The Movie: Pacific Rim (2013)
Studio: Warner Bros.
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Starring: Charlie Hunnam as Raleigh Becket, Idris Elba as Stacker Pentecost, Rinko Kikuchi as Mako Mori, Charlie Day as Dr. Newton Geiszler, Burn Gorman as Gottlieb, Diego Klattenhoff as Yancy Becket, Max Martini as Herc Hansen, Robert Kazinsky as Chuck Hansen, Clifton Collins Jr. as Ops Tendo Choi and Ron Perlman as Hannibal Chau
Screenwriters: Guillermo del Toro and Travis Beacham
RottenTomatoes: 72% MetaCritic: 65/100
Snippet from My Review: (read my full review here)
Blockbuster cinema such as this is the equivalent of a breathless young child trying to tell you a story he/she made up based on some cartoon they just watched. They make their own sound effects and smash together their toy Optimus Prime with a Tyrannosaurus Rex, “Goosh! Smash! Blam! And then… and then the bad guy goes, ‘Rawrrr!‘ but the robot comes in and smashes him and saves the world!” They smile, you smile, and you give them a bit of encouragement.
Pacific Rim is a similar experience to where I want to say, “That’s really nice Guillermo, just be sure and clean up your toys when you’re done… Dinner’s about ready and then it’s time for bed.”
Starter Questions
Here are a few questions/thoughts to help get the conversation started.
1.) Did you actually care about the fate of any of the characters? If so, which ones and why?
2.) For me the battle sequences were deathly dull due to the fact I’ve seen buildings destroyed before and it didn’t help that nearly all of them begin with robots punching monsters only to decide in the end the sword might be the best option. What did you think of the action?
3.) I will agree with the opinion the film has great visual effects and production design, but for me that’s like polishing a turd if the story and character aspects of the film fail. Does spectacle ever count for so much that you believe it can make a bad movie good?
Now share your thoughts on the film in the comments below and feel free to include spoilers.
