by R.C. Samo
Editor-in-Chief
Visually, Guillermo del Toro continues to out do himself. In fact, the only competition del Toro has is the limitations of his mind. Pacific Rim has amazing visual effects. giant robots, sea monsters, continuous action from the opening sequence to the closing scenes.
Sadly, what this film does not have is a focused story. There are the multiple cliched subplots that were filler between the action scenes. You have the Japanese revenge story, where Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi) seeks to honor the loss of her family to these Kaiju. Then there is Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam), the hotshot Jaeger pilot who endangers the life of his crew with his cocky attitude, goes into hiding after the loss of his brother in a fight with the Kaiju and is called back to duty because there is no one else left of the old guard. Followed by, the brooding general, Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba) who cares deeply about his personnel but hides his emotions for the sake of the mission. All of this is played out with the forced relationship of the father and son team of Herc Hansen (Max Martini) and Chuck Hansen (Robert Kazinsky). The Australian due, where Herc wishes he was able to show his son more affection, but now it’s too late because the final battle has arrived…poor Ron Perlman.
We can’t forget the Bert and Ernie comic relief duo of doctors Newton “Newt” Geiszler (Charlie Day) and Gottleib (Burn Gorman). They were nothing more than an old bickering couple giving the audience enough of a distraction to let their eyes readjust from the blinding fight scenes of the IMAX 3D and still trying to figure out how the love story between Mori and Becket developed beyond a few glances across the training room. My only hope was that Day’s incessant whining would come to an end in being eaten by the Kaiju, but that never happened, instead someone suffered that fate, who I do not wish to reveal.
This movie is for those who love a good popcorn flick, with a lot of explosions, monsters, robots and video game effects. It will speak to your inner 13-year-old adolescent boy and answers the question, “What would happen if Voltron faught Godzilla?” The answer is Pacific Rim.
Pacific Rim opens Friday, July 12 nationwide.
