Pacific Rim

In the not too distant future planet Earth is invaded by a rapid succession of Kaiju (“giant monster” in Japanese) who emerge from a trans-dimensional portal at the heart of the Pacific Ocean and wreak havoc along the coasts of the surrounding continents. In the face of such devastating attacks, mankind responds to the otherworldly threat by constructing towering robots, Jaegers (“hunter” in German), that are capable of taking on the beasts head on, mano a mano.  

After skimming through the above synopsis it would be very easy to dismiss Pacific Rim as brainless schlockbuster entertainment. Giant robots? Decimated landmarks? It’s the sort of movie that Michael Bay and Roland Emmerich could pull off with their eyes closed (‘cause let’s be honest, there probably wouldn’t be much difference if they were open) and that they’d do in a heartbeat to pay for their new pool. But as it turns out, this actually happens to be the newest film by Guillermo Del Toro, the Mexican horror auteur who gave us Pan’s Labyrinth and that was, lest we forget, in line to direct The Hobbit until Peter Jackson took over the reins.

Now this nugget of information may not necessarily change your preconceptions on Pacific Rim, but if you like your summer entertainment with a bit more style to go with the all explosions and mayhem, you’ll find there are plenty of moments of beauty – yes, beauty – to behold here. The Kaiju, for one, look like they’ve been directly lifted from surrealist paintings, each one a different shape, size and character to match their grotesque appearance. This shouldn’t really come as a surprise, given Del Toro likes to personally sketch his creatures and he’s had plenty of practice on Pan and the Hellboy franchise. But while the Jaegers obviously aren’t as expressive as their scaly opponents, they remain awe-inspiring creations to marvel at – an early shot of a damaged Jaeger falling to its knees on a snowy Alaskan beach conveys the sense of scale a film like this requires, as two miniscule on-lookers helplessly survey the scene.

Perhaps amid all these monumental figures, it only seems natural that the human characters are dwarfed by comparison. Charlie Hunnam and Rinko Kikuchi headline an international cast that is likeable enough, but the only actor who stands shoulder to shoulder with the Kaiju and Jaegers is Idris Elba, as the ludicrously named Stacker Pentecost, a gruff general prone to portentous monologues and who raises a menacing finger whenever someone dares to touch him without his permission. However, del Toro has an ace up his sleeve: every Jaeger must be manned neurologically by two pilots, whose brains must be “drift compatible” in order to control the colossal machine, which is why couples, siblings and relatives tend to make the ideal recruits thanks to their deep bond. Not only is this an ingenious plot device that keeps us emotionally invested in the characters, it also allows us to make sense of the hulking robots’ movements during combat.

And what great combats they are, indeed. With fighters this big, you’d be forgiven for thinking you won’t make much sense of what’s going on when the carnage begins, especially after being scarred by the chaotic mess that were the Transformers films and, it has to be said, this year’s Man of Steel. But in Pacific Rim the action scenes are used sparingly, play out more like clunky wrestling matches (no doubt influenced by the director's and Mexico’s fascination with luchador movies) and are all the better for it. The shot of a Jaeger dragging an oil tanker across a devastated Hong Kong before brandishing it like a sword is a sight that needs to be seen on the big screen.

Pacific Rim may not be Guillermo del Toro’s most intellectual or profound film and the title admittedly does sound like an activity Russell Brand would engage in behind closed doors, but it sure is the most stylish and unapologetically entertaining blockbuster of the summer. If the thought of monsters vs robots doesn’t do it for you, then you’ll want to avoid this like gout. Those of you who instead grew up on Power Rangers and have always wondered what it would be like to see Megazord take down one of Lord Zedd’s goons on the silver screen in 3D, this is your lucky day.   

4/5