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It’s been a pretty rough summer for poor old Mother Earth. She’s come under siege by a variety of different threats—everything from aliens to zombies. Now, in Pacific Rim, Guillermo del Toro’s big, bold mix of Battleship, Transformers, and Real Steel, the planet is threatened by gigantic monsters from under the sea.
After giant creatures (called Kaiju) began making their way out of an underwater portal and wreaking havoc on Earth, the Jaeger program was instituted, battling the beasts with giant, weaponized robots run by a pair of neurally-connected pilots. For years, the Jaeger program was a success—until the Kaiju became more powerful and started destroying the robots and killing their pilots.
Now, the Jaeger program is about to be shut down. But when the attacks begin to escalate, former pilot Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam) is teamed up with a new partner and brought back into the battle.
Guillermo del Toro is known for creating some pretty imaginative creatures—for films like Pan’s Labyrinth and the Hellboy movies. And that’s definitely the case for Pacific Rim, too. In fact, not satisfied to create an army of identical monsters from the deep, del Toro makes each monster different—each one taking a uniquely horrifying form. The problem, however, is that there just aren't enough of them. While the monsters appear quite often, they’re usually seen in dark and disorienting battle scenes, offering just a glimpse of swinging arm here and gaping mouth there. It’s a shame, too—because what you can see is pretty spectacular.
And, really, that’s the draw of the film: the visuals. Del Toro definitely knows his way around special effects—so, between the hulking monsters and the massive robots, it’s all pretty breathtaking. Shell out a few extra bucks to see it in IMAX 3D, and you’re in for a jaw-dropping adventure that you’ll feel in the pit of your stomach.
Unfortunately, though, the story isn’t quite as spectacular as the effects. It often feels like the sequel to a non-existent movie—a thrilling movie about the first attacks and how the Jaeger program came about. Instead of telling that story, Pacific Rim skips ahead to tell the story of a last-ditch attempt to battle the mysterious monsters. And while it has its thrilling moments, there isn’t enough of an emotional attachment to the characters or their story to keep it from fizzling out in the end.
The tone, meanwhile, is about as balanced as it was in The Lone Ranger. At times, it’s completely wacky and over-the-top (especially as it relates to a pair of warring researchers, played by Charlie Day and Burn Gorman). At other times, it’s extremely melodramatic. Had del Toro toned down either the comedy or the drama, it would have felt more cohesive. Instead, it feels awkwardly bi-polar, with wildly swinging moods that quickly shift from slapstick comedy to Shakespearian drama.
But, then again, it’s summer—and this is just the kind of big, noisy mess that shows up in theaters this time of year. It isn’t a work of brilliance by any stretch of the imagination, but its action and effects are sure to entertain summer blockbuster junkies.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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