Pacific Rim

[MinisterofDOOM]

I have not smiled so much in a movie in a VERY VERY long time.

It was brilliant.

It's absolutely a pointless monster flick. But it builds such a great mythos around the kaiju (monsters), jaegers (robots) and the war that it never feels paper thin. It's certainly no Citizen Kane story-wise, but it's a HELL of a lot of fun.

I'm an enthusiastic Guillermo Del Toro fan, and this movie felt very much like what I've come to expect from him. Gorgeous monster designs, wonderfully-realized sets, and diverse, colorful casting.

The best part about this movie, though? The action was all SUPERBLY balanced. The fight scenes perfectly edited. Unlike what seems like EVERY movie I've seen in the last two years, I did not get tired of the action scenes. It wasn't the same crap over and over, and it didn't go on too long. A great contrast to the endless skyscraper-smashing of Man of Steel and the hopelessly overindulged nonsense of any Michael Bay movie. Every punch has a purpose. Every throw was necessary. And it all had WEIGHT, and substance, and felt great to watch. Every action movie director ever needs to take lessons from Del Toro. This is how you shoot and assemble fight scenes. Not unending, endlessly escalating, directionless nonsense. But finely-tuned visceral magnificence.

Idris Elba is THE @#$%ing MAN. And Ron Perlman's minor part is awesome.

The Russian Jaeger was definitely the best-looking.

Was nice to hear Ellen McLain as the Gipsy Danger AI, even if it was a dead copy of GlaDOS and tended to get lost in the background.

Go watch this movie. It's the best one I've seen all year.

[themadscientist]

So no sled then?

[MinisterofDOOM]

You what?

[BusyBadger]

Mediocre summer eye-candy with predictable plot, tired dialogue and so-so acting.

Great visuals though, despite the fast, chop-cut editing that seem to be too common and the fight scenes being stretched too long.

Del Toro does a good job establishing something new and Pacific Rim does a good job of following in the footsteps of Independence Day and Armageddon as typical no-brainer, summer fare without feeling like a direct recycle of anything.

6/10

[Bubba1]

Inquiring minds want to know: Would you rank Pacific Rim above or below Sharknado?

[BusyBadger]

Inquiring minds want to know: Would you rank Pacific Rim above or below Sharknado?

Funny you say that, as I was watching PR and it's gigantic combatants I kept thinking of a movie I hadn't seen but is/was on semi-heavy rotation on cable and has an unforgettable title...

[Xdisaster240sX]

Watch this trailer...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCe28Li5Mo8

[krash]

Just saw it today, thumbs up (I figured, if MoD likes it, that's saying something!).

I really liked how every battle with the kaiju was such a task. It wasn't the typical: bleep bloop bleep, "wow we won yay". It kind of kept the movie with its grip on you.