Pacific Rim Movie Review

Pacific Rim (2013)

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Written by: Travis Beacham & Guillermo del Toro (screenplay), Travis Beacham (story)
Directed by: Guillermo del Toro
Starring: Idris Elba, Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, Burn Gorman, Clifton Collins Jr., Ron Perlman
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer

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.

Verdict
I want to like this movie. It's a great concept, but it's hampered by a shallow story full of tropes that exist to make this look complete. You watch this movie for fights between monsters and robots, and that's also why you stay. There's just nothing past that, well other than the try hard names all these characters have. It's a concept that neglected the characters. Maybe it accomplished its goal, because I did check if there were any toys based on the movie.
It depends.

Review
I saw this not long after it came out, and upon my rewatch I feel the same way. I wish I liked this more. The action is fun, but the story is lacking.

This starts with a lot of exposition, but I understand that this wants to jump start the story and get to the main plot. Large monsters started appearing through a vortex in the ocean. To combat the Godzilla like monsters, Kaiju, Earth built giant robots, Jaegers.  Even better, the robots require two people to operate them due to the mental load. With these new weapons, Earth is able to take down the monsters.

Jaeger Gipsy Danger

The production design is amazing. The robots look great, and it's such a fun concept. When the Kaiju evolve Earth disbands the Jaeger program in favor of a coastal wall. I'm not sure who thought that idea would ever work. It's no surprise when the Kaiju smash right through the wall. In a last ditch effort the Jaeger program is restarted.

Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi play Becket, Mako

Becket (Charlie Hunnam) was a former Jaeger pilot, now working in construction. Since he's one of the best pilots, he's called back to serve by his commanding officer Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba). It's the old, we need you routine. At least the pitch is would your rather die building a futile wall or in a Jaeger. First they have to find another co-pilot that's compatible. Becket wants Mako (Rinko Kikuchi) but Stacker refuses. The movie leads us on a bit before revealing that piece of backstory. It's a a bunch of drama that feels manufactured. Similar to another young pilot that has it out for him. Why? It's just drama to fill time.

I like the idea of this, there just isn't much compelling story. It's clear the concept was giant monsters and robots slugging it out. Unfortunately there isn't more to it. The story is comprised of a bunch of tropes around big fights. It has all the hallmarks of a franchise created just to sell toys. It also doesn't address the immense amount of collateral damage these robots cause.