Review of Pacific Rim (2013) by Bryce R — 23 Feb 2016

Eye Candy the Movie.

Guillermo Del Toro's Pacific Rim (2013) is an adrenaline rush filled to the brim with eye candy and a simplistic, yet interesting plot. The detailed CGI compliments its' aesthetically unique color pallet to help create a visually stunning experience that is, ultimately, cut short by its lackluster main character.

The plot is nowhere near as unique when compared to other movies Del Toro has done, but it still does a great job of keeping your attention throughout the movie. Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam), a once great jaeger pilot suffered a traumatizing fate that drove him into retiring. Years later, Becket is needed once again as all other methods of defending humanity from the Kaiju are deemed worthless. Becket returns to the Shatterdome, the facility where jaegers are created, in order to find a new co-pilot. Here he meets the research team, a snobbish scientist and a Kaiju fanatic, both of which help in trying to find a way to stop the Kaiju. However, the Kaiju continue to increase in numbers, size, strength, and intelligence, becoming increasingly difficult for the Jaegers to handle. As a result, the fate of humanity is in the hands of the research team and the few remaining Jaegers.

The CGI is the movie's strongest point and is what enables this movie to be so immersive and exciting. The Jaegers and Kaiju are full of immense detail that make these giants seem so life-like. These details ranging from scratches on a Jaeger to reflective chrome surfaces. Even the animated movements seem real. The Jaeger's have a more systemic and uniform movement to them, giving it that robotic, yet somewhat human look to it. The Kaiju, on the other hand, have a more fluid movement that seems more animalistic that matches with their brooding nature. Even the fights are extremely detailed. Bits and pieces of Jaeger and Kaiju fall off as each hit connects.

The color pallet perfectly meshes together with this amazing CGI. Guillermo Del Toro's use of many different vivid colors is what makes the fights and areas seem so beautiful. The fights turned into battles of color-it's an art form. Each scene was memorable thanks to this color pallet, no part of the movie really felt gray or aesthetically empty. Even the colossal concrete Jaeger Facility emitted vibrant and beautiful reds, blues and greens from its lights.

However, all the visual appeal cannot save this movie from its acting. This struggle that humanity faces is not very well portrayed in the acting, the main character more specifically. This actor's small range of expressions from "pissed off" to "not pissed off yet" contradicts what should be felt. It's as if he doesn't have a traumatizing past and doesn't realize humanity is being threatened by extinction; which is disappointing to say the least considering the great performance the other side characters brought. These side characters do a great job of conveying themselves believably, by having very unique mannerisms, and behaviors. A prime example would be Dr. Newton Geiszler (Charlie Day). He has sporadic tendencies that match with his unpredictable excitement toward Kaiju. However, due to too much focus around the main character, the immersion/overall enjoyment of the other characters and the movie is largely impacted in a negative way.

Guillermo Del Toro strayed slightly from his usual action route through the use of Large Monster and Robots, and did an amazing job. This movie is living proof that the action genre does not have to be mindless violence, but can also contain many different aspects of beauty and art.