PACIFIC RIM (2013 - ACTION / SCI-FI / DRAMA) ****1/2 out of *****
(MAZINGER Z meets GODZILLA - sign me up...)
CAST: Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinku Kikuchi, Charlie Day, Max Martini, Clifton Collins Jr., Robert Kazinsky, Burn Gorman, Ron Perlman, Diego Klattenhoff.
DIRECTOR: Guillermo Del Toro
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and some damn good arguments for strategic defenses based on Japanese Anime - straight ahead....
IT'S LIKE THIS: When I was growing up, one of my favorite cartoons was the popular (in Asia, anyway) Japanese anime titled MAZINGER Z. The show was about a giant Japanese robot named Mazinger Z that was controlled by a hovercraft docked in its head, piloted by a human teenager named Kouji Kabuto. Kouji would basically pilot Mazinger Z the way you would pilot a car or airplane - except Mazinger Z packed a hell of a lot more firepower. Kouji and Mazinger would battle not only evil giant robots created by a baddie mastermind called Dr. Hell and his half-man/half-woman (not even kidding, folks - this is Japanese anime, after all) associate named Baron Ashura, but also behemoth leviathans that would come out of the sea wanting to go medieval on civilization.
You know how kids today have all sorts of tie-in products for TOY STORY, FINDING NEMO, ICE AGE, SHREK, WALL-E, etc.? Well, you name the MAZINGER Z tie-in product, and I had it when I was growing up: stickers, coloring books, notebooks, T-shirts, lunch box, etc. In short, in addition to CHARLIE'S ANGELS, the James Bond flicks, the "Choose Your Own Adventure" books, and the Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew novels, MAZINGER Z was an early influence on my artistic development. To this day, I still get chills when I hear the opening music themes for that TV show.
So, imagine my delight when I heard about PACIFIC RIM - which is basically MAZINGER Z with a lot of hot, sexy, live people running around instead of cartoon characters - and some seriously stunning special effects. I used to hope that MAZINGER Z would eventually be turned into a film. That hope dwindled as time and years went by - but now it is burning ever so brightly as PACIFIC RIM finally arrives in theatres across the country. None of the giant robots running around in it may not exactly be called Mazinger Z, but who are they kidding?
Let's examine the similarities between PACIFIC RIM and MAZINGER Z, shall we? Giant robots piloted by humans in a pod located in the robots' heads? Check. Huge scaly monsters threatening civilization? Check. An Asian setting that somehow manages to be both vibrant and bleak at the same time? Seriously check. "To-The-Death-Battles" between aforementioned giant-robots-piloted-by-humans and huge-scaly-monsters-threatening-civilization? Very, very check. Let's face it, folks: PACIFIC RIM owes my boys Mazinger and Kouji some serious gratitude. Don't get me wrong, though: I am thrilled with PACIFIC RIM (more on that in the BUT SERIOUSLY section), but I just want to give credit where credit is due. Go MAZINGER Z!
Our story starts off with a narration by sexy-as-fuck blond hottie Raleigh Becket (sexy-as-fuck blonde hottie Charlie Hunnam). Raleigh is a "Jaeger" - which is a German word for "Hunter." Jaegers are basically highly-trained mavericks who pilot giant robots to battle "Kaiju" - which, I guess, is the Japanese word for "Evil Scaly Monster Who Comes From Another Dimension And Wants To Seriously Fuck Up Our Planet."
Anyhow, Raleigh tells us that the Kaiju first emerged from a crack in the ocean floor, which is also a portal to another dimension or something, and started attacking coastal cities around the Pacific Rim. First, San Francisco got leveled. Then Manila got hammered (although, given how fun-loving Filipinos are, they probably didn't realize that the giant monster attacking their capital wasn't part of the party until it was too late). Then Tokyo, Sydney, Shanghai, Anchorage, Honolulu, L.A. and all the rest of 'em in the PacRim neighborhood followed. Fortunately, Raleigh and his hotshot team of Jaegers, which includes his equally hot blond brother Yancy (Diego Klattenhoff), have managed to use their giant robots to put the smackdown on the Kaiju and keep things relatively under control.
That is, until the Kaiju start getting hep to the Jaeger's attack and defense techniques. Before you know it, the tables are turning and the Kaiju are starting to get a leg up on the Jaegers and their robots. It seems that this formidable and deadly enemy is evolving - and getting smarter and more dangerous (if that's even possible). This results in robot after robot in the Jaeger fleet being destroyed - and finally leading to the tragic death of Yancy, who sacrifices himself for his baby bro Raleigh. This causes Raleigh to resign from the Jaeger program - and go build a giant wall in Alaska - called the "Wall of Life" - which is supposed to keep the Kaiju out. Ha ha. Right. Let me know how that one goes, Einsteins.
As a result of the sudden failures of the Jaeger robots against the evolving Kaiju, the World Governments pull their support for the Jaeger Program. Much to the dismay of smokin' hot Jaeger Chief, Colonel Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba), and his even hotter (if that's possible) right hand man, Major Herc Hansen (Max Martini). In a last-ditch effort to keep the Jaeger program alive, Pentecost tracks down Raleigh at his construction site in Alaska, and cajoles him into going back into the Jaeger program. Raleigh is still traumatized by the death of his big bro Yancy, but eventually agrees. Probably because the life of a construction worker is just not as exciting as that of someone who pilots giant robots and dukes it out with huge monsters from another dimension. Just keeping it real, folks.
Before you know it, Raleigh is back in the saddle and partnered with the mysterious Maki Mori (Rinku Kikuchi), a Japanese pilot with a enigmatic secret in her past. And, folks, let me just say that these two make for one great-looking couple - The Blonde Hunk and The Exotic Asian Chick - and there is more combustible chemistry between them than a wet finger and an electric outlet. I, for one, would love to be a fly on the wall of their, uh, cockpit during their next, um, missionary position, er, mission. Yes, I'm a sleazebag - but I have chosen to embrace it. Much more fun, that way.
Anyhow, his growing attraction to Maki (and her elusiveness) is not the only thing that Raleigh has to wrestle with. He also has to deal with an asshole rival named Chuck Hansen (Robert Kazinsky), who is the son of uber-hottie Herc Hansen, whom we mentioned before could camp out on my face anytime he wants. Chuck isn't quite as hot as his pops, but he's more than good enough. Unfortunately, he's also a jackass - and not in the "Sexy Douchebag" way we talked about in our review of IRON MAN 3. He's just a prick, and not the good kind. If you know what I mean. Ahem. Which is totally puzzling, because Herc is an all-around Good Guy - and his son is basically the Grand High Statesman of Asswipes. To say that the apple fell a thousand miles from the tree is not so much an understatement, but a center-of-the-Earth statement.
Whatever. Eventually, Raleigh has to set all this noise aside and focus on the mission. Which is a good thing, because it appears those pesky Kaiju are seriously ramping up on the menace and mischief. Instead of attacking in ones like before, the fuckers are now teaming up in twos and even threes. What the actual fuck? Did they suddenly realize that there is safety in numbers or something?
Why are the Kaiju attacks increasing in frequency and numbers? What is their ultimate plan? Will the scientists studying the Kaiju come up with an explanation in time? Is Dr. Geiszler (Charlie Day) right when he says that Kaiju are not mindless beasts attacking randomly - but organized warriors with a definite agenda? If so, how will he prove his theory? And why is Colonel Pentecost so against Maki being Raleigh's co-pilot? Is he concerned that her intense desire for revenge against the Kaiju may compromise the mission? Or is it something else? And what is Maki's secret, anyway? And will she and Raleigh successfully put aside their powerful attraction and work together as a Jaeger team? Do they have, um, a happy ending in their future? Besides the messy kind, that is.
I certainly hope so...
BUT SERIOUSLY: In our last review, the mediocre thriller THE PURGE, we discussed the High Concept Movie. A High Concept Film is one with a very catchy premise that instantly marks it as commercial (and potentially profitable). We also discussed how the wrong execution can cause a High Concept Movie to fail. Such is the the case with THE PURGE whose potentially compelling central idea ("One night a year, all crime is legal" flamed out due to unoriginal and tired execution. Even more damning was the lack of any sympathetic characters to root for. This is the real failure of THE PURGE: it might have survived its routine plot development if it had anyone worth caring for. But it didn't, and it is one of the weakest films to be released this summer - despite that attention-getting hook.
Think about it: the best High Concept Movies are the ones with characters we cared about. JAWS, STAR WARS, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, GHOSTBUSTERS, INDIANA JONES, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, INDIANA JONES & THE TEMPLE OF DOOM, E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL, DIE HARD, and many, many more successful High Concept films made their mark not only because they had arresting central ideas - but also because we sympathized with the men and women within their worlds. These are what I like to call "High Concept Movies With Heart" - and our latest review is one of them.
The central idea of PACIFIC RIM, like all High Concept Films, is a catchy one that can be summed up in one to two sentences: "When giant monsters emerge from the sea, the World must rely on giant robots piloted by humans to defeat the menace and save humanity." This is not an entirely original premise because it combines elements of MAZINGER Z, GODZILLA, and the TRANSFORMER movies. However, what really makes it soar is not just the stellar and breathless action sequences - but the characters who inhabit this world and their relationships with one another. Both the people of PACIFIC RIM and their connections to each other are compellingly fleshed out.
In the past, we've talked about how "some movies treat the people just as important - if not more - than the plot." This is a very good thing; PACIFIC RIM does so and, as a result, it anchors the spectacular action in a very human place. Director/co-writer Guillermo Del Toro is not afraid to slow the pace down to make room for Raleigh, Maki, Pentecost, Herc, Dr. Geiszler, Chuck, and the rest of the folks to breathe and develop with one another. These solid "interpersonals" make the ensuing action all the more resonant and suspenseful, because you feel that something is actually at stake here: the lives of men and women the audience has come to care about.
Charlie Hunnam is a terrific lead who owns his role and holds the camera with authority and charisma. He is commanding, rather than just competent - the way Henry Cavill unfortunately was in MAN OF STEEL. Cavill was okay, even good, but when you keep thinking of someone else who would've been so much better in the role of Superman (like Andrew Garfield or someone similar), then you know that the actor chosen has not taken ownership of the role and made it special. By constrast, Hunnam takes the role of Raleigh Becket, a potentially cliched "hero" role, and brings it to vital life - making it his own.
For years, Idris Elba has provided solid support in a variety of A-list productions, most recently in PROMETHEUS as the no-nonsense space jockey Janek. Here, Elba puts a more noble spin on the "Fearless Leader" role, turning Colonel Stacker Pentecost (a ridiculous name that could have easily compromised our view of the character) into an admirable blend of courage, leadership, and compassion. It's also great that the British-born Elba, who has forever been forced to suppress his natural accent in American roles, gets to use it hear. And it is a pleasure to hear. I like to refer to him as the "Thinking Person's Denzel Washington" - and I hope to see him in more lead and major supporting roles in the future.
As the female lead, Rinku Kikuchi brings a nice blend of tentativeness and backbone to the role of Maki Mori. From the trailer, I was expecting Maki to be some sort of hard-driving, aggressive, bad-ass female pilot, but Kikuchi constantly surprises us by making Maki more vulnerable and child-like - and not the "warrior cliche" she could have been. It helps considerably that Kikuchi, who had strong turns in BABEL and THE BROTHERS BLOOM, has great versatility and range - ably showing the various colors to her character. I think of Kikuchi as a sort of Japanese version of Sharon Stone - a nice blend of distant beauty and haunting vulnerability. Just like with Hunnam and Elba, I hope to see more of Kikuchi's work on these shores in the future.
Of the supporting cast, the gorgeous Max Martini and the hilarious Charlie Day are the major standouts. Martini is an immensely likable presence as Herc Hansen, Pentecost's right-hand man who, like his boss, is also fearless but also compassionate. Martini has the same arresting presence that Hunnam and Elba have - a masculine aura that resembles that of Russell Crowe. It would be great to see Martini get some lead roles after his arresting turn in PACIFIC RIM. Then there's Charlie Day, who is one of my favorite comedians. He stars in one of my favorite sitcoms, the wildly irreverent and loony IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA, and he brings the same manic energy to PACIFIC RIM. All the laughs in this movie usually involve him - especially when his character, Dr. Geiszler, gets his own side mission/mini adventure into Hong Kong to try to unravel the secret of the Kaiju's brains.
Robert Kazinsky, Clifton Collins Jr, and Diego Klattenhof are also good in smaller supporting roles, rounding out a terrific cast. Another asset of PACIFIC RIM is the cast itself - each and every single role is perfectly filled with just the right actor or actress. The only quibble that I have is I wish that there were more female characters. Maki Mori is a great heroine, but it would've been nice to have seen another woman or two in the pool of main players. Perhaps Dr. Geiszler could've had a love interest of his own....
Maybe in the sequel... For now, though, PACIFIC RIM has shaped up to be the most enjoyable film (in a dead tie with THIS IS THE END - review coming), thus far, of the summer. In a season filled with such winners as WORLD WAR Z, IRON MAN 3, MAN OF STEEL, and THE HEAT, that is no small feat.
