Thanks to Warner Bros. Philippines, I was able to watch last night’s press screening of Pacific Rim in IMAX 3D at SM Mall of Asia. Like its tagline, does the film go big or go extinct?
If you haven’t seen the trailer or this is the first time you have heard of the film, let me start-off by giving a teaser of the film. As suggested in its title, it does start beneath the Pacific Ocean and there’s a rim. It’s not an ordinary rim. It’s an underwater portal called “The Breach” where monsters from another universe known as the Kaiju come out to wreak havoc. As these legions of monstrous creatures started rising, a war began that would take million of lives and consume humanity’s resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots called Jaegers, humanity’s last hope. Imagine Voltes V and Daimos. These machines are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes – a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi) – who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind’s last hope against the mounting apocalypse.
What really stood out for me is director Guillermo Del Toro’s keen eye for visuals and details. With the help of his production designers Andrew Neskoromny and Carol Spier, I like how everything was rusty and designed as if they were in a junk shop. If you’re familiar with Del Toro’s previous works in Pan’s Labyrinth and the Hellboy series, you’ll know very well that the Kaiju monsters will be well designed. There are 5 categories for the Kaiju and each category has its own set of abilities and look. They kept on evolving. Some can swim while some can fly. The same goes to the Jaegers. Each robot has a distinctive design whether inside the pilot room or in its outside appearance. With an over-sized nuclear reactor, Russia’s Cherno Alpha is the oldest and heaviest among the Jaeger. China’s Crimson Typhoon is unique. It’s the only Jaeger with three arms since it is controlled by three pilots. Being the latest model, Australia’s Striker Eureka boasts faster speed and better maneuverability. As for US’s Gipsy Danger, I read that Del Toro made it to resemble a WWII fighter jet. Even if it is refurbished, it still carries the scars of its pilots and so do the pilots. In the beginning of the film, there was this one shot of Jaeger that I really liked. Imagine a beach then out of the fog, a destructed robot collapses upon the shores. It’s a very surreal image to behold and Guillermo Navarro’s cinematography was top-notched. With the support of the VFX team supervised by John Knoll and Lindy DeQuattro, CGI effects for both may not be photo-realistic but still looked awesome.
The fight sequences are bombastic and cool but like my usual problem with Transformers, it does have an “umay” factor. It can feel very redundant but I’m glad that I can clearly tell who is who because in comparison with Transformers, I usually have the problem of distinguishing an Autobot from a Decepticon in the battles. Nonetheless, it’s amazing to see robots fighting monsters especially for the first time. It also got a loud musical score to sync with the action. The sound effects and mixing add to the intensity of the destruction.
I already talked about the creatures and machines. Now let’s check the humans. Leading the cast is British actor Charlie Hunnam who gets his first biggest Hollywood film major role. He makes an appealing hero out of his cocky character Raleigh Becket. For the role of Becket’s co-pilot, Del Toro cast Oscar-nominee Rinko Kikuchi who is notable in her breakthrough performance in Babel. She manages to show the weakness and vulnerability of her character Mako Mori. Actually, I like these two leads better when they are in their character development scenes at the compatibility tryouts and some peeking between their rooms that made the audience chuckle than their Jaeger fight scenes. Less development was given as the film progresses. The film’s main gravity is provided by Idris Elba’s performance as commanding officer Stacker Pentecost. He’s very good and gave some stirring moments. For the source of comedy relief, Del Toro put it in the hands of Kaiju scientists Dr. Newt Geiszler played by Charlie Day and Burn Gorman’s Dr Herman Gottlieb who kept on bickering how they can stop the Kaiju since they have contrasting theories. We also get a cameo from Del Toro’s favorite Hellboy star Ron Perlman. I won’t spoil Perlman’s role in the film but he has some funny lines.
As much as this a dream come true for fan boys who wanted to see the Japanese monster genre in Hollywood, the story wasn’t that compelling enough to support the great world they created. For the first hour, it still got its “WOW” factor with our first glimpse of how two pilots operate the Jaeger. It was immersive. I also like the use of the drift to mind-meld memories of both pilots. I think it’s a great plot device that reminded me of Inception showcasing a tragic past of a young Mako in the middle of the destroyed city as a Kaiju goes after her – another great shot. But as we move forward with the story, it just became so tedious that even the climax didn’t feel that exciting and lacks the emotional investment with the characters. It’s just all explosions.
To 3D or not to 3D? Water is an element that looked eye-popping in the 3D format and the film utilized it very well with most of the scenes dripping wet on a rainy day or a sea battle. Displaying its effectiveness, there will be times your glasses will be like a windshield. If you have some extra pesos with you, I recommend that you see it in this format whether in IMAX 3D or Digital 3D.
Verdict
With Del Toro’s visionary premise, it is definitely an ambitious attempt considering the amazing universe they built and it has every potential to be the next big Sci-fi film but disappointingly it just fell short of a spectacular story to go with it. You’ll leave the theater seeing a spectacle but a bit underwhelmed.
Note: Stay on after credits to see a bonus scene.
Now showing in the Philippines in IMAX 3D, Digital 3D, 2D and in regular theaters. The film is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures Philippines.
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About the movie reviewer:
Orange Magazine TV‘s newest film critic is a self-confessed movie geek. John Albert Villanueva love movies so much, he watch every movies from the big screen and collects DVDs of classic movies. Read his other review here, here and here.
