AHHH!!! It's Godzil... No, wait, I'm in China: Pacific Rim Review

Ever noticed that original ideas for films don't usually receive a large budget compared to something tried, tested, and arguably abused to death? The largest slice of money handed by studios usually goes to: A. A famous book whose time has come for Hollywood exploitation such as the upcoming Ender's Game. B. Some old show that pulls on nostalgia for some people, such as the recent failure of the Lone Ranger. C. Just something fairly popular in general. Movies based on video games generally fail... badly (just look at Uwe Bowl's resume, or Mark Walberg's debauchery of Max Payne, one of my favorite shooters of all time).

I remember reading an article on Forbes' website about how it was a rule of thumb for large film studios to not spend over $50 million on an original idea and how that made Pacific Rim, a original film idea with $180 million to spend, a massive risk for Warner Bros. Outside of a strictly business and profit-oriented perspective, some might argue that it wasn't as much as a risk as it was finally understanding the desire of modern moviegoers for something original amongst the oversaturation of remakes and sequels currently plaguing Hollywood. It could also be said that the film was in good hands since it was directed by Guillermo del Toro of Pan's Labyrinth fame. And for the three days its been out, the movie seems to be doing very well. But what does this manner to any given person wishing to see a good movie? Actually, there are three decent reasons to go see Pacific Rim: plenty of grand and intense action with giant robots and monsters duking it out in battles of massive scope, the underlying thematic material hiding amongst the chaos, and the fact that it doesn't necessarily take itself seriously.

In terms of action, this film won't disappoint. Humanity is threatened when large alien creatures called the Kaiju (Japanese for "giant beast") rise from a rift in the Pacific Ocean and attack various costal locations, claiming the lives of millions and draining humanity's resources. Humanity comes together and giant mechs called Jaegers (German for "hunter") are created to counter the threat and that's all the spoilers one will find in this review. The film's large budget shows the most in any given battle between various Kaiju (each with varying physical traits) and Jaeger models of differing designs. Every fight sequence is meant to feel massive, often reminiscent of the monster movies that del Toro loved from his youth. Because of this, Pacific Rim basks in its influences and there are many moments that seem so over-the-top it almost seems like a satire and, oddly enough, some of it is.

Pacific Rim actually seems like a fairly light-hearted movie with some funny moments. Ironically, for being the most original film currently in your friendly neighborhood over-priced movie theatre, it has a lot of cliches typical of an apocalypse resistance movie as well as the monster movies that influenced del Toro. It that respect, it seems like an affectionate parody/homage as well as an introduction to the mecha/monster genre for younger generations. For obvious reasons, I won't point out those cliches to you, but you will know them when you see them. None of them really work against the movie because the movie isn't trying to use these tropes seriously but to have fun and enjoy itself.

It should be noted, however, there are some interesting themes underlying all the action and ridiculousness Pacific Rim has to offer. An interesting thing about the Jaegers is that it requires two pilots to man one. The pilots usually have to have proper coordination and bond using a neural bridge and a process called the Drift where the pilots access each other's thoughts. The theme of bonding seems to be particularly prevalent within the film, with many Jaeger pilots having to work as close team of two in order to effectively fight the Kaiju. During such mind-melds, we see brief glimpses of characters' memories and there was even one scene where I got a bit emotional, which I did not go in expecting.

I enjoyed Pacific Rim and I would say it feels like a breath of fresh air amongst the oceans of unnecessary remakes and rehashed sequels. The action sequences are a joy to watch, the film relishes in the cheesiness of its origins and has a few moments that provoke some good laughter, and it could be a good reminder that we still need to work together in these time of great techonological advances and increasing individualism. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys robots vs monsters or is interested in restoring their faith in Hollywood.

Cheers,
Bendita Locura