I know I’ve mentioned Pacific Rim (2013) in previous movie reviews, but I’ve never actually reviewed it, so last night I tried to watch it with a critical eye. This movie, concerning an invading force of monsters, or kaiju, and the huge humanoid machines we invent to protect us, the jaegers, is a landmark in the monster movie genre. The easy way to start this review is to blithely affirm the special effects.
I won’t. Not blithely. I’m going to pick nits.
The monsters do not always seem to have the proper scale. I sense this in two ways. As we cycle through (in flashbacks) the various monsters, some may stand 15 feet tall, others 150 feet tall. Now, we learn early that this series of monsters are classified into categories, although these are never explained, which is fine. The monsters are coming in larger and larger categories (for you science geeks, it may even be monotonically increasing) – but it doesn’t appear the monsters are following the rules. Especially the very first attack on San Francisco, which appears to involve a horrifically huge monster, while other, later monsters appear smaller, even if we only catch glimpses of them.
OK, so management of special effects has some problems; the effects themselves? My next nit involves the eyes of a particular monster, Otachi. You’ll notice they’re on stalks, and I do not believe they ever move or do much of anything. This lack of expression, in contrast to the eyes of other monsters such as his buddy, Leatherback, was jarring. I would at least expect him to blink as he knocks over a building.
Moving on from the special effects, I’d next like to address what may have bothered me the most – the human interactions. In our introduction to our heroes, Raleigh Beckett and his machine, Gipsy Danger, we also meet his commander, Marshal Pentecost, and it strikes me that Marshall Pentecost has very poor habits when it comes to monitoring his battle units. He tells Gipsy Danger to “hold the Miracle Mile”, protecting Anchorage, Alaska from an incoming kaiju, and by no means do not attempt to rescue a fishing boat that’s in the way of that kaiju.
Naturally, Raleigh and Gipsy Danger wade off into the surf to rescue the boat.
Pentecost has similar problems with other of his units; indeed, I started noticing Marshall Pentecost has a bad habit of making and retracting decisions – not an inspirational habit in a leader of the last, best hope for mankind. In particular, his ward, who wishes to become Raleigh’s partner in Gipsy Danger, is bounced around like a tennis ball on the decision court. I’d be not the least surprised to hear she’d gone into therapy after the climactic final fight, with Daddy-issues.
And there are lesser issues. We get a superficial introduction to two jaeger crews who could have been fascinating on their own merits – but that never happens, and they both go down in honorable combat with the kaiju. A proper handling of them could have magnified the impact of the movie on the viewer.
So … long time readers know I like this movie. My Arts Editor estimates I’ve watched it 15 times – but, in my defense, several of those were with a sick cat in my lap. So what do I like?
Crimson Typhoon, Cherno Alpha on their way to the battle line
The monsters are horrific; but better yet is the line, “To fight the monsters, we made monsters of our own.” The jaegers are visually magnificent and convincing. And they’re treated as war vehicles have often been treated over the centuries, as creatures of their own character, in this battle of their own volition.
The story is shown, not told, which is to say, beyond an introductory narrative by Raleigh, which serves to begin his characterization as well as get us going and illustrate our straits, there is little exposition; it is all dialog, interaction, and action, as any story should be. We have believable, even necessary subplots, such as the aforementioned ward of Marshall Pentecost, now vying for a position in the battle line. Her backstory, vividly brought out in a plot zig which illustrates one of the dangers of preparing for war, also enlightens us to the importance of persistence.
And that permits me to transition to the question of theme. Pacific Rim illustrates the importance of persistence and teamwork. Every jaeger has a two (or more) man crew. The point is not the coolness of monsters, or of huge warcraft – those are just the background. The point is trying, to the last inch, to survive, to even win. The realism and story logic exist to sharpen (or blunt) that point. And I like, especially in contrast to other members of the genre, how well Pacific Rim sharpens the point.
There are many other facets that I could discuss – the use of weather & color, as just two examples. But, if you get the DVD, the director, Guillermo del Toro, will discuss that for you. So I’ll just leave you with this:
Recommended.
