Pacific Rim Conversational Review
Posted by Stephen Lambrechts & Anthony O'Connor - 9/7/2013
STEPHEN: We live in a world where the release of a mega blockbuster is no longer an occasion of note. There’s a dozen of them every year, and within a month of viewing most of them, they’ve already started to disappear from your memory as if it were a scene from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I can just picture it now: me following Benedict Cumberbatch and Zachary Quinto down a darkened hallway as they disappear from my mind entirely. So many special effects, so many big action set pieces, so much money and time spent, yet barely any memorable moments to take away from them.
We're pummeled with these films constantly, but how many of them will stick around in our subconscious many years from now? How many of them have given us that sense of all-encompassing awe that Jurassic Park gave us when we first saw the T-Rex? Or how about the first time we witnessed city-sized ships hovering over New York City in Independence Day? Hell, how about the first time we saw the Imperial Cruisers in Star Wars? How many of these recent blockbusters have made you feel 12 years old again? Not a whole lot, but thankfully, Guillermo Del Toro has nailed that feeling of pure wonder and amazement with Pacific Rim. Did the film put you in touch with your inner kiddo, Ant?
ANTHONY: It did, eventually. My initial reaction was rather more confused, though. The film opens with an exposition-filled monologue that covers over a decade; monsters come from a dimensional rift, humans build giant robots to fight monsters, humans start winning the fight against monsters, humans start becomming lazy, monsters start winning.
I was like, "Holy shit, guys, ONE of these concepts is probably worth spending ten minutes on, but I have to swallow them ALL?!"
Yet, somehow, I managed to relax into the mania. I guess it's a premise that you either accept or reject and after some initial confusion (like I thought maybe they'd skipped a reel... then I remembered we don't have reels anymore... then I felt old) I got into it.
It touched the 12-year-old me.
In a good way.
STEPHEN: True, it doesn't have the same 'lead-up' to the major event that something like Independence Day has, but in a way I kind of appreciated that. I feel like it would've only slowed the major story down to a crawl; the Kaiju attacks do last for several years after all. We needed to get right into the swing of things. We also needed some time to pass so that our hero, Raleigh Beckett (Charlie Hunnam), could be out of action for a while.
His character starts the story as an established Kaiju-fightin', Jaeger-pilotin' badass. Had the attacks been more of a surprise, the filmmakers probably could've given the story more room to breathe, however I think Guillermo's idea was probably to just present us with an already established universe that we have to jump into feet-first.
In many ways, Star Wars did the same thing, only with a long-ass yellow crawl of text, rather than spoken exposition. We were just immediately thrust into the conflict in that film, too.
ANTHONY: Oh definitely. This is the kind of film that doesn't care if you're familiar with giant robot/monster stories or not. It's one of the few blockbusters in recent memories that actually seems to say: "Hey, I'm the movie - it's YOUR job to catch up with ME."
In this day and age where prequels and exhaustive reboots seem to be the coin of the realm there's something kind of refreshing about a story that world builds so quickly and confidently.
That said, be prepared to metabolise a LOT of information very quickly.
STEPHEN: Oh man, I can already picture some studio draft lying around on a table somewhere detailing Raleigh Beckett's origin story. In a world where we have multiple Spider-man movies explaining to us what we already know, I kind of find it refreshing to skip past all of that stuff.
I do agree that it might be a bit much for people to take in if they aren't already big fans of the genre, especially because the information is rooted in the science fiction scenarios that the film has established.
ANTHONY: One of the things that stood out for me about Pacific Rim is that there was no real pandering to American specific values. There were no lingering shots of American flags (none that registered anyway) and the cast is quite racially diverse. This has the pace of a lot of anime and Manga - in fact the whole story felt like a translated Manga - which has both good and bad qualities.
The good: this is broad, imaginative storytelling. Lots of cool ideas, interesting tech and visually stunning design. There's a amazing sense of artistry to the monster design. The action is beyond reproach. It took the (all too) rare approach of actually SHOWING US THE STUFF IN FRAME. No jerky cam, no 12,367 edits when one will do - just coherent, confident control.
The bad: some of the performances were weak for me. Some of the writing felt cheesy, and not always in a good way. For every HOORAY FOR HU-MANS "cancelling the apocalypse" moment there were four or five cringe-inducing, chest-thumping bits of macho silliness. Perhaps a decrepit 36-year-old man isn't the intended target for those moments, but they did make me groan a little.
Although I will say, after the bleakness and dour tone of Man of Steel it was enjoyable to, you know, ENJOY the epic beat downs.
And I liked Man of Steel (mostly), but I loved that the heroics on display here were unironic or diluted by endless brooding.
STEPHEN: I loved those moments. There's just something cheerfully old-fashioned about them, with characters that are big and cartoony, just like the ones that would've appeared in the films and cartoons that inspired Pacific Rim. Call me crazy, but I'm not really looking for subtlety in my giant robots-smash-giant monsters movies! This is a film made to please the kids (and indeed the big kids like us), so I can get behind caricatures as long as they're colourful and memorable.
There's the cocky Australian-Val Kilmer substitute, the wacky and eccentric scientists who may or may not save the day, the hard but honourable Marshall, the rookie that has to overcome her fears and the clean-cut protagonist that we are meant to identify with. Sure, they're all characters we've seen in other films, but we can get behind every single one of them, no matter how douchey one or two of them may be. They're all heroes with honourable intentions. There are no villains other than the giant monsters, and when it comes down to it, all of these characters have the same drive and motivation.
ANTHONY: There was some stuff that felt straight out of a cartoon. The Russian team who look like a German Industrial band from the early 90s. The Chinese triplets with their awesome three-armed robot. Ron Perlman's insane outfit (the gold-tipped shoes alone could have their own spin-off movie) - it was all hyper-real in a very pleasing way.
That said, if you're the kind of person who felt Batman benefited from a real world aspect, you're likely going to hate this. It's not for people who like their event movies set in anything resembling the real world. I do wonder how America will respond to this movie.
STEPHEN: Isn't it about time that we all got over the 'realistic and brooding' portrayal of super heroes and fantastical story lines in films anyway? It's funny that you should bring up Man of Steel, a movie I enjoyed the hell out of, but find to be somewhat lacking now that I'm directly comparing it to Pacific Rim. Originally, I thought people were blowing the immense destruction seen in Man of Steel out of proportion, but seen in direct contrast to Pacific Rim, it's quite crazy how far apart they are.
Whereas Man of Steel was content to show a devastating amount of destruction with almost no attention paid to the citizens of Smallville and Metropolis, Pacific Rim manages to pull off a similar level of destruction, while always making the safety of the people in those cities the number one priority of our heroes. Superman is meant to be the definitive hero, yet he doesn't seem to give a damn about innocents as he's angrily punching Kryptonians through buildings. In Pacific Rim, even a tiny tugboat with a small crew of fisherman is of more importance to our pilots than the defeat of these monsters. Sure, that may be corny to some, but to me to me it's a display of heroic ideals that kids the world over should aspire to. Many filmmakers have forgotten the meaning of heroism, forcing iconic characters to fight for selfish reasons rather than the simple desire to protect and do good.
ANTHONY: I think the last movie that actually played heroes AS heroes was The Avengers. For all the smart arsey dialogue, there was genuine, unapologetic, heroism there. Man of Steel certainly achieved high on the spectacle scale (although, frankly, after Pacific Rim it's a bit lacking there too) but the callous (or glib) nature of his destruction has soured the film in my memory. Hell, in Pacific Rim people are evacuated to bunkers and such. There's a little warning before buildings are cleft in twain.
How about a little WARNING, Superman?!
I also really liked a sequence where one little girl is running down the street, trying to escape a genuinely creepy monster. It brings an emotional core to the proceedings. The people MATTER in Pacific Rim. Humanity seems to be a valued commodity. Also the theme of people working together is realised well in the concept of the Drift - the psychic connection between the two jaeger pilots.
STEPHEN: Very cool that should bring up that scene from the film, Ant. It's probably the most emotional moment of the film, and the very moment where I realised just how important these characters are to the filmmakers.
Guillermo Del Toro and his Co-Screenwriter Travis Beacham succeed because they never, ever forget the human element of the story. We could have all the Mech vs. Kaiju action in the world, and it wouldn't be worth a damn without human characters to care about behind all the action.
ANTHONY: It also says, 'Hey, yes - we are dealing with monster vs. robot violence on a global scale - but one crying little girl MATTERS.' Point of fact, she may indeed go on to make all the difference. It's nice to have some optimism sprinkled on the apocalyptic cereal we're getting served so often.
It reminded me (in a good way) of Independence Day.
STEPHEN: Agreed! I felt there were many callbacks to ID4 in the film, and yes, I agree that this is a good thing. A lot of crap is dealt to that film, but there really is no denying how effective the film was when it first came out, specifically because of the loveable characters behind all of the mayhem.
How did you like Charlie Hunnam and his co-pilot, Rinko Kikuchi? We all know Hunnam from Sons of Anarchy, and Kikuchi has been a favourite of mine since her turns in Babel, The Brothers Bloom and Norwegian Wood...
ANTHONY: Honestly I wasn't in love with Hunnam. I dig SOA but he's never the best thing about it for me. He's certainly very personable, looks good (especially sans shirt) but he's always a bit bland for my taste.
STEPHEN: I like him. I think Kikuchi was the standout here, but he brought a good sense of honour and heroism to the role. The scenes where we see their characters interacting and getting to know each other were quite sweet, especially in the way that his character, Raleigh, fights to get her character, Mako, as his co-pilot.
I also felt it was very cool how the filmmakers resisted the urge to turn their relationship into a romantic one. It's a relationship built on friendship and mutual respect. To bring up Man of Steel again, I found it pretty odd to see Superman kiss Lois Lane in that film, as nothing leading up to it suggested any sense of romantic connection.
ANTHONY: Kikuchi was well-written too. She wasn't a "strong female character" because she punched as MUCH AS THE BOYS. She was respectful and dedicated and worked hard to get where she was. I enjoyed the camraderie of all the jaeger pilots - even if sometimes it did feel a bit like an unironic version Starship Troopers.
STEPHEN: A film that I freakin' adore, by the way. Haha.
ANTHONY: Oh, totally.
STEPHEN: I enjoyed the fact that even though there's tension between some of the pilots on different teams, they all have the same goals. Sure, we've seen it a hundred times before in other movies, but I'd be willing to wager that most 12 year old kids today have not. If there was any justice in the world, this film would become an incredible sensation in every school playground around the world. I know that if it'd come out when I was a kid, my friends and I would've owned every action figure, collected every trading card, and pretty much let Pacific Rim rule our entire lives for at least a year.
ANTHONY: Hey, let's take a quick moment and acknowledge the fucking ACTION in this film. Such coherent beast battlin' with STAKES! Every hit seemed to matter and every action thing took the story somewhere! Every director in Hollywood seriously needs to take some notes from this thing. My eyes tend to glaze over after the sixteenth action beatdown but if anything I wanted MOAR MONSTERS GETTING PUNCHED.
It certainly didn't hurt that both robot and beasts were designed with an exacting, interesting vision that was thematically consistent but also varied enough to be exciting.
The bit where the monster suddenly sprouted wings made me want to fist bump baby Jesus.
STEPHEN: I know! There was a sense of weight and scale which was absolutely tremendous. Some people might scoff that most of the action takes place at night and during heavy rain, but I feel this was actually a very clever tactic on Guillermo's part to demonstrate a real sense of scale. When placed in contrast to the rain and the huge waves crashing against the Jaegers and Kaiju, you really get a sense of them being absolutely gargantuan in size. This effect is kind of impossible to pull off without rain and things in the foreground and background. Case in point, when the Jaegers are completely underwater, it's more difficult to get an accurate idea of their size.
The standout battle for me, was the one in Hong Kong. Huge, lumbering mechs and monsters getting pushed through enormous buildings covered in multicoloured neon signs…. it was pretty much the most visually arresting thing I've seen in a movie like this.
ANTHONY: Battle of Hong Kong was easily the highlight for me. In fact, I think the movie peaks there. A lot of interesting visual action combined with some surprising story beats. Plus I LOOOOVE the moment where our heroes "check the pulse" of a downed monster. It was a really satisying, human moment and one that made you really care about the characters.
STEPHEN: Honestly, I can't really fault anything about Pacific Rim. I adore the designs of the Jaegers and the Kaiju, I cared about the characters more than I have in almost every other blockbuster in recent memory (with the exception of The Avengers, although even that film had a dozen other lead-in films and decades worth of source material to make us care about its characters), its wonderfully old-fashioned sense of heroism, its colossal sense of scale, its absolutely beautiful and colourful visual style, its deep-rooted science fiction and its well-established universe.
Perhaps I'm biased, having been a fan of this kind of stuff in anime for as long as I remember, but it all worked for me. I was a kid raised on Mazinger Z, Patlabor, Macross, Ultraman, Godzilla and later on classics like Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Pacific Rim is like all of those brought to life in the most visually spectacular way possible. Even the film's post-converted 3D was excellent!
ANTHONY: I had some issues with performance and dialogue - but nothing deal breaking. I loved the design, I really enjoyed the sense of old fashioned heroics (and Lovecraftian monster dimensions) and overall was blown away by the coherent and well executed destruction and action. A blockbuster with a heart of gold and a brain of, oh I don't know, a totally adequate metal.
STEPHEN: Also, props to Charlie Day for including shades of Rick Moranis in his performance as Dr. Newton Geiszler.
ANTHONY: [Laughs] And 'creepy guy from Torchwood' for continuing his unending streak of creepiness.
And Ron Perlman's shoes for MVP.
STEPHEN: LOVED Ron's shoes. And yeah, creepy guy from Torchwood was great. He definitely had the most Del Toro-esque character in the film.
ANTHONY: Score out of five?
STEPHEN: Quite frankly, Pacific Rim has sky-rocketed to the number 1 position on my 'films of the year so far' list.
ANTHONY: That was quite frank.
STEPHEN: 5 Stars from me. Feels weird, because I've already given that score to another film this year (two films, if you count Maniac as this year)!
But, this just feels like it was made for me specifically.
ANTHONY: Was the other one Only God Forgives? You're a man of expansive tastes. I'll give it a 4. I really dug it, and will totes watch again, but we'll see how it ages for me.
STEPHEN: [Laughs] Yes, and those two films could NOT be further apart… Aside from taking place in Asia…. and having lots of colourful neon lights…. oh shit… THEY'RE THE SAME FILM!
ANTHONY: Less violent rape and murder in Pacific Rim. Also I didn't want to sit in my underpants and cry as much in Pacific Rim.
Although Pacific Rim had far less creepy, Lynch-esque karaoke.
OH one more point: You left, but there's a loving tribute to Ray Harryhausen at the very end of the credits. Props to Guillermo for being up front about his passions and thanks for bringing them to life for a whole other generation.
Now everyone see Pacific Rim so we can get a Mountains of Madness adaptation DAMN YOU TO HELL.
[bows]
STEPHEN: And hell, I want more giant monster movies in the theatre, dammit!
Gotta love Legendary though, regardless of the success of Pacific Rim, it will be bringing us a Gareth Edwards-directed Godzilla movie next year! A great time to be a geek!
ANTHONY: Or a 12-year-old.
STEPHEN: That's it. 12 stars out of 5. *wink*
ANTHONY: ☆☆☆☆
STEPHEN: ☆☆☆☆☆
MORE REVIEWS
