"Pacific Rim"

Hey everyone,

Sorry for the long absence. Work was insane, then my wife gave birth to a perfect baby boy, and I immediately got a terrible cold. Thus why it's been so long, Hopefully I can get a handle on this now.

I had a weekend where I watched a horrible movie, and followed it up with a really fun one. Let's tackle the fun one....


Pacific Rim (2013) PG-13 (Action/Adventure/Sci Fi)
Starring Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, and Rinko Kikuchi
  

Overview - Humanity has just met it's worst enemy. Vicious sea creatures from under the depths of the ocean, and hell-bent on destruction. How does the world fight back? By creating man-powered giant robots who can match the strength of the creatures blow-for-blow. But such robots need pilots. Enter the Pacific Rim.

Review - For most of you, the name Charlie Hunnam is a new name. The ones who do know him, likely know him from his character Jax Teller on TV's "Sons of Anarchy". I think this guy has a lot to show us. He's one of the few actors who makes a threat, and you buy it. He stirs your emotions when he's hurt. He riles you up when he's pissed. If directors will give him a fair shake, I think Charlie Hunnam will be gracing the silver screen for many years, in many big roles.

As far as the plot to this movie goes, it's essentially Transformers vs. Godzilla. However, a lot of people complained about the Transformer trilogy, due to the fact that the camera work didn't show the fights very well. Half the time you were routing for the bad guy, because the camera couldn't decipher between the 2 big heaps of twisted metal. One thing I was hoping for in this movie was being able to distinguish between the big creatures and the machines. Thank God Guillermo Del Toro (director) put his thinking cap on, because he did a fantastic job with the fight scenes. Even with the added effect of torrential rains, crashing waves, and blood mixed with antifreeze. The cinematography in this film was nothing short of fantastic! My brother in-law is a film maker as well, and has a real eye for quality production. He raved about the daytime scene where the Jaeger (the battle bot) stumbles out of the ocean and collapses on the shore. He talked about how at night time it's easier to cheat on CGI because of the use of shadows. But only truly talented poeple can pull of stellar daytime CGI, and these guys did it.

You probably don't recognize many other names in this movie. It's one of the few movies that did fairly well with a fairly unknown cast (grossed $101,000,000 as of October 27th). The only other actor that has made any kind of name for himself is Idris Elba. He's played the likes of the Gatekeeper in "Thor", DCI John Luthor in the TV show "Luthor", and Janek in the hit movie "Prometheus". He's one of the few actors I claim as underused. I really want Hollywood studios to use him in more major roles. If it made any sense, I would say he would actually make a dynamite James Bond. He commands the screen, and grabs your attention. Not unlike Liam Neeson, in the movie "Taken", when he speaks, you listen. He exudes confidence, and delivers his lines with perfect timing. I am hoping we see a lot more of Idris Elba.

There is so much I enjoyed finding out about this movie. For instance, there is a scene where we see a little girl scared in a back alley. Every time the monster steps or growls, everything shakes or bounces. People assumed it was simply a CGI effect. Actually, the studio rigged the set with a system of pullies and straps to jolt in unison for added effect. The visual effects team spent months detailing simple effects like how the wind displacement would look when a Jaeger passed between buildings. The director and effects team wanted the creatures to sound intelligent, so on top of the various animal roars they recorded, the also recorded their own voices and threw them in the mix. Finally, for the super-nerds out there, a fun fact is that the main computer voice is GLaDOS from the hit video game "Portal 2". Though they wanted her for more of a "wink" than a main character.

Everything in this movie is fun. The CGI is incredibly well done, the main actors are impressive, and the fight scenes are easily distinguished and entertaining. The plot lacks a little, but the action makes up for it. I'd give this one a 4 out of 5. I will buy it on Bluray, and show it to my friends and family. If you're up for an "epic" movie, this is it. You won't be disappointed.

Suggestions or comments? Email me at entertaindave@gmail.com and follow me on Twitter @entertaindave. You can also check out my YouTube channel. I'm new to YouTube, so I have a hard time finding it, but if you search Dave Racer Church, you should find my video.