PACIFIC RIM – The Review

After the smash successes of the original KING KONG worldwide in 1933 and the classic THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS twenty years later, film makers worldwide, particularly in Japan, embraced the notion of a gigantic beast destroying cities (some say as a response to the A bombs that ended WWII) and created their own cinema superstar-beast with Gojira (known here in the states as GODZILLA, KING OF MONSTERS) in 1954. This inspired countless sequels and imitators (many from the same studio which created a whole monster menagerie). Eventually they were brought to television, but not as the heroes. That role would be filled by superheroes like Ultraman and robots. First there was the animated exploits of Astro Boy, Gigantor, and Tobor the Eighth Man (as they were named by US distributors). I was first aware of this genre by viewing the dubbed, daily syndicated adventures of “Jonny Sokko and His Flying Robot” (you can catch a feature film composed of four episodes in 1970 called VOYAGE INTO SPACE). At the end of every show Jonny would call on the giant robot to do battle with another gigantic rubbery behemoth. It was only a matter of time before this concept was remade and updated as PACIFIC RIM for modern movie audiences. Luckily the man at the helm is one of our greatest fantasy film makers: Guillermo del Toro. But his previous films mostly dealt with the supernatural (THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE, MIMIC, CRONOS). Will he be able to work his movie magic in a  futuristic science fiction setting?

PACIFIC RIM begins with a quick prologue to bring us up to speed, so get your snacks early! In the very near future, a gateway portal to another dimension called “the breach” deep at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean has unleashed giant amphibious monsters known as “Kaiju” who immediately head to land and destroy the coastal cities. After standard defenses prove ineffectual, the world governments begin the building of equally gigantic fighting robots known as “Jaegers”. But these robots are actually controlled by soldiers inside the machine. When the man/machine hook-up overwhelms the single soldier they decide to try it with teams of two (preferably siblings) who share thoughts and actions via a brain-sharing system called “drifting”. This line of defense headed by military man Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba) and seems to be working until a disastrous defeat involving the Jaeger “Gipsy Danger” piloted by Raleigh Beckett (Charlie Hunnam) and his older brother Yancy. Five years later, the Kaiju are becoming more powerful and the world leaders decide to end the Jaeger program and concentrate on building walls to keep the monsters away from the populace. Raleigh has gone into hiding and is working on one of the wall projects when he is found by Pentecost. Seems he’s taken the Jaegars underground including the rebuilt Gipsy. At their hidden Hong Kong base Raleigh reunites with his mission control pal (Clifton Collins Jr) and meets two scientists working to stop the Kaiju: reserved Dr. Gottlieb (Burn Gorman) and fast-talking Dr.Geizler (Charlie Day) who wants to drift with a Kaiju brain. And there’s the mysterious Mako (Rinko Kikuchi), who’s eager to join the fight despite the concerns of her mentor Pentecost. Can Raleigh and Mako overcome their tragic pasts and form a new team that will seal the breach and stop the Kaiju for good?

Of course the film’s main draw is the titanic battles, but del Toro has assembled a great cast of fresh-faced film actors led by the impressive Elba as the tough as nails commander. He’s quite believable as the man to guide you into battle, but his scenes with Kikuchi reveal his softer, almost fatherly side. A flashback sequence showing how the two first met is quite a touching moment amidst the rampant chaos. Kikuchi has her own intensity especially when she demonstrates her expert fighting skills and as she deals with her loss along with her attraction to Hunnam. He’s a hero in the TOP GUN mold, but he lets his doubt be seen as he returns to the spot of his biggest loss. Gorman brings a B-movie mad scientist intensity to his stubborn researcher while Day is the opposite with his eager, wiseguy, motormouth who’s ready to put himself on the line to better understand the monsters (Gottlieb may be correct in saying that he’s a Kaiju fan). Fortunately for us Day is paired up for several scenes with del Toro staple actor Ron Perlman (Hellboy himself), really entertaining as black market creature harvester Hannibal Chau. He and his team dash in after a battle and disassemble the beasts, while not getting any mess on his steel-tipped cowboy boots. The entire cast seem to be having a great time in this adventure tale.

Better no one is having a better time than del Toro. He’s set up a terrific playground staging scenes that many kids attempted to stage in their backyards. The opening montage is almost worthy of a stand alone film (prequel, perhaps?) as he tries to bring us up to date (nice that he believes we are smart enough to follow along). This is a world that expands on the great wartime fighter pilot flicks with a bit of the satirical touch of STARSHIP TROOPERS. My main beef is that we’re in training mode right after the zippy opening battle. It’s interesting to see them get ready, but we want to see some more big monster fights! While most of them are at night or in the rain or underwater (a better FX backdrop) we can still see what’s happening since the action is slowed a bit (unlike in the Transformers series, these guys are too big to zip about). The monsters are true descendents of Godzilla and her ilk with large, sharp protruding heads (think hammerhead sharks and rhinos) and glowing pulsating blue veins and mouths (watch out because some spew an acid-like blue gunk).The Jaegers are tough looking battlebots with their pilots usually stationed in the head region. The one from China is piloted by triplet brothers so it has three arms. I love the Russian one with its bullet head shape. And yes there are consequences to their battles. Some cities may never completely recover (what a clean-up!). Besides the extended training section, the only time del Toro stumbles is in the budding romance of the leads (with a last shot lifted from many Bond films). Although it’s inspired by past works, PACIFIC RIM feels much fresher than the sequels and reboots that have filled the multiplexes over the last couple months. Try to see it in 3D (was almost burned out on it) and on the biggest screen possible. You don’t want to miss any part of this exciting fun but dangerous world that del Toro and the ILM wizards have fashioned. I hope we’ll get to visit there  at least once more. Just don’t step in the Kaiju,um,stuff!

4.25 Out of 5