Earth has been invaded and humanity once again faces extinction in the action-packed sci-fi movie Pacific Rim.
Directed by Guillermo del Toro, this film sees the human race threatened by an alien species called the Kaiju – large, dinosaur-like creatures capable of laying waste to cities. Realising that their tanks and missiles are no match for these mammoth creatures, the countries of the world pool their resources to create their most powerful weapons, the Jaegers (Yay-gars), larger-than-life robots which are powered by two human pilots whose minds and bodies merge with the machine to create the ultimate soldier.
But as the war rages on, the Kaiju evolve and soon even the Jaegers are powerless to stop the relentless attacks. The last surviving team of Jaeger pilots devises a desperate and dangerous plan, seeking help from retired pilot Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam), a young man emotionally and physically scarred by his time on the battlefields. Together with Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi), an aspiring Jaeger pilot determined to avenge the deaths of her family, this unlikely hero once again dons his battle armour for one final chance at victory.
With its simple storyline and clichéd (yet quirky) script, Pacific Rim really doesn’t expect much of its audience and at times it’s hard to take the film and its actors seriously. Hunnam and Kikuchi do their best with their lines and somehow manage to bring a sense of emotion and vulnerability to their characters, while handling the action sequences with relative ease. Less successful are Max Martini and Robert Kazinsky, who give cringe-worthy performances as Hercules and Chuck Hanson, father-and-son Jaeger pilots. Their attempts to mimic an Australian accent are laughable at best – and judging by the laughter coming from the audience, I’m not the only one who thought so.
Burn Gorman and Charlie Day deliver comedic performances as the mismatched researchers Gottlieb and Dr Newton Geiszler, while Ron Perlman stars as the eccentric Hannibal Chau. And, of course, what’s an action movie without the clichéd “we will survive” speech, delivered with gusto by Idris Elba as commander Stacker Pentecost (seriously, who came up with these names?).
Pacific Rim’s saving grace is its non-stop action sequences and visually stunning special effects. The foreboding Kaiju are truly frightening and each beast, although different in appearance and size, appears to be a hybrid of a dragon, lizard and sea creature. The Jaeger robots are equally impressive, although it feels like del Toro has relied on scenes of gratuitous violence and excessive property damage to cover up some serious holes in the storyline and to maintain the movie’s pace.
Despite these issues, Pacific Rim is an enjoyable movie – as long as you don’t take it too seriously. The 3D element really helps amp up the action.
