With the Summer of '13 comes the obligatory film that spends several hundred million recreating a childhood wish-fulfillment fantasy about a brave band of misfits who overcome personal differences, physics, and plot logic in order to save the world by fighting back alien invaders and closing the portal between their world and ours. The filmmakers, recognizing the inherent silliness of the premise, cast strong actors but balance the dramatic elements with knowing humor. Look for videogames, action figures, and an amusing bonus during the final credits.
Personally, I preferred the Summer 2012 version, entitled The Avengers, but this one's pretty good. And, unlike most summer action movies of recent years, director Guillermo del Toro doesn't serve up a re-envisioning of, remake of, reinvention of, or sequel to some existing franchise, film, or forgotten Saturday Morning Cartoon. We have an original story, though it clearly reconceptualizes some well-established genres, with shout-outs to Kaiju, Mecha, and even China Miéville. You could base a drinking game on references and influences, but not if you have work the next day.
The premise takes little explanation-- despite the film's excessive desire to explain it, which I will discuss later. What do you do when massive alien Kaiju invade the world? Kick it Gundam style, with huge pilot-controlled robots called Jägers. But first, you have to settle the conflicts within and among the Jäger's meisters. These maverick pilots aren't entirely stable, and yet their brains must bond for them to operate the Jägers. The film also throws in some conflicting and conflicted eccentric scientists, and the obligatory self-serving but likeable rogue. They really must all work together, and thus, as in all big-budget films made possible by advanced computer technology, we have themes about the importance of the human factor.
Of course, the technology remains the key to this film's success. Pacific Rim boasts amazing effects. We see epic visions, both from the ground and above, of what Kaiju attacks and Mecha mayhem would look like. The effects impressed me; a few shots inspire something like awe. And, while IMAX 3-D remains a gimmick, that gimmick suits a movie about giant robots fighting to destroy all monsters.
Indeed, in places so much happens so fast and in so much detail that I didn't always know what I was watching. If anything, this film needed fewer effects sequences, and just a little bit more time with those human characters.
The characterization, while simplified, works. They've hired impressive actors to carry this movie, and they give us people we can like. As a bonus, Americans—though they play their part—don't stand in for the whole human race, and a marquee star doesn't save the day. Our heroes come from all nations, and no one character stands alone. Rugged and rockstar though the pilots-- such as Charlie Hunnam and Rinko Kikuchi-- may be, the really memorable performances come from our resident nerds, played by Charlie Day and Burn Gorman, and our obligatory self-serving but likable criminal, enacted wonderfully by Ron Perlman. These guys would do well in the next Marvel Comics movie. They understand how to play ridiculous characters in a film with a ridiculous premise, without turning the proceedings into farce.
And leave us face it; the premise is ridiculous. Only the original Gojira took anything like this seriously, and the series it spawned quickly lost its gravitas. Del Toro and company mostly understand this. We don't really need to worry about aspects that don't quite make sense. It's Pacific Rim's job to lick the cracks of doubt that appear if we consider the premise too deeply, and there's enough here to accomplish the task.
While I found Pacific Rim enjoyable, I cannot call it a perfect action movie. I'll accept the comic book physics and some dubious plot elements that make the story possible. If you don't expect these in a movie where giant robots fight giant monsters, don't go to see a film where giant robots fight giant monsters.
No, my pet peeve: it suffers from the Curse of Star Wars, the opening crawl. This technique made sense in 1977, because Star Wars was supposed to feel like Chapter IV (say) of an old-time serial. It has since insinuated itself in all kinds of films where it doesn't belong. Instead of text this time, we have a montage with narration. It's still a crawl of expository lump and it's not needed. Nope. We figure out pretty quickly what's going on in this world. Did I mention this already? Giant alien monsters invade earth and we build giant robots to fight them. Really. Even the little kids in the audience can figure this out. Ten minutes of backstory just slows the beginning, giving us an unnecessary opening sequence before the opening sequence.
Every time I see or read unnecessary infodump, especially front-loaded infodump, I assume an executive with limited imagination forced the decision on someone. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I think enough of director del Toro to pretend that must've happened.
If they really found this information necessary, they should have filmed the story the voiceover drags us through, because that would have been fun, too. This movie could have been the sequel. And you can be fairly certain we will see a sequel.
I don't know if I'll watch it. I enjoyed Pacific Rim and recommend it to fans of the fantastic. A little of its big-budget excess goes a long way, however. Leaving the theater, I found myself thinking of the rubber-suit and model-city masterpieces that inspired it.
Maybe someone should do a real tribute: this premise on a shoestring budget. We all know that part of the fun of watching the old films lies with their flaws, the visible wires and obvious stagecraft. Dressing up like a rubber dinosaur and smashing a model city? That's a fun job to have, and the audience knows it. Making an epic film with little money-- that would showcase the human spirit.
Maybe the next great special effects extravaganza won't be Hollywood; it'll be hometown.
Written by Travis Beacham and Guillermo del Toro
Directed by Guillermo del Toro
Charlie Hunnam as Raleigh Becket
Idris Elba as Stacker Penetcost
Rinko Kikuchi as Mako Mori
Diego Klattenhoff as Yancy Beckett
Charlie Day as Dr. Newton Geiszler
Burn Gorman as Gottlieb
Max Martini as Herc Hansen
Robert Kazinksy as Chuck Hasne,
Clifton Collins Jr. as Tendo Choi
Ron Perlman as Hannibal Chau
Brad William Henke as Construction Foreman
Man Ashida as Young Mako
Joe Pingue as Captain Merrit
Milton Barnes as McTighe
Robert Maillet as Lt. S. Kaidanovsky
Heather Doerksen as Lt. A. Kaidanovsky
The Luu Triplets as the Wei Tang Triplets