At its most exciting and most basic, Pacific Rim is about colossal aliens and giant robots fighting each other to the death. The scenes of these enormous foes battling each other in human cities and raging knee deep in the sea are epic, they tap into the inner Godzilla in all of us until we wish we were in a Jaeger walloping the daylights out of the Kaiju! Pacific Rim opens with a backstory that could fill another movie, and firmly grounds you in the reality of the day with – what else – a Kaiju-Jaeger contest.

The Kaiju are ’Kaiju’ a Japanese word meaning ‘strange creature’ that has come to mean ‘monster’ or ‘beast’ in English. If you are not familiar with the term or genre, think of Godzilla and you get a pretty decent idea of what a Kaiju film is all about. Each Kaiju in the movie has a unique design, and it is hard not to admire these creatures albeit from a safe distance.

The Jaegers are humanoid mobile weapons, designed as a defense against the Kaiju. Jaegers must be controlled by two people and the co-pilots are connected by The Drift, an essential mechanism that has them intertwined mentally so as to be able to operate the huge robots. It’s is also an interesting symbolism of the deep connection between humans. Only people who are drift compatible can operate a Jaeger and the first example of these that we see are the Beckett brothers Yancy and Raleigh. Thanks to a heart wrenching opening scene we witness Raleigh at his lowest, disheartened and left without his will to fight.

When we enter the story proper, the Jaegers are being decommissioned, a move that has left the Marshal of the Jaeger Program, Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba) with 8 months, 4 Jaegers and a desperate plan to end it all. Visually dynamic, syncing great story telling with Sci-Fi eye candy, director Guillermo Del Toro pays homage to the genre well.

It is the cast of characters, however, that make Pacific Rim truly memorable, with great action sequences interspersed with very human emotions.

Mako Mori, a Japanese woman, is an incredibly three dimensional female lead who has a brilliantly developed character. She has the makings of a skilled pilot, a mind so strong that she sucks Raleigh into her memories while drifting, and a drive that fuels her fury against the Kaiju. Idris Elba as Stacker is a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders, capable of great sacrifice, never expecting more from his rangers than what he himself would give. He is solid, a ‘fixed point’ and Elba has infused Pentecost with some of the humanity of Luther, a man of principle.

Hunnman as Raleigh is earnest, a character with an arc that sees him go from cocky young pilot to a damaged man reluctant to ever step into a Jaeger again, but he ends up a strong and compassionate fighter. His gentle but resilient relationship with Mako is one of complete understanding. Charlie Day and Burn Gorman as Newt and Dr.Gottlieb respectively, two scientists studying the Kaiju, bring levity to the movie and they play off each other with ease. Robert Kazinsky and Max Martini make up a father-son team that was very emotional. Every minor character was interesting, and I especially would have liked to see more of the Russian duo.

Pacific Rim at first glance is a wild Sci-Fi romp, but its endearing characters and underlying themes make it one of the best movies of the year.

Reviewed by Marissa van Eyck

Pacific Rim (2013)
 

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi
 

Plot: As a war between humankind and monstrous sea creatures wages on, a former pilot and a trainee are paired up to drive a seemingly obsolete special weapon in a desperate effort to save the world from the apocalypse.
 

Director: Guillermo del Toro
 

Writers: Travis Beacham (screenplay), Guillermo del Toro (screenplay)
 

Stars: Idris Elba, Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi