[FILM] Pacific Rim Series

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Sun Jul 14, 2013 9:20 pm

Went to see this today.

If I'm being honest, I was a *tad* disappointed. The battle scenes and effects were awesome. Great summer movie fun and whenever there were monsters and robots on screen I was riveted.

The rest of the movie, however, was just way too cheesy for my tastes. It seriously felt like a SyFy Channel movie at times, and the lack of any big-name actors did nothing to dispel the illusion that you were watching a B-flick. Yeah, yeah, I know. Monster movies are supposed to be B flicks, but this felt way too formulaic and dumbed down for a Guillermo del Toro film.

Effects, cool factor: A
Story, acting: C+
Overall: B-

Hamsterball_Z · Post by **Hamsterball_Z** » Sun Jul 14, 2013 9:24 pm

That was the best movie I've seen in a long time. Usually I'd go in with high expectations and come out disappointed. This one exceeded all expectations. I wanted more not because they left anything out but because it was just flat out awesome! It was the best of Top Gun, Jurassic Park, and Independence day distilled into a single movie.

There should no longer be any question of how capable a director Del Toro really is.

My non-serious nitpick:

Spoiler:

Kraegor · Post by **Kraegor** » Sun Jul 14, 2013 10:12 pm

YellowKing wrote:but this felt way too formulaic and dumbed down for a Guillermo del Toro film.

You got it backwards. Pan's Labrynth was the anomaly, not the norm.

And I now just discovered how often Ron Perlman is in Del Toro flicks. I do agree with your assessment of the story. I disagree about the acting. I'd give the acting a solid B+. Only person whose acting seemed forced was the guy playing Iceman.

Zurai · Post by **Zurai** » Sun Jul 14, 2013 11:09 pm

Personally, I thought the plot was well-done. Del Toro clearly knew the draw of this movie was giant robots punching giant monsters, and the plot is straightforward and minimalist. There really isn't even a plot twist to speak of. It's just straight forward "monsters are trying to kill us, so let's go kill them". The movie doesn't spend any great stretch of time trying to explain everything to us and doesn't force intense character development into a monster movie framework. It spends just enough time out of well-done robot-on-monster action sequences to combat robot-on-monster-action-sequence fatigue, and not a second more.

I really don't know what more you could ask for.

Toe · Post by **Toe** » Mon Jul 15, 2013 8:47 am

While I had planned on seeing it in 2D as protest, I ended up seeing it in 3D IMAX due to the friends I went with. Some of the combat was just too quick to translate well to 3D (imho) and other portions of the combat were just too dark (under sea combat). I would pay to watch it again in 2D (on an IMAX screen), as Del Toro had planned. Look forward the the day Del Toro can say "This will be 2D" and the studios will say "Yes sir" instead of altering his vision for a money grab.

msteelers · Post by **msteelers** » Mon Jul 15, 2013 9:05 am

Toe wrote:I would pay to watch it again in 2D (on an IMAX screen), as Del Toro had planned. Look forward the the day Del Toro can say "This will be 2D" and the studios will say "Yes sir" instead of altering his vision for a money grab.

Do any directors have that power? I can't remember a big blockbuster action movie that didn't have a 3D option. Every movie I have gone to lately has been in 3D.

Jiffy · Post by **Jiffy** » Mon Jul 15, 2013 9:19 am

msteelers wrote:
Toe wrote:I would pay to watch it again in 2D (on an IMAX screen), as Del Toro had planned. Look forward the the day Del Toro can say "This will be 2D" and the studios will say "Yes sir" instead of altering his vision for a money grab.
Do any directors have that power? I can't remember a big blockbuster action movie that didn't have a 3D option. Every movie I have gone to lately has been in 3D.

Christopher Nolan does. Inception/Dark Knight Rises were 2D only (and IMAX, glorious IMAX)

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Mon Jul 15, 2013 9:37 am

The weekend box office shows Pacific Rim making $38 million while Grown Ups 2 made $42.5 million. Something about this seems unjust.

ibdoomed · Post by **ibdoomed** » Mon Jul 15, 2013 9:43 am

I was hoping ESPN put a nail in the 3D coffin...

stessier wrote:The weekend box office shows Pacific Rim making $38 million while Grown Ups 2 made $42.5 million. Something about this seems unjust.

Without looking it up, I have no idea what grown ups 1 is, nor why there is a sequel. Sigh.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Mon Jul 15, 2013 9:45 am

Without looking it up, I have no idea what grown ups 1 is, nor why there is a sequel. Sigh.

Consider yourself one of the lucky ones.

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Mon Jul 15, 2013 9:46 am

ibdoomed wrote:I was hoping ESPN put a nail in the 3D coffin...

ESPN has nothing to do with movies. The theaters have the tech - there will be 3D movies for a long time to come.

stessier wrote:The weekend box office shows Pacific Rim making $38 million while Grown Ups 2 made $42.5 million. Something about this seems unjust.
Without looking it up, I have no idea what grown ups 1 is, nor why there is a sequel. Sigh.

It's an Adam Sandler movie. A little more digging shows that while it has a 7% rottentomatoes rating, it has a 90% user rating. Pacific Rim has a 78% rottentomatoes and 87% user.

Ralph-Wiggum · Post by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Mon Jul 15, 2013 9:50 am

YellowKing wrote:. It seriously felt like a SyFy Channel movie at times, and the lack of any big-name actors did nothing to dispel the illusion that you were watching a B-flick.

I haven't seen the movie and so can't say how large a role he played, but Idris Elba is definitely not a b-list actor; he's got some serious acting chops. Plus, he's awesome.

MonkeyFinger · Post by **MonkeyFinger** » Mon Jul 15, 2013 10:04 am

NPR liked it.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Mon Jul 15, 2013 10:06 am

I honestly thought this was better in IMax 3D. I usually rail against 3D but it felt like del Toro put enough thought into it that it worked in this format. I know a 3D version was announced fairly late in the game, so he must have done some overtime getting it ready for it.

As for the film, I loved it. It's not a Hellboy 1 and 2 or Pan's Labyrinth level of love, but it was a fun film nonetheless. I have to agree the story was the weakest point, but it was still far, far better than the standard Hollywood blockbuster fare.

I would have liked more connect between Charlie Day's side story and the main one. I also would have preferred more backstory about the

Spoiler:

But it was still a very fun, very enjoyable film. I doubt we'll see a sequel unless something dramatic happens at the box office though. But at the very least, maybe this will convince the studios to let del Toro pick up again with At the Mountains of Madness. Something I think we can all agree he's perfect for.

Toe · Post by **Toe** » Mon Jul 15, 2013 10:42 am

hepcat wrote:I honestly thought this was better in IMax 3D. I usually rail against 3D but it felt like del Toro put enough thought into it that it worked in this format. I know a 3D version was announced fairly late in the game, so he must have done some overtime getting it ready for it.

Here is nice breakdown from Del Toro about what went down in regards to the 3D...

http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/17 ... conversion" target="_blank

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Mon Jul 15, 2013 11:04 am

Ah, so it was planned for early on then it seems. No wonder it looked so good, imho.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Mon Jul 15, 2013 3:08 pm

I haven't seen the movie and so can't say how large a role he played, but Idris Elba is definitely not a b-list actor; he's got some serious acting chops. Plus, he's awesome.

Oh he was definitely a highlight in the acting department, but I wouldn't call him a big name actor. I doubt many people would recognize the name without a photo (and I'd wager few would recognize him even with the photo).

I may have been too hyped. I'd had friends saying this was the best movie they'd seen in years. The only way I'd agree with that comment would be if I was ten years old and my mom didn't let me watch TV.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Mon Jul 15, 2013 3:09 pm

I think in England he's a pretty big deal though.

P.S. if you haven't watched his BBC series Martin yet, do so immediately. I think it may still be up on Netflix streaming.

Ralph-Wiggum · Post by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Mon Jul 15, 2013 3:27 pm

hepcat wrote:I think in England he's a pretty big deal though.

P.S. if you haven't watched his BBC series Martin yet, do so immediately. I think it may still be up on Netflix streaming.

Do you mean "Luther" or is that some play on Martin Luther that's going over my head?

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Mon Jul 15, 2013 3:40 pm

Ralph-Wiggum wrote:
hepcat wrote:I think in England he's a pretty big deal though.

P.S. if you haven't watched his BBC series Martin yet, do so immediately. I think it may still be up on Netflix streaming.
Do you mean "Luther" or is that some play on Martin Luther that's going over my head?

Oh for goodness' sake, that is embarrassing.

Yup, listen to Ralph. I meant Luther. Thanks, my man.

Kraegor · Post by **Kraegor** » Mon Jul 15, 2013 11:15 pm

Aww too bad. Thought Idris had another TV show I hadn't heard of.

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Sat Jul 20, 2013 7:54 am

this was the best American-made,-mostly/kinda-live-action-film-adaptation-of-no-specific-anime/manga-in-particular i've seen. Del Toro really got the feel of it in some parts.

i too noticed some strong Evangelion parallels - i thought early on the concept of a power cord being pulled from its socket would come up at some point, and sure enough..

Dramatist · Post by **Dramatist** » Sat Jul 20, 2013 9:31 am

OK I didn't get to go last Saturday but we went Wednesday night. This was my first ever D-Box experience (movie synched rumble seats). This was a great way to experience the film. Really enjoyed it.

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Sat Jul 20, 2013 11:54 pm

Saw it this afternoon. While 38-year-old me was rolling his eyes, 12-year-old me just saw the greatest movie ever made.

Idris Elba was awesome (as always), both Hunnam (who I really like in SoA) and the female lead were nothing more than cardboard cutouts, Perlman was pretty much wasted, and the "humor" was forced and quite un-funny. The whole thing didn't do much to change my opinion of del Toro as a wildly overrated director.

That said, anytime a giant robot was punching/shooting/smashing/stabbing/beating a giant monster, I couldn't help but smile.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Sun Jul 21, 2013 12:09 am

Info on the jaegers of the movie

RMC · Post by **RMC** » Mon Oct 07, 2013 10:37 am

Just saw this movie.. Watched it at home on my 60 inch TV. I actually really enjoyed it.

I umm was a bad parent though. My 4 year old daughter cuddled up with me when the movie started and I thought, maybe I should change this.. But I thought monsters and robots, come on my kids will love this.. That was irresponsible me..

And my 4 year old loved it, she kept asking..Is that the bad guy, or the good guy.

We had many discussions on that.

However, my mother lives with us and she walked in towards the end of the movie with my two older daughters (9, and 6).

And she looked at me as only a mother can with the comment, "What are you watching???" Right when perlman encountered the baby monster. Umm.. Not one of my finer moments of parenting.

I give the movie two thumbs up though.

Plot - Blah.. That entire Wall thing..Umm year walls always work, ask France about the line they built. And the fact that they got rid of the jaeger program, but showed the only solution was the jaeger.. Go figure.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Mon Oct 07, 2013 10:50 am

Lend some perspective to your mother's assessment by making sure she walks in on you watching Hostel.

RMC · Post by **RMC** » Mon Oct 07, 2013 10:59 am

hepcat wrote:Lend some perspective to your mother's assessment by making sure she walks in on you watching Hostel.

When I was a very new Dad, I let me oldest watch Harry Potter and the sorcerers stone.(she was around 3 at the time).

She also loved Disney movies... So of course one day my lovely wife is driving with our innocent daughter in the back seat.

She starts playing with a princess wand, and says the following line, "Bippity Boppity Boo... I kill you!"

My wife nearly crashed the car... Let's just say, I bought a better couch for my back.

So my choices and track record for appropriate movies for my kids, is just awful.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Mon Oct 07, 2013 11:06 am

Honestly, that's about par for stuff kids read/watched for thousands of years. Punch and Judy is a puppet show with infanticide, for Christ's sake.

RMC · Post by **RMC** » Mon Oct 07, 2013 11:09 am

hepcat wrote:Honestly, that's about par for stuff kids read/watched for thousands of years. Punch and Judy is a puppet show with infanticide, for Christ's sake.

Yeah, I always figure as long as I am there, and the stuff is not too bloody or too much swearing, then I would rather explain to them what the movie is and teach them it is fake. Then have them go someplace else and see it without the context I can provide.

Not to say that I am going to let them watch any movie, but most of the ones I let them watch are okay, or I think they are.

tgb · Post by **tgb** » Tue Apr 15, 2014 8:11 pm

I watched it today and liked it a lot -especially that they get right to the action without screwing around. But let's face it, it's essentially the most expensive Toho Studios movie ever made.

I kept expecting King Ghidarah to show up.

JSHAW · Post by **JSHAW** » Tue Apr 15, 2014 9:12 pm

Walked into half of it on HBO the other night. Liked what I saw, set dvr to record. The battle scenes were very cool.

mori · Post by **mori** » Fri Jun 12, 2015 8:57 pm

Thought it was boring. Lost interest at the one hour mark and started to wander. The outcome of the movie is pretty obvious and to formula. After the first couple battle scenes, I could not be bothered to watch any more as I knew the outcome and the ending. I do not think the addition of comedy/light-hearted characters added anything to this film at all. Should of stuck to the serious tone.

Worst mid-credit ending ever. Who cares!

DD* · Post by DD* » Fri Jun 12, 2015 10:04 pm

The first time I saw this, I thought it was awesome. Repeated viewings have significantly diminished the movie. There is so much "dumb" and "lazy" in this movie, things that just weren't consistent with the fictional universe, that it completely breaks the show for me. And the worst part is that with very little effort, these things could have been avoided.

Why is the jaeger program canceled? The initial voiceover says they are winning - why stop? No explanation.
They are going to bomb the breach, even though it has never worked before. What changed to make them think it will work this time? No explanation.
The pilots are in telepathic communication, but Raleigh doesn't know about the new sword on Gypsy? He is missing knowledge on basic weapon systems? Huh?
As above - if they are in telepathic communication, why are they always yelling at each other?
The ocean has some, um, interesting properties in this movie - first scene, they are 10+ miles out off Alaska, the water is deep enough for the kaiju to be completely submerged, but Gypsy looks to be knee deep.
See also, the entire battle in Hong Kong harbor.
Why is every battle at night, in the rain, or both?

Just lazy film making, in my opinion. Could have been so much better (and earned a sequel).

pr0ner · Post by **pr0ner** » Fri Jun 12, 2015 10:17 pm

It did earn a sequel....

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Fri Jun 12, 2015 10:17 pm

DD* wrote: [*]Why is the jaeger program canceled? The initial voiceover says they are winning - why stop? No explanation.

Thanks, Obama!

mori · Post by **mori** » Fri Jun 12, 2015 10:20 pm

DD* wrote:The first time I saw this, I thought it was awesome. Repeated viewings have significantly diminished the movie. There is so much "dumb" and "lazy" in this movie, things that just weren't consistent with the fictional universe, that it completely breaks the show for me. And the worst part is that with very little effort, these things could have been avoided.

Why is the jaeger program canceled? The initial voiceover says they are winning - why stop? No explanation.

They are going to bomb the breach, even though it has never worked before. What changed to make them think it will work this time? No explanation.

The pilots are in telepathic communication, but Raleigh doesn't know about the new sword on Gypsy? He is missing knowledge on basic weapon systems? Huh?

As above - if they are in telepathic communication, why are they always yelling at each other?

The ocean has some, um, interesting properties in this movie - first scene, they are 10+ miles out off Alaska, the water is deep enough for the kaiju to be completely submerged, but Gypsy looks to be knee deep.

See also, the entire battle in Hong Kong harbor.

Why is every battle at night, in the rain, or both?
Just lazy film making, in my opinion. Could have been so much better (and earned a sequel).

Your first point is addressed in the film. Jaegers are being defeated and the leaders thought the wall would be a better defense and stopped funding. Never mind what human history has taught us about hiding behind walls.

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Sun Jun 14, 2015 1:21 pm

mori wrote:Thought it was boring. Lost interest at the one hour mark and started to wander.

I've tried twice to watch it again and had the same reaction both times.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sun Jun 14, 2015 1:23 pm

It's a popcorn movie. You're not supposed to pay attention to the details!

EvilHomer3k · Post by **EvilHomer3k** » Mon Jun 15, 2015 11:25 am

My 11 year old has watched it many times and still loves it. He doesn't think about the details. I never thought it was a good movie. I'd much much rather watch Real Steel.