Pacific Rim the movie (2013) - Guillermo del Toro

[raijinz]

Saw the movie yesterday, pretty much agree with most of the points everyone else brought up about Mako and Stacker (Idris Elba is BOSS!) Its almost hard NOT to point out the references and inspirations this movie had in it, from G Gundam to Godannar (for me anyay).

Immediately after watching the end, I was thinking about how they could do a sequel,

Spoiler

maybe even play around with the human drifting with Kaiju concept to build more organic looking Jagers like Evangelion

or maybe a prequel following

Spoiler

a younger Stacker with cute little Mako in tow!

I am really hoping this does well in Japan, and inspires them to up their game and do their own Kaiju Blockbuster movies for all of us to enjoy. Heck maybe they could get Shoji Kawamori to design the mecha?

[Zeonista]

Saw this movie on Tuesday. It was awesome! It was the perfect blend of giant robot and kaiju movies. Shout-outs to older films left and right, and the action was non-stop and excellent! There were no surprises, but that was OK, I didn't want to be surprised by the now-cliche fake climaxes or telegraphed "shocker" moments. I wanted giant robots battling monsters to save the world, and that was exactly what I got, and then some!

[Amion]

I fear I have yet to see this movie (my family would jeer at it the whole way through if I brought it home) and frankly don't care to. It looks like most of the fights happen in the rain, and I tend to dislike those types of battles in real life with mecha, apparently.

Further more I need good characters, which I've been hearing no complaints about so that's good. But if this show is really just monsters and giant robots duking it out, I feel a bit let down. Good shows regardless of plot devices need development and real substance. Pacific Rim may eventually fall by the wayside unless it has something to give other than violence.

What about the cockpit controls? They looked ridiculous in the movie previews I saw.

[phillosmaster]

if you are visiting the mecha talk boards you should see this movie. You are the target audience.

I loved it.

Is there action? Yes lots of action.

Are there lots of good character moments? Yes I loved all the characters (even the kind of bland Raleigh). Everyone goes through an arc so it has more substance than robot punches monster.

The cockpit controls are alot of fun, and explained briefly in the movie. Drift tech plays a big part in the story.

If you go into this expecting a mind bending thriller than you'll be disappointed. This is an action movie all the way. It's more Mazinger or GaoGaiGar than Evangelion.

Append: Actually Gunbuster. It reminds me a lot of Gunbuster.

Where this film is failing is in the marketing. They hit their target audience, but have no marketting to get the general audiences into the theatre. I was watching tv yesterday and saw countless Grown Ups 2 and Despicable Me 2 commercials and no Pacific Rim spots. This is 180 million dollar film. Where is that marketing engine? Also the title of the movie doesn't inspire enthusiasm.

I just finished reading Pacific Rim Tales From Year Zero (the tie in graphic novel), and it's a great companion to the story. Really adds to the movie giving depth in a lot of places. The brief glimpses of history that goes by in the beginning are so much more meaningful (the kaiju blue, the fighter attack on K-day, that shot of a wrecked Brawler Yukon). Also it gives you more back story for Pentecost, which I really wanted. It all feels like scenes they just could easily slide into the movie if they had the time and money.

[Ryujin]

This film---

Totally worth braving horrendous traffic jams, bad weather and weekend crowds to see it on the big screen. I actually arrived at the theater AFTER the listed playtime.

Fortunately, they were still playing the trailers for the next batch of big-budget action movies. Keikaku doori.

As for technical aspects:

Visual: I found that everything was clear & easy to follow, whether the scene was set at night or day, good weather or bad, land or sea or other more exotic venues.

Audio: Clear, with the dialogue quite comprehensible even with the decibel level you'd associate with giant robots & monsters pounding each other's guts out. I didn't have to strain my hearing or wish for subtitles when someone was speaking (unlike, say, Bane from Dark Knight Rises, what with his mask-muffled mutterings & mumblings).

[angelwingzero]

Saw it in IMAX on day one, and I still start to smile uncontrollably when I think about this movie.

[ZeonsSilverStar]

After a week of delays I've finally seen Pacific Rim and I will say that I'm glad I spent the extra money and saw it in 3D. I can say with all certainty that this will be added to Blu Ray collection when it comes out.

And while wasn't the main focus of the movie I really enjoyed Charlie Day's character.

[iguanaman8989]

Pacific Rim 2 is being written right now.

Some possible plot points discussed within, so potentially spoilerish.

[Soma Taozi]

I fear I have yet to see this movie (my family would jeer at it the whole way through if I brought it home) and frankly don't care to. It looks like most of the fights happen in the rain, and I tend to dislike those types of battles in real life with mecha, apparently.

Further more I need good characters, which I've been hearing no complaints about so that's good. But if this show is really just monsters and giant robots duking it out, I feel a bit let down. Good shows regardless of plot devices need development and real substance. Pacific Rim may eventually fall by the wayside unless it has something to give other than violence.

What about the cockpit controls? They looked ridiculous in the movie previews I saw.

If you are a fan of mecha...it is kind of your job to see this movie. I will be honest though, the characters are the weakest part in the film. They are a little thin and cookie-cutter, but there are still some great moments between them and honestly, the movie was a lot of fun. The universe feels lived in and it has been a long time since i have seen a movie and said to myself "You know, even though it is the apocalypse I STILL WANT to live in that world." The details and the world building is amazing. I have watched it twice and have picked up upon more and more details every time. A lot of stuff is "if you blink, you will miss it."

Also there is a large stretch of the movie where their is no action at all and is completely set up to develop the characters. You actually feel something for them and care about these people who are fighting and giving their lives for humanity. This is something that should be felt with every film, yet it is so rare in movies these days. I really liked this movie, I didn't necessarily love it. But it was the most fun I have had in the box office this summer.

Honestly the worst part of the movie was the occasional close ups of Ron Perlman

But in all seriousness, go see this movie. I really want it to eventually beat out Grown Ups 2 domestically (not realistic but I can hope, since I am losing faith in humanity with every million that movie makes over Pacific) because honestly...that movie is like a fork in the brain.

[phillosmaster]

I'm alright with how the movie is doing. I was originally angry about the weak marketing and lame trailers, but I guess it didn't really matter. According to box office mojo we are two weeks in and it's almost made back it's money (global sales appear to be making up for the luke warm US reception).

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=pacificrim.htm

Guillermo is already talking sequels so I'm excited. Thanks for being awesome the rest of the world.

[Vent Noir]

FINALLY got to see this, and enjoyed it immensely. Only a few minor complaints:

* It didn't feel like Mako was truly as much the main character as Raliegh was (as Del Toro had said she would be). Granted, she's better than at least 95% of American movie heroines.
* The two scientists were annoying, especially early on.
* The Australians came off as too stereotypical (and I would have liked to see Aussie actors in the roles)

[LightningCount]

Here's the thing: If you look at Pacific Rim in terms of the tradition of the Giant Robot genre in animation, it's admirable but doesn't leave a lot of impact. The characters and story are serviceable, and the writers were more respectful toward them than they could have been given Hollywood’s track record; however, they don't really reach the heights that the genre has shown itself to be capable of in things like RahXephon or The Big-O, for example. (Then again, a movie and a series are hard to compare in terms of what can be accomplished; but whether because of pacing or scope, despite valiant efforts, something just didn't fully "click" for Pacific Rim's overall sense of "humanity"). Outside of maybe a neat gimmick scene or two, the story and characters didn’t really make me feel that there was a need for a sequel, either.

On the other hand, in terms of showcasing giant robots in a live-action film, this is the best it's been done. The CG in this movie is easily some of the best in years, and it makes the best of a big screen. In a rare feat, you find yourself forgetting about the CG many times. The robot designs in of themselves are very well done, as well. The kaiju were hurt a little by some of the cinematography, which strangely didn't showcase their unique forms clearly enough. The film, disregarding its sources of inspiration, is also one of the most fresh and interesting concepts in terms of Hollywood for quite some time. In Western cinema, we have not really seen these concepts realized to this extent before. Some of the overt, seemingly Hollywood-obligatory comedy hurt the tone of the film, and maybe hurt the idea of viewers taking the whole thing seriously. In addition, the placement and execution of some battles outside of the Hong Kong one didn't feel as fully realized. Nevertheless, in nearly all respects, it's better than any of the "super hero" movies this year so far, and was a lot of fun. It's worth noting that the soundtrack, particularly the main theme, was very true to the genre and worked wonders for the film.

All of that said, at the end of the day, in Western cinematic tradition, any robot-themed movie will now be compared to Transformers, which, right or wrong, is Hollywood's mecha darling. Everything will be dubbed a “Transformers clone” in the same way as Pacific Rim.

[South Burning]

I was especially impressed by the monsters because this is the studio that is working on the next Godzilla movie and I hope this is a foretaste of the quality of animation we will see in it.

[phillosmaster]

however, they don't really reach the heights that the genre has shown itself to be capable of in things like RahXephon or The Big-O, for example.

I hated RahXephon, but loved Big-O. So far I have a 50 percent sync rate with you. I'm guessing we aren't drift compatible

[Sume Gai]

The genre is wonderful though to be fair we're comparing something with ~10 and a half hours run time to a film with 2 and a half. While I'd agree that more fleshed out characters would be needed to sustain a series spectical works well enough in the context of a movie. Very few mecha anime movies truly stand alone as great and genre pushing films. Most are either part of a series of movies (Gundam) or linked to a previous series or meta-verse (Gundam 00 AoT, Char's Counterattack, Macross DYRL, Be Invoked, etc.)

Pacific Rim did a lot of things right especially as a Hollywood movie, bucking some bad trends. The action was shot in a way that made it comprehensible, a huge majority of the cast were not pretty white Americans. It's exactly what I wanted and I welcome sequels if they put the same amount of earnest love into them and who knows, perhaps we'll get some more complex characterization along the way.

[LightningCount]

News: Pacific Rim teams up with Capcom's Lost Planet 3. Maybe we're getting unlockable Gipsy Danger vs. Akrids?

Link: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/20 ... laboration

[Amion]

Thanks for answering my questions so thuroughly guys, and Soma . Her character reviews have weight with me, as we both seem to have similar tastes. However I'm not going to discredit what is being said on average about the characters seemingly being not what they could be.

If it succeeds as an action series, I'm happy, but even so I just don't watch many movies. I'm a high fantasy genra fan first before mecha, so something say, along the lines of the new Thor movie are really piquing my interest, even though I've never read or watched anything about him previously.

I mention this because I feel similarly about this upcoming film as I think some feel about mecha. Transformers does well because of nostalga and whatnot. Big robots, people kinda shrug and go, "Sure." Unless the movie offers something extra that people will want, like the dark world and my fantasy fetish, I feel the genra will forever be totally trapped in its niche. Granted, Pacific Rim (I love the title, didn't know it was a letdown for some ) might increase the genra here, but for some reason I feel that it needs something extra to mix things up. Who knows, given our sudden love of caped crusaders, maybe a super robot show will end up swooshing in (I hope not) and gaining popularity. It seems that something over the top was necessary in the genra's early days in the East, why not here? Thoughts on this?

Oh, of course the marketing engine was not so good, why wouldn't be? Really, couldn't they have done a little better, I've only seen a few of these ads on the internet and they were few and far between. Granted, I think it's gained some small recognition, I noticed someone comment before about his transformer becoming a Jaeger (it was on Youtube though....). Has PR really been called a Transformers Clone? I haven't heard that before.

[phillosmaster]

My argument is that this movie does deliver. It's a good movie (not just a good giant robot movie). It just is marketed poorly. Let me put it to you this way, my mother, stepdad, cousin, my cousin's friend, my wife, my friend and my friends little sister all saw the movie this week. They all loved it. They all are not giant robot fans. The popular opinion in my circle is that it was better than any of the blockbuster films this year so far (we were all dissapointed by Superman and Star Trek).

The nitpicks about characters are just that. Nitpicks about the characters. I have nitpicks about characters in the last Thor film for example (to me it feels like Jane Foster just stares at Thor's pecs the whole movie), and I loved that movie.

[Amion]

Problem is, my Dad (the only moviegoer in my family, my Mom would ritually sacrifice the TV if she could), happened to to practically love Superman, and wouldn't stop praising Into Darkness.
He saw the trailers for Pacific Rim and commented on how stupid it looked, so for me its pointless to rave about it, and other family have his tastes.

I might end up seeing this, but it still isn't the show I'm waiting for to finally give my mecha love a little respect. Oh the looks I get when discussing mecha with friends and family .

What amazes me is they all like the designs of giant robots and loved transformers, but absolutely refuse to be interested in any way other than that. I feel like something put a bizarre block in their heads that pops up when I mention the word mecha.

Still holding out that Pacific Rim will carve a patch for itself in the current landscape. Maybe people will be interested enough to come back for the sequel and realize this is a stand alone series from a reasonably aged genre, not some new ploy trying to make money off Transformer's successes.

[angelwingzero]

So...we're getting a sequel?