Pacific Rim (Movie Review)

Wow. Just, wow. I could just leave this movie review with those few words and call it a day, but that's not what you came here for, is it? You wanted a reason to go see this movie (why you would, I don't know) and I am committed to giving you one. Read on for why "Pacific Rim" is the Movie of the Year!

READER INTERACTIVE ALERT: Click the video, and listen to the epic main theme from the movie's soundtrack while reading this review, at the 0:23 mark.



Giant robots are cool. Giant monsters are cool. A movie with giant robots, and giant monsters is unbelievably cool. So, the fact that a movie about robots battling monsters, with famous cities of the world as their battlefield actually exists in the mainstream is just, well, words cannot describe the sheer awesomeness this brings to the movie industry.

That movie? Pacific Rim. The biggest summer blockbuster of the year, and the most important movie you’ll ever witness today. Seriously. This isn’t the latest trend in Hollywood filmmaking. This isn’t a remake, or an adaptation of anything that came before. This. Is. An. Original. Movie. And it’s about time, if you ask me.

 

For far too long have we had to sit through ridiculous attempts of contributions to modern cinema with, what everyone else refers to as, “reimagining’s”. Classic movies from yesteryear dug up and given a modern twist for a newer generation, when what the egghead producers, all the way up in the ‘Wood, should’ve been concocting were original, new, and fresh ideas, like those past films in their heyday. Imagine that.

So, thank Mexico Guillermo del Toro was born.

Bringing us this showdown of epicosity was a no-brainer from the director of “Hellboy”, “Pan’s Labyrinth”, “Blade II”, and anything else that involves monsters, demons and creatures from another world. It was like del Toro was building up to this moment from day one, and expectations were exceeded tenfold. Giving us exactly what the posters, and trailers, have been advertising, Pacific Rim is a movie that isn’t afraid to be what it is. It holds up its hands and says “I’m Pacific Rim, and I’m a monster movie”. An example of this bold, guiltless attitude: the first scene your eyeballs are subjected to is a Kaiju (the name of the monsters in this movie) tearing the San Francisco bridge apart. You get what it gives you, and what it gives you is a fun time at the cinema.

 

Of course, when the final credits roll, everyone will be talking about the many different battle scenes (not one fight is the same), and absolute carnage that’s left behind by the Kaiju’s and Jaeger’s (the name of the robots) and rightfully so, but what you won’t be expecting is this movie has a heart, and soul.

Populated by a bunch of virtually unknown actors was the right way to go, that way you wouldn’t be distracted to see a famous A-lister struggle with having to deal with the death of a family member, thanks to the apocalyptic disasters present. Seeing them as any other face you’d bump into on the street supports the emotional element needed to get under these characters’ skin, and root for them when they suit up to kick some massive Kaiju backside. There’s not one character you’ll find annoying when they’re not supposed to be, and that’s down to the fantastic writing just as much as anything else. It’s a welcome surprise from the other emotionally withdrawn blockbusters out now, but that’s more than likely due to not knowing who’s going to get out of this slugfest alive.

 

Believe the hype. Pacific Rim is what you never thought you wanted in a summer blockbuster, but that’s okay because the movie is more than welcome to show you just how you’re supposed to make a visually stunning, and emotionally gripping action extravaganza for the ages.

See it once, then see it again with a family member, then three or four more times with a group of friends, just keep watching and supporting this original tale of robots vs. monsters and, who knows, maybe this is the kick up the rear end that Hollywood needs to wake up and give us more original stories on the big screen or more monster movies, either way it’s a win-win scenario for all.

You owe it to not only yourself, but the movie industry as a whole to see this movie. It’s that simple.

“Go Big or Go Extinct” was never more true.