Guillermo del Toro Delivers a Fun Monster vs Robot Movie with Pacific Rim
Jenn Falls
Posted on July 15, 2013
Guillermo del Toro gave the child in me exactly what I was looking for when I watched Pacific Rim in IMAX 3-D. I went in fully ready to judge the movie since it’s the project that del Toro left The Hobbit project to make. By the end of the movie, I couldn’t wipe off the smile on my face.
What I’m about to say will reveal my age a bit, which is somewhat appropriate since my birthday is coming up. I loved watching the Godzilla movies on the weekends with my brother. My favorite was Godzilla vs. Mothra. I also loved watching Voltron, Battle of the Planets, and Transformers. By the time The Power Rangers came out, the idea of a team of humans that come together and form a giant robot to fight monsters was old hat.
There’s no need to warn for spoilers as I’ll let those interested in the film to go find out what happens. What I can say is that del Toro did a great job of taking an old idea and making it all shiny and new. Not only did the monsters have his sort of flare in terms of looks, the special effects are spectacular and worth going to see the movie in the first place. My guess is that the movie will get some nominations in that category come awards season.
There are critics who didn’t like the fact that the film included jokes throughout that switched up the mood from time to time including some comedic performances from Burn Gorman (Torchwood), Charlie Day (Horrible Bosses), and my favorite del Toro go-to guy Ron Perlman (Hellboy). To that, I have to ask what they actually expected the movie to be? If you’re looking for a movie that takes itself too seriously and tries to sell a flat out action movie rather than recognizing what it really is, then you need to watch A Good Day to Die Hard (a seriously horrible movie because it forgot the franchise it belonged to).
Pacific Rim is a love letter to the classic monster movies. In an interview with NPR, del Toro states, “The way [kaiju movies] transported me, the way they made me feel in awe of these gigantic creatures strolling across the ocean, coming into the city — it’s unlike any Western movie genre ever.” Kaiju (monster) movies follow a clear path – giant monster threatens humans, comes to at least one major city, destroys city, battles with another huge opponent representing the survival of all humanity, more destruction, and an ultimate fight that saves the world. Don’t worry, that’s not spoiling – that’s every kaiju flick.
Is the movie without flaws? Of course not. But I can forgive those flaws because I had so much fun watching how del Toro pieced together his film. He paid homage to all the series that I used to love that he clearly does as well. By the end of it, I wanted to go home and build cities out of Legos so I could then stomp through and destroy them like years ago. While Pacific Rim didn’t top the box office opening weekend, it should still make the list of one of the summer’s best movies in a season full of blockbusters.
Falls Into Writing 
I was pretty much sold at Ron Perlman being in it. Gorman was an added bonus. del Toro is a staple diet of movie viewing around here, and this was just awesome all around.
I love del Toro’s stuff, and am a huge Hellboy fan! Gorman played things a little too Monty Python-ish, but I still like him a lot. All in all, I just had tons of fun watching the movie.
Aye, I did like how they played off of each other, but it worked overall. I’ve been told it’s even better in 3d. *sigh* Where is the unlimited supply of money to see it a couple more times?
It was incredible in 3-D! I watched it in IMAX, so it was huge 3-D goodness. The extra dimension just gives the monsters and robots more depth. I think it plays just as well in 2-D. Now you have to wonder whether to save up to get it when out on Blu-Ray/DVD – if you think it will play well on a smaller screen!
We will definitely be buying it on BluRay/DVD. Gah, IMAX, haven’t been to one of those theaters in years. Totally sold. 🙂
I wasn’t going to see it because the preview seemed so stock action movie but now I will! I do love Del Toro.
I think the best way to enjoy that movie is not to expect a stock action movie, but to go in wanting to see robots fighting monsters. If you go in with those expectations, I think you’ll have fun with the movie! It’s definitely a movie to see on the big screen.
awesome – 3d even? I think there might a screen near me that has it on 3d.
I think that the 3-D adds to the enjoyment because the robots and monsters are more vivid. It will still play well in 2-D, but I was happy that I paid the extra to see it in 3-D! I don’t do that for all movies – just the ones I think will pay off visually. This one definitely did!