Pacific Rim Review

Pacific Rim is unabashedly the most accurate realization of a young child's imagination. Fueled by a palpable passion and love for all things fantastical and just straight up cool. Where this film succeeds and where most of the movies this summer failed, is in the details. Within the first few minutes of the movie one of the 30-story tall mechanical behemoths intercepts a gigantic alien beast heading towards an Alaskan fishing boat. The mechanized war-machine proceeds to gently remove the fishing boat and its passengers from the imminent wrestling match. And in that one moment Pacific Rim completely invalidates the entirety of this summers Man of Steel. Focusing on details also helps create a believable world on the losing side of a war against viscous beasts from another dimension. Like the mechanical giants that populate it Pacific Rim gleefully strides forward, confident in the utter smack-down it's about to bestow upon an eagerly anticipatory audience.

Pacific Rim is a throwback to a time when movies evoked a sense of wonder. Where a fully realized world was waiting to be explored and where originality and creativity were valued above all else. When a movie could encompass all of life and its complexity, when awe and fear were two sides of the same coin; when joy was genuine and exciting; when drama wasn't window dressing but the drive to which characters were motivated. Pacific Rim is a breath of fresh air in a year filled with sequels, remakes, and flops. A genuinely fun and rousing experience that justifies multiple trips to the theater.


Pacific Rim finds humanity on the brink of extinction after a rift to another dimension begins spawning monsters or as the Japanese call them, kaiju, the size and ferocity of which level entire cities. To combat these beasts the nations of the world combined forces and began to create monsters of their own. Mechanical beasts dubbed Jaegers (German for hunter) to meet these creatures in battle. These Jaegers are so large and complicated they necessitate two pilots, one for each hemisphere of the brain, through a process called Drift the two compatible pilots share their consciousness allowing them to better control these gargantuan machines. Once these battle ready robots start dishing out the violence the movie truly takes off. The fights are on a massive scale, never more apparent than when the lead Jeager, Gypsy Danger comes into frame dragging a freight ship only to begin swinging it around like a baseball bat delivering some of the most satisfying wallops of the entire film. The action is well shot and easy to follow something a few of the other films this year could learn from. The movies color palette also helps the robots, monsters, and cities stand out giving the world this beautiful and colorful saturated look.

The exacting details and overall design of the world could not have come from anyone else but Guillermo del Toro. The monster designs unfortunately don't differentiate themselves too much and all carry del Toro's signature aesthetic: beady separated eyes, flat heads, several mouths, etc. The films only real negative aspect are the shallow characters, many of them are simple stereotypes and wild caricatures passed off as three dimensional characters. A few come out strong such as Idris Elba as Pentecost, the leader of this monster fighting resistance who carries large portions of the film on gravitas alone. Rinko Kikuchi also proves female characters can be more than love interests as a vengeance fueled aspiring Jaeger pilot. It's refreshing to see the two leads form a meaningful partnership rather than forcing any unnecessary sexual tension, instead creating a resonate relationship which drives the majority of the drama. Others such as Ron Perlman's charlatan crime boss and Charlie Days fast-talking eccentric scientist are disappointingly one-note.

Pacific Rim is bursting with passion. It embodies everything movies can be when made with love and attention to detail. It boasts some of the biggest action ever seen in a movie, yet it never losses sight of the human element. Minutes after seeing the film I was hung up on several minor issues but in all honesty as I sit here writing this review those problems are completely irrelevant, instead replaced with the moments I so thoroughly enjoyed. The films is big, loud, and sometimes dumb but it delivers one of the most singularly engaging and rousing movie-going experiences in awhile. It's playful and earnest and all the more endearing for it. Pacific Rim is an achievement in above all else, imagination.

 (4 out of 5)