Not very far in the future, monsters have emerged from a fissure deep in the Pacific ocean. The fissure is a portal from our planet to another, and the denizens of that planet are looking for a new home. They are very big, very hungry, and – to anyone who’s seen a few classic Japanese Kaiju horrors from the 1960s – very familiar.
To combat the beasties, mankind have put aside their petty wars and grievances, and built giant robots, piloted by a brace of human pilots. At first it seems that the humans will win the war, but the Kaiju keep on coming, and soon we are down to our last few robots. They gather at Hong Kong, to launch one last attack on the portal.
Pacific Rim sounds, as my dear old Mum would say, daft as a brush. And yes, it is. But this is also my favourite blockbuster of the season’s crop. Director Guillermo del Toro keeps the film bubbling along, but never sacrifices development for the sake of another fight scene. There are several key characters to be set up and propelled along their arcs here, and del Toro gives them all their due, while still finding the time for several rip-roaring scenes of monsters and robots beating 10 bells out of each other in a variety of scenic locales.
Del Toro directs with all his fan-boy instincts to the fore. Del Toro loves this material, and his unabashed enthusiasm shows in every frame of Pacific Rim.
Add in some stunning design (Wellington’s own Kate Hawley did the costumes), strong performances from all of the cast, and bravura camera work from Guillermo Navarro, and you have a film that ticks every box a blockbuster should. It entertains us, it makes us laugh and gasp, and it’s all wrapped up in just a shade over two hours. More please.
PACIFIC RIM (132 min)(M)
Directed by Guillermo del Toro.
Starring Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi.
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