"I'm not sure how it's different from Transformers"
After seeing the movie:
"That was probably the best of the summer!"
A quote not by me, I was actually excited about this movie. But, I feel like somebody who actually said this should be the only confirmation you need in order to see Pacific Rim!
It is really hard for me to stop myself from just saying "THE MOVIE IS AWESOME! GO SEE!" But, sometimes, that's just the case with some movies. Also, it seems to be equally as hard to get people to go see this movie, but it also seems that word is spreading that this actually isn't just another cash-in Transformers knock off. Pacific Rim seems like it's going to be the sleeper hit of the year that surprises everyone by just how good the movie is. It's an absolute marvel of a movie that puts aside cynicism and moral complications for an extremely well made movie with a lot of heart and care to give us the monster movie of the 21st Century.
The story, for a summer Blockbuster, is actually kept simple for once. Alien Monsters, called the Kaiju, are invading Earth by way of transporting through dimensions through the Pacific Rim. In order to fight back, the Humans build giant robots, called the Jaeger, and beat the living crap out of these monsters. The monsters start getting stronger as time goes on, so the plan is to make one big asserted attack in order to stop the Kaiju once and for all. You have the protagonist who is called back from a traumatic event in order to help fight the Jaeger, Mako is the eager trainee who hopes to fight one day, two off-beat, whacky scientists who are also kind of awesome, Idris Elba playing the leader of the faction, and Ron Perlman playing as...well, you'll see!
So, why is this movie awesome you ask? Well, good film making for one thing. Even if your not familiar with Guillermo del Toro, he has managed to create a staple among many film fans. But, with this movie, it's his chance to shine with a wide audience. The reason why this film works so well is because of the simplicity of it that allows the film makers in order to capitalize on other things in this movie to make it work. We're presented with world building, as in, what it would be like in a world with the Jaeger and the Kaiju fight each other, there are 3-dimensional and even fun characters with clear motives and character actions, and, most of all, great action scenes of giant robots punching giant monsters IN THE FACE!
I can't stress enough on how well made these action scenes are. It's not just how the movie actually shows the audience on what's going on(in other words, there isn't any of that shaky cam bullcrap), but it's just the overall design of the Jaeger and the Kaiju. These things actually feel like giant monoliths just going at it on each other. Every movement, step, or contact they make with other things just feels right when your watching these giants in action. Also, the design and look of these enormous mechanical monsters and the actual monsters are just spot on. Each of the Jaeger robots you see are uniquely designed and easily recognizable from each other and the same can be said about the Kaiju as well. This isn't some sort of mess thrown together in order to make incomprehensible giant things doing stuff in a thing that resembles a story like Michael Bays Transformers, Pacific Rim is the real deal!
Man!
Okay, all gushing of praise aside, there are actually problems I have with this movie, albeit small ones as they don't really matter that much in the long run when the whole damn movie just works. The only problem that involves the story is how there's an action scene towards the middle that felt like it should have been at the end because it had a lot of build up and an incredible pay off. The final action scene of the movie is still pretty awesome, but it didn't seem to have the proper build up like the first one had which kind of hit a rough spot for me.
There's another thing about this movie that's pretty great but also something I found lacking. What's great is that the movie doesn't frame itself on how the US is the one and be all country in order to save everyone. They've pretty much got the entire world involved in this movie in order to stop the Kaiju, and even one of the main characters is Japanese. There are also side characters like the Australians, who play into a big role into the movie, and the Chinese and the Russians with their own Jaeger suits. My problem is that the Chinese and the Russians barely get to do anything at all in the movie and I was a bit disappointed on how it all panned out for them.
Still, when it comes to this kind of thing, we are making steps in the right direction.
Really, in the end, I honestly just love this movie. I've seen it twice by now and I still want to see it even more times. So, if you guys really need to see Grown Ups 2, at least give this movie a chance as well. I know a lot of you guys are probably unsure about it because it isn't tied to any sort of well known IP. This isn't a Superman movie, this isn't something from the Avengers, this isn't a J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie, so, it's sort of understandable to be unsure about this movie. This is something new and different, even if it's a sort of familiar setting for many people, it sure isn't for a lot more others. But, let me testify that this movie is very much well worth seeing. This is the action movie of the year, a new movie with a director who deserves this chance to blow people's minds in exactly this way.
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