"Pacific Rim" Is As Cool As It Is Entertaining

Pacific Rim is a film of exceptions amongst the big tentpole blockblusters released this summer. Where so many films featured big, dumb action that wasn't all that interesting or fun, Pacific Rim has plenty of action that is exciting and fun. Where so many films are dark and brooding, Pacific Rim is lighthearted.

Pacific Rim is a film that has a primary objective of giving us all the cool, awesome giant robots fighting giant monsters that our ten year old selves are clamoring for. And boy does it ever succeed! This action is sleek, cleanly shot and tremendously pleasing. It's easy to follow, brightly lit, clamoring with bright, eye popping colors. The monsters and robots are lovingly crafted and the action shines with great deal of affection.

The storytelling of the film harkens back to a simpler form of narrative. At times the story is archetypical; the characters largely fill certain roles: the rebellious hero, the vengeful romantic interest, the stern commander, the scatterbrained scientist. This is a simple tale of good versus evil. The alien monsters (called "kaiju" -- a reference to the genre of films that in part inspired the film) appear through a rift in the tectonic plates, a portal between worlds. A prologue quickly informs us of what's happened in the years since their arrival, and the film ensues almost entirely in the middle of a war where the appearance of the monsters is a matter-of-fact occurrence. The world has joined together to fund a program for giant robots (called "jaegers") to combat them, but the program is soon to be shut down. The commander (Idris Elba being stoically badass like few people can) attempts one last kamikazi run with the last four remaining jaegers to try to shut the portal for good.

The pleasure of the film stems mostly from how it finds so much nifty, merry, imaginative visual entertainment. While this feels like it ought not be an intelligent film, it's so lovingly and intelligently crafted that it rises above its cliches and its shortcomings. This is a film that revels in being fun and cool, and does it with such pride that you can't help but have a good time.

Grade: B+