Pacific Rim (2013)

When it’s over, forgettable the moment the credits rolled.  To avoid human extinction, mankind must battle Kaijus, giant sea creatures, with Jaegers, giant robots piloted by two humans connected by a neural bridge. Mega concept, with miniature results. I’m a huge fan of Director Guillermo Del Toro, but this film truly was disappointing. Perhaps, I’m missing something, because I did not find the film had substance (clear plot, climax, and resolution) nor was the acting particularly good. I felt no human link whatsoever – to the story or the characters. The story was as thin as a piece of rice paper. I would have liked to know where the Kaijus came from and how they created the underwater portal. Why did they want to wipe out mankind? What was their weakness? If humanity was already on the brink of an apocalypse, how did humans get the resources, materials, and money to make multiple Jaegers? This was completely unrealistic.  And the questions go on and on. The characters were flat and underdeveloped, leaving nothing to like or care about. There were plenty of deaths, and the teary scenes failed to produce a tear from me. The one good thing about this film was the visuals, especially on the Jaegers, but even that was compromised by dark settings, leaving much of the details hidden in shadows. Pacific Rim had a bit of Transformers and Godzilla, paying homage to classic Japanese science fiction films. Weirdly, this film reminded me of the Japanese television series Johnny Sokko and his Flying Robot (1967-68), where a young boy had the power to control his giant robot. I’m not sure why I made this connection, because the only element both the series and the film shared was the giant robot. Nonetheless, I liked the series better. 

My rating: 2 out of 5