WATCH: Pacific Rim

Humourous title aside, Pacific Rim had me questionable at best before I had seen the damn thing. From hearing American audiences prefer the appeal of Grown-Ups 2 I felt a wee bit disheartened. Regardless, after seeing the extended trailer and falling in love with the set design in Hong Kong I came away the complete opposite. Fantastically content. ILM have done an amazing job bringing the hulking piloted mechs known as Jaegers to life. The beautiful thing here is they look functional. Cranks, gears and pistons operate some of the more experienced mechs while being retrofitted with sleek interiors akin to Minority Report. Jets rocket to life when maneuvering the hulking robstrosities in every pivot and turn. The difference with previous robot shows like Transformers is that this doesn't look a mess, even through the battering thunderstorms and crashing waves. I felt like I couldn't quite catch the punches landed between Autobot and Decepticon and, although this is mechs versus monsters, you catch every devastating blow thanks to the spectacular camera work.


The story follows your washed-up former pilot with vengeance raging within him after losing his brother five years previous when they piloted the infamous Gipsy Danger. The time between the delivery of monsters (known as Kaiju) into our world from another is rapidly decreasing and they're turning up in pairs. It was the point where Idris Elba's cold yet passionate portrayal of Stacker Pentecost went to fetch said washout, Charlie Hunnam's Raleigh Becket, from incomplete anti-Kaiju defensive wall that I begun to draw the parallels as I knew I would to anime.

Pilot synchronisation, underground launch pads, blue-haired pilots losing control and even a hint of LCL fluid being drained into the pilots' suits screamed Neon Genesis Evangelion. And let's not forget the Angels... I mean, Kaiju... who, similarly to the Angels, have the exact same genetic code but translate differently into a new form each time. Then there's the Astro Boy dress sense of some of the film's wackier characters, researchers Geizler and Gottlieb, who bounce off one another like a pseudo-Asian pair of Marx Brothers. Guillermo del Toro mentioned he had these epic anime's in mind, and being a long time fan of Gainax' flagship series, I was humbled and not threatened to spot these stark similarities. Fans of del Toro's previous work need not worry too much about it falling too far away from his creative tree. There is a definite essence of del Toro here and in particular it was during the scenes where Charlie Day's Geizler goes to visit Hannibal Chau in Hong Kong. Here, the artistic direction involves lots of red's, gold's and organisms in jars. Very stylistic and very del Toro. Did I mention Chau is played charismatically by Ron Perlman?

The fight scenes, and boy, did I feel there was a lack of them, are action-packed and keep you on the edge of your seat. My favourite moments were between Gipsy Danger and the Kaiju in the city; oil tankers and robot-sized katanas oh my! You get to see a few other Jaegers, piloted by characters who definitely didn't have enough screentime (prequel TV series anyone?) such as the platinum blonde husband and wife team in Russian Jaeger Cherno Alpha. It was nice to see former EastEnder Robert Kazinsky show up to play ball after his mysterious disappearance from The Hobbit roster back when Peter Jackson was still putting up production videos on YouTube. His portrayal as disgruntled wannabe icon Chuck Hansen is kept line, difficultly at times, by his co-pilot father. This adds to the fray the testosterone fuelled rivalry between himself and Raleigh. The love interest's boots are filled by Rinko Kikuchi as Mako Mori who completely shines through without being portrayed as a sexual object but rather someone who is also on a quest fuelled by vengeance as detailed in plot-filling flashbacks. My one major problem here is her sudden disappearance into the background of all the action. With her backstory covered after getting caught in the Drift (a memory flow between pilots to share complete synchronisation as to better pilot the Jaegers), she is thrown to the backburner with little to no dialogue.

The ending, for me, went a bit Independence Day, with some odd Terminator style rules as to what can actually travel through portals. What I mean is, the Jaegers can only deliver a nuclear payload to destroy the rip in the ocean the Kaiju are getting through is if they fool this transdimensional portal into believing they are Kaiju themselves. Then there's the transdimensional radio signals and the Jesus Christ pose in space (something I was familiar with from Man Of Steel). It definitely didn't leave anything open for a sequel unless these alien beings somehow develop space-faring ships. If they do, I can't wait to see them, as they will be organic machines like the Kaiju. This again nodded at other franchises like Starship Troopers. I realise that this review is more of a hitlist of del Toro's obvious references, but they are very fitting to his man-in-a-monster-suit epic. It's just then I realise I haven't mentioned Gojira. Oh wait. This is a big summer action flick and it definitely needs to be seen in an air-conned 3D cinema and right down the front so you can feel every punch.