I’d love to type the word “awesome” 700 times in reference to Pacific Rim and be done with my review, but my editor would probably make me rewrite 699 of those words, and I’d come across as having the credibility of a fanboy blogger. So, I’ll try to pen something with more substance. Just keep in mind that behind everything I write is that single word that sums up not just the movie but my experience watching it.
On the surface, Pacific Rim is a science fiction blockbuster in which mankind defends itself against giant creatures from another universe called Kaiju. The action involves earth-shaking, ear-shattering battles between the aliens and humongous Jaeger, robot-like machines controlled by two pilots. If this sounds like fodder for an animated series from Japan or a Godzilla redux, Pacific Rim is, in many ways, a love letter to these things.
But it’s not an empty-headed blockbuster. Beneath the visually stunning action, a story about how human beings deal with loss, both collectively and on a personal level, gives the film heart. Director and co-writer Guillermo del Toro and screenwriter Travis Beacham also explore, in subtle ways, how we depend on each other for our survival.
Pacific Rim jumps right into the action. Moments after the movie begins, we see a Kaiju destroying a large commuter bridge. Through urgent narration, we learn the aliens have been coming from another universe via a portal located in a trench in the Pacific Ocean. To fight the creatures, the nations of the world banded together to build the Jaeger.
Since the mental stress of controlling a giant mecha proved to be too stressful for the human brain, scientists devised a two-pilot system in which each controller shares half the neural load. For this to work, the pilots must meld their minds via a process called drifting. While establishing a connection during a drift, each pilot will see the memories and feel the emotions of the other controller. Perhaps due to the intensity of this experience, the pilots must be “drift compatible” in order for them to be able to work together.
For awhile, the Jaeger strategy works. Then the kaiju adapt and gain the upper hand. Enter Raleigh, a hotshot young jaeger controller whose co-pilot is his older brother. When his brother is killed unexpectedly during an intense battle, Raleigh drops out of the program. Soon, the powers that schedule the Jaeger Program for termination.
Stacker Pentecost, head of program, refuses to give up. He devises one last plan to save mankind using four remaining Jaegers and reels Raleigh back in. Also with Stacker is Mako, a young lady who’s dealing with devastating losses of her own. Although Pacific Rim has a rich cast of interesting and even humorous characters, much of the movie’s heartbeat can be found in the relationships that develop between Raleigh, Stacker and Mako. A surprising connection between Stacker and Mako is eventually revealed, and an interesting love develops between Raleigh and Mako.
I loved how del Toro and Beacham devoted screen time to developing a story and characters about whom we could care. And every actor rises to the occasion, with Idris Elba as the stern but caring Stacker delivering my favorite performance in the film. He does more acting with his eyes than most actors do with their entire bodies.
But make no mistake: the visuals are that would have inspired 700 repetitions of the word “awesome.” Del Toro is not only a good storyteller and an outstanding director, but when it comes to creature design, he has one of the most unique imaginations in the movie business, as can be seen in movies like Pan’s Labyrinth and Hellboy 2. Here, his imagination is given life via highly realistic computer animation . The Kaiju have weight and presence like no other movie creatures, and the Jaeger just are as incredible to behold. More than this, and more than the beautifully choreographed battles, and more than the jaw-dropping sets, and more than the sheer destruction these creatures and machine wreak on large cities, is the scale of these things. “Huge” doesn’t begin to describe it.
My only quibble with Pacific Rim is the slightly clunky quality of some of the dialogue. But this is only an occasional issue.
If at all possible, see Pacific Rim on an IMAX screen; it will be a spectable you’ll never forget. If you can’t, then see it anyway you can. For my moment, it’s this summer’s best movie.
Four-and-a-half stars out of five. Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence and brief language.