Review of Pacific Rim (2013) by Victor T — 18 Jul 2015

My fellow countryman Guillermo Del Toro is known for being a problematic director when it comes to commit to a film. Del Toro hadn't directed a film since 2008 with "Hellboy 2"; he was supposed to do the "Hobbit Trilogy", a new take of "Frankenstein´s Monster", a stop motion film about "Pinocchio", a new film based on the "Haunted Mansion" ride, and an adaptation of Lovecraft´s "At the Mountains of Madness". But finally in 2013 Del Toro returned to the directing chair in this Japanese manga blockbuster known as "Pacific Rim".

In 2013 a crack between the tectonic plates creates a portal where gigantic monsters emerge. In order to defend humanity, every nation cooperates to create giant robots to fight these creatures.

Let's be completely honest, with a synopsis like that there is no way this film could be good. The question is: Can it be fun? "Pacific Rim" has a pretty bizarre cast of TV people (familiar faces if you watch "Homeland", "Sons of Anarchy" or "The Wire") that deliver the best performances they could with the material given, a dumb but somewhat awesome premise that is an homage of all those mecha mangas ("Neon Genesis Evangelion", "Macross", "Voltron", etc.), a more than questionable editing, a generic but serviceable score, stereotypical characters, a predictable story, laughable dialog that is reminiscing of other generic blockbusters like "Independence Day" or early Michael Bay films, the rules this film sets are ridiculous and they can't even stick to them, one of the most awkward/pathetic love stories I´ve ever seen, comedy that almost never works, the action sequences are hollow because you don't care about these characters, and its running time is needlessly stretched. As you can see, this film has more than a handful of flaws but that's when Guillermo steps in to save this film. The CGI is jaw dropping, the designs of the Jaegers and Kaijus are outstanding, Del Toro´s directing is completely focus on shooting gorgeous action sequences and it completely nails that aspect, the film does a wonderful job of keep escalating the action/stakes, it has a gigantic fun/entertaining value, it never takes itself seriously (unlike some other sci-fi films like" Avatar"), and the world building is just incredible for a completely new franchise.

"Pacific Rim" is undeniably one of the worst Guillermo Del Toro directed films as it is dumb and extremely corny, but this is also a well-made summer blockbusters that fulfills its main objective: entertain its audience. An enjoyable Transformers like film that could improve if it becomes a franchise.