Pacific Rim

It's a delicate coming of age story that celebrates the beauty and mystery of young love.

Not really.

It's actually a sleek, technically accomplished, big budget tribute to Godzilla movies. It features geeky awesomeness like a 25 story tall robot using an oil supertanker like a baseball bat to club an equally giant monster from beneath the sea.

Needless to say, it's not a romantic comedy, kids.

 

Nope, it's a big, loud movie with plenty of 'splosions, rousing speeches, cool monsters, and the guy getting the girl in the end. There isn't anything terribly original about the movie, but that's sort of the point. It's meant to be an homage to everything from Godzilla to Voltron to Henry V to  Armageddon - it's like a fanboy's dreamland. So rather than making something new, the director and co-writer, Guillermo Del Toro, took a whole bunch of old stuff and redid it in a huge, fun, sometimes winking fashion.

I never enjoy it when a movie hands me a cliche and expects me to just say, "Gosh, thanks. I've never seen an innocent man who's accused of a crime he didn't commit. I've never seen a tough, streetwise woman who secretly has a heart of gold. I've never listened to a big, rally-the-troops speech just before going into battle. I've never seen a nerd long for the blonde cheerleader." Stuff like that is a little insulting because it means the creators of that show think that you are either very dumb, very forgetful, or just have low standards for what you expect out of your stories.

On the other hand, I almost always enjoy it when someone takes a cliche and uses it knowingly with some cleverness or with a twist of originality. While certainly not earth-shattering, Pacific Rim manages to take on some of the cliches of a big budget sci fi pic and use them in a way that is, at least, entertaining rather than insulting.

I think what I appreciated about the movie most is simply that it was fun. It doesn't take itself too seriously, and it seems to be created by someone with an eye for the visceral pleasure of movies rather than an eye for just making money. It's pretty rare to get quality and fun all in the same package, so I try to enjoy it whenever it comes along.Yes, movies have the capacity to teach and edify and all of that. And I love it when they do. But I love it just as much when a movie is all about the color, sound, motion, production design, performance, and story. And 'splosions. And giant robots.

Hmmmm. I wonder if there are any Pacific Rim actions figures...