Guillermo Del Toro is probably the closest thing modern cinema has as an equivalent to Cecil B. DeMille (though James Cameron and Steven Spielberg occasionally beat him for such a title. With his eye for visuals and his non-stop admiration for film as an artform, Del Toro’s films all have a sense of wonder and genuine joy, the kind very few films have these days. Now, after a five year hiatus, he has returned to deliver “Pacific Rim”, the ultimate homage to those great monsters movies of the past; one of the few great modern day monster films.
It begins in a world completely overrun by gigantic monsters, called Kaiju, that have emerged from a portal in the Pacific Ocean. Coastal cities are demolished and the very existence of humanity is threatened. Luckily, a plan is put into place to fight such beasts with gigantic robots, called Jaegars, controlled by two pilots. One of those pilots is Raleigh (Charlie Hunham), whose skills are about to become essential as the world must gear up for a colossal showdown with the Kaiju and save mankind once and for all.
The world of “Pacific Rim” is fantastic, on par with “Avatar” and “Star Wars” in terms of intricate detail. I feel like I could walk into many of this movies settings, such is the sense of realism and wonder they create. At the very beginning there was too much exposition, providing a sense of slowness and a bit of a lull in the movies energy at first.
But then the action starts and mere words don’t do it justice. You have to experience it to even comprehend that this is happening.
Del Toro is like Beethoven composing an orchestra when it comes to these action sequences; it’s all expertly staged, with every movement having purpose and a sense of breathtaking beauty. Plus, they ditch that shaky cam that has plagued movies like “Transformers” and “Man of Steel” and give us clearly viewable action sequences. The results? Outstanding. Every Kaiju is shown in all of it’s horrifying, yet enchanting glory, with the camera never ducking away whenever it’s causing insane amounts of damage, nor when it’s being pummeled by the heroic Jaegars.
Plus, all the content that seemed to bog the film down (a lot of character development mainly) comes back in the finale, when every single character and emotional moment is given it’s due. All of that is perfectly mixed with even more jaw-dropping action that ends up creating a potent ending like no other this summer. Add in a terrific cast (namely Ron Perlman, playing a shady businessman whose wardrobe alone is hysterical) and some great comical moments, and the film really goes to the next level of quality filmmaking.
“Pacific Rim” is one of the most rewarding cinematic experiences in ages, with it’s mixture of stunning spectacle and riveting characters making it one of the year’s best movies. A film to which all future summer blockbusters must be compared to, “Pacific Rim” is guaranteed to make you happy and leave you with a sense of wonder, the kind I haven’t felt since seeing“The Avengers” last year. I could go on and on about how great this movie is, but my advice is to just go see it now, on the biggest screen you can possibly find.
