringing me one of the best summer movies I have seen.I hope the sequel would be better and more heavier in terms of action.
Pacific Rim is gigantic in terms of scope,scale and size and just really visually stunning.Even though the performances seem a little "meh" and part of the plot points are reminiscent of previous films sorta similar to this,Pacific Rim redeems itself with all the stunning eye-candy.It will truly bring the inner-five year old inside of you.Also,if you're gonna see it this any day this week or someday soon,I suggest you see this in 3D.Better yet,go for IMAX 3D if you please.I dunno,decide for yourself.But best would be to see this in 3D.And those words came from someone who didn't see it in 3D.Sigh.So okay,Pacific Rim would be considered as one of those American movies influenced by Japanese animes,since the film is successful we would want us some real Dragonball movie sometime soon...
Crash,bang,boom! Pacific Rim gets 7.9 stars over 10.
A Warner Bros. Pictures/Legendary Pictures presentation,Pacific Rim is now showing in cinemas in 2D,3D and IMAX 3D theatrically distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures .(Philippines)
*Check out some previous Del Toro flicks such as Hellboy I & II.Available on DVD & Blu-Ray distributed by Magnavision Home Video.Or if you're craving for more robot action,check out the Transformers Trilogy also available on DVD & Blu-Ray also distributed by said distributor.
**For now,check out this awesome clip from the film:
*Video clip courtesy of Movieclips.com & Warner Bros.Pictures/Legendary Pictures
(C) 2013 Warner Bros.Pictures/Legendary Pictures.
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