PACIFIC RIM

Yes!!! Thank goodness PACIFIC RIM did not disappoint. In fact the film exceeded my expectations. The awe factor took me out of the movie a few times, the detail of the Jaeger's and the Kaiju are just amazing. Groundbreaking special effects. In this day and age that statement seems to do more harm than good. So let me rephrase it by saying PACIFIC RIM is the most effects heavy movie that I've seen in a long time where the special effects are more a tool for storytelling. None of the action felt like it was video game cut scenes or distracting like a Transformers movie.

PACIFIC RIM is director Guillermo del Toro's STAR WARS. It was during the third Jaeger verses Kaiju fight that this fact dawned on me. There has already been plenty of word of mouth saying the scale of the fight scenes are reminiscent of seeing the Imperial Walkers in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK for the first time. I happily concur with this belief.

I'm not an expert or big fan when it comes to Anime and my film knowledge is limited on giant robots fighting giant monster movies. I know enough of these genres to understand what the filmmakers intent to accomplish was. I went into this knowing full well that Guillermo del Toro was going to bring audiences the end all to end all Mechs fighting Kaiju film.

In the not to distant future giant monsters rise from the depths of the Pacific Ocean and bring utter destruction to coastal cities. With todays modern military defense it takes days and millions of lives lost just to kill one Kaiju. The attacks become more frequent and the destruction more rampant. The nations of the world decide to put their differences aside and come up with a solution to destroy all monsters. They come up with the Jaeger program. Giant robots that can beat the living hell out of the Kaiju.

The early trials of this program weren't all that great. Controlling one Jaeger was too much strain on the human brain that now two people run a Jaeger. One person for the right hemisphere and the second for the left hemisphere. To accomplish this the process of Drifting was created. Drifting is the mind meld of two Jaeger pilots so they can be in tune with each other and share the mental load. A pilot for the right side and a pilot for the left side. The Jaeger program becomes gangbusters and easily begin defeating the Kaiju left and right. Jaeger pilots become the new rock stars.

Raleigh Becket and his brother Yancy control the Jaeger Gipsy Danger, probably the most bad ass giant robot in the program. Maybe not. But these guys are the best of the best. A lot like Maverick and Goose in TOP GUN. Things go terribly wrong on what seems like a routine Kaiju smack down, when the giant monsters seem to have progressively become stronger and smarter. Gipsy Danger wins but not without a price. Yancy did not survive the battle. Being linked together with the Drift made the experience far worse than anyone could imagine. Having a mental connection to someone as they are dying especially a relative has to be one of the worst things I can think off.

5 years later. The Jaeger program has seen better days. The powers that be want the program shut down. Instead of the giant robots they feel building a giant wall will protect us from the increasing Kaiju threat. Head of the Jaeger program Stacker Pentecost does not like the sound of that so he wants to devise a plan that could possibly end the Kaiju attacks for good. But he needs all the best Jaeger pilots he can find, even Raleigh.

Raleigh has been a drifter going from job to job ever since the death of his brother. He never wants to set foot in another Jaeger ever again. He finds work building the wall which seems like a lost cause. Stacker finds him and convinces him to come back to the program.

Stacker's plan is to strap a nuclear device on a Jaeger and launch it into the dimensional rift where these Kaiju come from. With the help of some old pilots and new ones along with some scientists, Stacker and his crew have an honest shot at finishing this war of the gargantuans once and for all.

I wanna talk more about PACIFIC RIM but right now the best thing I can say is go this this amazing movie right now. Support this and let Hollywood know that films like PACIFIC RIM should be the new standard when it comes to summer blockbusters.

PACIFIC RIM is not all just about giant robots fighting giant monsters. The film has interesting characters that we end up caring about. This isn't TRANSFORMERS. With having characters we care about, the special effects end up becoming a tool for the storytelling and not the main attraction. Well okay, the giant robot and monster fighting is the main attraction, but now we have a lot more emotional weight invested. Like I said, this isn't TRANSFORMERS.

If you love summer blockbusters then put down whatever you're doing and go see this film.