'Pacific Rim' review by Captain Raptor
Science fiction was invented so that distant fantasies and improbabilities could be rationalized and explored through a dramatic lens whilst reflecting our own existence and place in the world. Pacific Rim is a film about giant robots punching giant sea monsters. We've come a long way, and a world in which films with premises like this can be made is exactly the kind of world I want to be living in. So in theory, Pacific Rim had me excited to my core, but did it deliver?
Director Guillermo Del Toro is famed for his creativity in designing creatures, but he takes things far beyond aesthetic in Pacific Rim. Make no mistakes, the robots and particularly the kaiju (the aforementioned giant sea monsters) look absolutely fantastic, but where Del Toro has really excelled is in creating a whole world. Through news footage, subtle inferences and a whole host of invented concepts, technology and terminology, Del Toro and co-writer Travis Beacham have manufactured a detailed and immerse world that I could quite happily watch a film about that contained very little robot-kraken smackdowns. This, combined with the immensely large scale and thoroughly satisfying action that comes with the territory of having gigantic titans fight each other, was definitely the major strength and what kept the film ticking. The other perk was some confident performances from the film's charismatic cast: Idris Elba was in his element (i.e. he would speak very quietly and then suddenly shout at things. Brilliantly) as leader of the last stand Stacker Pentecost (as well as amazing visuals this film also has truly amazing names), and Charlie Day stole the show as a frantic biologist, as well as making a nice double act with Burn Gorman.. Perhaps even more impressive is the presence of so much flash and spectacle but still being able to maintain heart and drive. Add in a cameo from Ron Perlman as the world's most outlandishly dressed man, and everything is looking great thus far.
As appealing as giant robot fights are, Pacific Rim has unfortunately little else to offer. Despite the best efforts of Gorman and Day, the film isn't as funny as it needs to be, nor are any of the characters sufficiently nuanced than we can gain entertainment from that area. The plot is a total nothing, a lot of the non-comedic dialogue is fairly stunted (although I do have a fond place in my heart for the line "We are cancelling the apocalypse!"), and the biggest issue I have is that of Charlie Hunnam. He plays the film's totally bland protagonist, devoid of any charisma or likeability, and is pretty much just a large stone dragging the film down into the depths of mediocrity. It's lucky he's got such great support to lift the film back up, and I can't help but feel that the film should have focused on Rinko Kikuchi's eager but amateur robot pilot Mako, a more interesting and immediately sympathetic character. The great things about Pacific Rim are things that are unique to it, but by following the traditional route and making the stereotypical ruggedly handsome man the lead, Pacific Rim has shot itself in the foot a little bit.
Although the last paragraph might not suggest it, I had a brilliant time with this film. At worst, it's a bland but functioning sci-fi action film, but I personally saw it as something that managed to be creative and charismatic while still maintaining massive amounts of spectacle. It fails in a couple of key areas, namely protagonist and plot, and this isn't without negative impacts on the film, but overall, Pacific Rim is fully enjoyable if not fully functioning movie.
Director Guillermo Del Toro is famed for his creativity in designing creatures, but he takes things far beyond aesthetic in Pacific Rim. Make no mistakes, the robots and particularly the kaiju (the aforementioned giant sea monsters) look absolutely fantastic, but where Del Toro has really excelled is in creating a whole world. Through news footage, subtle inferences and a whole host of invented concepts, technology and terminology, Del Toro and co-writer Travis Beacham have manufactured a detailed and immerse world that I could quite happily watch a film about that contained very little robot-kraken smackdowns. This, combined with the immensely large scale and thoroughly satisfying action that comes with the territory of having gigantic titans fight each other, was definitely the major strength and what kept the film ticking. The other perk was some confident performances from the film's charismatic cast: Idris Elba was in his element (i.e. he would speak very quietly and then suddenly shout at things. Brilliantly) as leader of the last stand Stacker Pentecost (as well as amazing visuals this film also has truly amazing names), and Charlie Day stole the show as a frantic biologist, as well as making a nice double act with Burn Gorman.. Perhaps even more impressive is the presence of so much flash and spectacle but still being able to maintain heart and drive. Add in a cameo from Ron Perlman as the world's most outlandishly dressed man, and everything is looking great thus far.
As appealing as giant robot fights are, Pacific Rim has unfortunately little else to offer. Despite the best efforts of Gorman and Day, the film isn't as funny as it needs to be, nor are any of the characters sufficiently nuanced than we can gain entertainment from that area. The plot is a total nothing, a lot of the non-comedic dialogue is fairly stunted (although I do have a fond place in my heart for the line "We are cancelling the apocalypse!"), and the biggest issue I have is that of Charlie Hunnam. He plays the film's totally bland protagonist, devoid of any charisma or likeability, and is pretty much just a large stone dragging the film down into the depths of mediocrity. It's lucky he's got such great support to lift the film back up, and I can't help but feel that the film should have focused on Rinko Kikuchi's eager but amateur robot pilot Mako, a more interesting and immediately sympathetic character. The great things about Pacific Rim are things that are unique to it, but by following the traditional route and making the stereotypical ruggedly handsome man the lead, Pacific Rim has shot itself in the foot a little bit.
Although the last paragraph might not suggest it, I had a brilliant time with this film. At worst, it's a bland but functioning sci-fi action film, but I personally saw it as something that managed to be creative and charismatic while still maintaining massive amounts of spectacle. It fails in a couple of key areas, namely protagonist and plot, and this isn't without negative impacts on the film, but overall, Pacific Rim is fully enjoyable if not fully functioning movie.
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