"Pacific Rim" trailer...

[Ginkgo]

Pacific Rim refreshes movie goers because it does what all movies should do - advertise itself accurately. What you see is what you get.

 

[Ivy]

Yes. And it has Idris Elba aka my movie boyfriend in it.

 

[Totenkindly]

Yes. And it has Idris Elba aka my movie boyfriend in it.

He was pretty hawt and believable here -- very 'strong' in all the right ways.

Do you have any other recommendations for movies with him acting in? I wasn't as impressed with Prometheus.

 

[Totenkindly]

So Guillermo understands that in a movie that people go to see because they want to see giants fighting, it's important to be able see the giants fighting? Cool.

Also, is there less dopey twilight for boys wish fulfillment in this? That was the other big problem with Transformers.

The movie could have probably used even more fighting, to be honest -- maybe that is what Duck was getting at. Not that there wasn't a lot, but even moah would have been cool. There's some actual attempt at character development which isn't bad, but it does create kind of a lull where not a ton is happening plot-wise.

I found it hard to tell the difference between the two Channing Tatum half-clones. Maybe that's why they had them speak with different accents.

As far as the fighting, at times because everything is so big and there's so much destruction, it can be hard to scan what exactly is happening or who is getting mangled.

Oh, Ron Perlman chews up the scenery, providing some bad-ass comic relief just as he did in Blade 2 and other pics. Kind of amusing. And Charlie Day as a dorky biologist and his sidekick scientist buddy are kind of amusing too -- I can see him channeling a bit of Rick Moranis here too.

 

[Ivy]

I liked him in Prometheus but I think a lot of the stuff that would have made his character make more sense ended up on the cutting room floor.

I don't know if you're into police dramas at all but he stars in BBC's Luther, which is excellent, as police dramas go. There's something charming about British shows where this big powerful guy gets around in a Volvo.

 

[Poindexter Arachnid]

Forgot to mention the score: It was adventurous, memorable and bombastic. Fit the movie perfectly--none of that self-important, Hans Zimmer-inspired minimalist/horn/forced melancholy droning bullshit.

I cant imagine seeing Pacific Rim as a child or preteen. I'd have lost my damn fool mind. They dont make them like this anymore. It isnt drenched in irony or self-loathing--Pacific Rim is PROUD to be a ridiculous giant monster/mecha flick. It is completely unapologetic.

I hope it does well at the box office. Would be nice to have more giant robot movies (that especially isnt Transformers).

(Addendum: I'd possibly go gay for Idris Elba while I am at it)

 

[Lark]

Man, this movie is gonna be bad-ass. It's gonna make Optimus Prime and company look like toys...um...well...you know what I mean...um...just watch the trailer.

Mighty Morphing Power Raaaaannnnnggggggeeers!!

 

[Rail Tracer]

Besides the corny love interest (especially the ending, lol)

It was pretty cool.

Characters don't feel as forced.

You know, the two scientists that play the role of relief had some role besides being relief.

I had a good time.

I kind of want to watch Elysium now (besides Ender's Game.)

All these sci-fi tech movies, omg, so many.

 

[Totenkindly]

Besides the corny love interest (especially the ending, lol)

It was pretty cool.

Characters don't feel as forced.

You know, the two scientists that play the role of relief had some role besides being relief.

I had a good time.

I kind of want to watch Elysium now (besides Ender's Game.)

All these sci-fi tech movies, omg, so many.

I'm kind of intrigued by Elysium.
(And Ender's Game, I suppose.)

Both movies have some decent cast, at least.

 

[gromit]

The movie was a bit hokey and the plot line predictable, but the special effects were fun and it was enjoyable in an unnecessary destruction sort of way.

 

[Mal12345]

I think you mean, "HOLY FUCK!!! THAT ROBOT BASHED A MONSTER'S HEAD IN WITH A BOAT 10 TIMES THE SIZE OF OPTIMUS FUCKING PRIME!!!"


I might just take the day off work opening day.

And the ugliest monster in this movie? Ron Perlman.

It was such a nice day outside that I decided to stay in for a change and watch a movie.

I really don't give a flying elephant fuck about OPTIMUS FUCKING PRIME. But I did care to Redbox this movie today.

Of course I won't over-analyze the science behind it all or else the movie will totally collapse under the weight of its own unreality. I found the monsters (the so-called Kaiju) to be sufficiently scary. The Jaegers were big and tough. I know some viewers saw Transformers or some shit in this movie, but I saw a combination of ID4 and Power Rangers. And I only mentioned Power Rangers, not because of some obvious similarities, but because the good guys keep having to haul out bigger and badder weapons, culminating with "The Sword" in this case, when they should have been using "The Sword" all along. There was no reason not to, unless the Jaegers wanted to get their asses whooped for a while just to make the movie more exciting. Hmmm....

As with any good action movie or video game, the viewer or gamer has to be hooked from the very beginning. A video game has to start with levels easy to beat, and rewards easy to accomplish. Once the gamer becomes hooked, the rewards come fewer and fewer. But that's okay, or else the game will become boring and the gamer will become satiated with too many rewards and serotonin. There are mid-bosses, end-bosses, and a final boss to defeat.

Action movies use precisely the same formula as video games. With ... um, what was the title again? Oh yes. With Pacific Rim, the easy levels were skipped over. They occurred in the past in the movie, and the viewer is given a synopsis of past events with some action thrown in like appetizers for the main course. Then the present battle sequences begin, and things are really scary. We hate the Kaiju and cheer for the Jaegers. It can't be helped, unless you're totally brain-dead - or a girl who plays with dolls and despises transformers.

In between battle sequences there was some blah blah talk that I never quite kept up with. However, I did like the "nutty professor" character, you know, the one who sounds like a stereotypical cloistered professor and acts kind of nervous yet at the same time is cocky and self-sure of his own intellectual abilities. This character wasn't given nearly enough screen time for me. I didn't happen to catch his name so I'll look it up............ It appears that he was simply known as Gottlieb. The other more quasi-intellectual nervous type was named, for some reason that I can't even begin to explain, Newton. Maybe it has to do with the fact that the real Newton and Gottlieb were rivals back in the day? I wouldn't know.

The character Newton has a counterpart in ID4, his name was David Levinson (played by Jeff Goldblum). Stacker Pentecost also has a counterpart in ID4, his name was President Thomas J. Whitmore. And by some interesting coincidence, they both gave rousing speeches toward the end of their respective movies. I must admit, however, that I was far more moved by President Whitmore's patriotic speech.

The audience is handed an ending which is thankfully not quite the same as the one in ID4. There is the inevitable countdown timer to create tension in the audience. The ending also bore a strong resemblance with that of The Avengers, moreso than with ID4. It has to do with gateways to parallel universes, where the good guy travels through the gateway, takes the war to the bad guy's own territory, and then manages to fall (or float) back through the gateway to safety before it shuts down forever. This is a twist on the ending to ID4 (and you could also toss Armageddon in there) to add a little bit more tension. ID4's ending was just more complex in that there were two fronts in the battle, the one with the enemy on Earth itself, and the secret one occurring in orbit.

I would also like to point out one complete rip-off from ID4: at the end of both movies, we are looking straight into the eyes of an alien just before his (its?) time ran out. I did however appreciate how startled the aliens looked when the Jaeger came down to "greet" them with its little gift of good-will between races.

All in all, Pacific Rim is a delightful romp that should not be missed by any male aged 8 and up.

 

[figsfiggyfigs]

It was definitely bad something

 

[Totenkindly]

There's nothing like watching this movie on your big-screen TV in 3D at midnight when you're bored.

I don't always need complexity.
Sometimes I just need to see giant robots beat monsters up with boxcars and battleships.
(And Idris Elba getting all hard-ass/drool-worthy.)
...in 3D. Booya!

Besides, I'm preparing for next Friday.

 

[Totenkindly]

Pretty ambitious 8-bit version of the music (for like an old Nintendo game) -- it builds as it goes: