Pacific Rim(2013)

"They brought the fight to us, and we're giving it right back"


PLOT:

As war between humankind and monstrous sea creatures wages on, a former pilot and a trainee are paired up to drive a seemingly obsolete special weapon in a desperate effort to save the world from the apocalypse


MY THOUGHTS

Pacific Rim begins with a backstory of how the war with the Kaiju  and human race have been going on for sometime and then fastforward a few years where we meet Raliegh and Yancy Beckett(Charlie Hunnam, Diego Klattenhoff) they are pilots for the jaeger program which are the big robots that are used to fight against the Kaiju, they are sent out to defend the coastline from the approaching sea monster but instead of holding their post they go against orders to save a nearby fishing boat, they engage in a fight with the monster.

During the event Yancy is killed and Raliegh is badly injured, he manages to fight off the monster alone which has only been done one other time by one of the very first pilots of the jaegar program, Raliegh manages to get what's left of his robot to shore and collapses but saved by an old man and a young boy.

5 years later Raliegh is now working as a construction worker when he is recruited by his old commanding officer Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba) who wants him to rejoin the team because they have been losing the war against the Kaiju for sometime and almost all hope is lost.

I was really impressed with Pacific Rim when first looked at from previews you might think its another Godzilla type, Transformers ripoff, or Real Steel clone, and I'm not saying the movie doesn't have elements of those movies but the difference here with Pacific Rim is that Guillermo Del Toro creates a not to unlike our own near future and a story that's not just about the action but has heartfelt moments namely the beginning sequence and a few scenes in the movie involving Idris Elba, Charlie Hunnam and Rinko Kikuchi these 3 really drive the movie.

While Charlie Day, Burn Gorman, and Ron Perlman brings for the most laughs, but they don't take away from the story at all.

ACTION
The action in the movie is top notch and as I watched I found myself fighting along with the robots in what are probably some of the best CGI effects that I've seen since the first Matrix movie where you can't really tell if its CGI or if it is actually real, the scenes with the actors going threw the motions inside the robots then showing the robot doing the action is cheesy as you might think its done very well.

CREATUREs

The Kaiju creatures look really good, even though they are all the same, they don't all look the same, when its explained in the movie that all of the creatures take on a look of a different sea creature, which helps you tell the difference in which creature is which and we get to see a glimpse of what's believed to be their home world and you get to see some other alien creatures that look very interesting as well, another job well done there.

CAST

Charlie Hunnam- Raliegh Becket


Charlie Hunnam shows in Pacific Rim that he has a good tentpole film to launch a movie career after his Biker series Sons of Anarchy goes off which doesn't seem to be anytime soon(new season begins September). When Becket is first seen he is a young hotshot pilot who quickly has to grow up after the tragic lose of his older brother, but threw out the course of the movie he finds his courage, and rebuilds old relationships and forge new relationships as well.

Idris Elba- Stacker Pentecost


Idris Elba once again shows why he is an actor to watch on film and also on TV (Luther), Charlie Hunnam might be the main focal point of the movie, but Elba's world weary air marshal commands the scene from the get go, and he he gives the film its toughness that helps drives the fight against the Kaiji (Canceling The Apocalypse). Elba seems to be lining himself up nicely with his recent mainstream success, and even some Oscar buzz with the upcoming Nelson Mandela Biopic.

Rinko Kikuchi-Mako Mori


I will admit I have not seen much of Rinko Kikuchi and looking at her filmography I will be checking out more of her films namely Babel, where Elba is the toughness of the film, Kikuchi brings the heart with her at first shy calm demeanor but as time goes on you find out more about her past and why Stacker Pentecost is very overprotective of her, but make no mistake she can handle herself in a fight. she is another one I'm looking forward of seeing more of(Don't ruin her on screen Hollywood)

Charlie Day- Dr. Newton Geiszler


When first seeing that Charlie Day was going to be in Pacific Rim, I couldn't take the movie seriously because any one who has seen him on the hit FX(Moving to FXX) series It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia knows why I say that, but In this movie Charlie Day shows that he is more then capable then just being goofy, yes his character is responsible for some of the biggest laughs thanks to a few scenes involving co stars Burn Gorman, Ron Perlman and even the Kaiju. Day reminded me a lot of a young Rick Moranis with some of his antics and even his speech in some scenes

Burn Gorman- Gottlieb


Burn Gorman is a very good character actor who once again shows his range as uneasy Dr. Gottlieb who is always at odds with his friend Dr. Geiszler trying to always one up him, but the two finally get on the same page to help save the world from the Kaiju.


Robert kazinsky- Chuck Hansen


Robert Kazinsky's Chuck Hansen is the counterpart of Raliegh Becket and in some ways is a mirror image of what Becket probably was like when he was younger before his brother's death, Kazinsky plays a good asshole character here but he finds his redemption by finally having a real father son moment which is one of the better emotional scenes in the movie, even though there isn't to much dialogue between the two but the looks says more then words can express. I'm sure now after Pacific Rim and a recurring role on HBO's True Blood, Kazinsky's name a face will be seen alot more on film and TV.

Ron Perlman- Hannibal Chau
 
Seems like you can't have a Guillermo Del Toro movie without Ron Perlman and that's not a bad thing at all, when first finding out the Perlman was in this, I thought I would be one of the pilots fighting against the Kaiji but instead he is a black market trader named Hannibla Chau who is very flashy(check out his gold teeth and shoes, especially pay attention to the shoes) Perlman shows up and has some great scenes with Charlie Day that i'm sure were fun to film because it comes across on scene, his role isn't very big but its important to the story and gives more insight into the Kaiju themselves. would've been nice if Charlie Hunnam had a scene with him just because of their Sons of Anarchy relationship but hopefully In Pacific Rim 2.


FINAL WORDs

I was doing my best this year to steer clear of any of the big budget blockbuster for personal reasons and I did a good job No Man of Steel, Lone Ranger, Fast 6 etc, but even though this movie has a big budget there was a really good and well thought out story with likeable characters, Del Toro has created a world here that has all the potential to be a sleeper hit with the masses who seem to only go for the sure thing when Pacific Rim isn't that necessarily but hopefully with world of mouth it will be the summer blockbuster of the year( which it is for me)

Its something that everyone can enjoy which is rare in today's films and for anyone who continues the "Hollywood has run out of ideas campaign. I say go watch and show support of this film, because you won't be disappointed with this movie that movies very well at being a little over 2 hours long, The crowd I saw the movie with gave the film an applause afterwards which showed just how much they liked this film because even though there are similarities with some movies of the past there is only one Pacific Rim. also There is a short scene after the credits so don't leave right away its worth it trust me.

MY RATING

8/10