Pacific Rim

Guillermo del Toro's 2013 monster epic, Pacific Rim, celebrates its 10th anniversary this year but was one I missed in cinemas where it probably would have been best to see it as towering robots defend cities against ginormous beasts. Thankfully the Blu-ray still holds up on the small screen, capturing all of the the dazzling visuals, but I wasn't entirely sold when I saw this a couple of years ago. It felt as if the 132 minute adventure was over-crammed with ideas and didn't need to be as long as it was but would a second viewing with an idea of what to expect help me see what del Toro's fans enjoyed?

Set in the not the too distant future, the world has united together to create Jaegers, giant mechanical beasts with two human pilots inside, to fight off equally big Kaiju beasts that have emerged from the pacific ocean and threaten humanity's chance of survival. Charlie Hunnam's Raleigh retired from being a pilot after losing his brother but is called back into the war by Idris Elba's commanding officer to work alongside a new partner when greater threats emerge from the deep. 

Shot in an aspect ratio that suitably fills the screen, Pacific Rim still looks amazing to this day with its bright visuals, impressive effects and excellent directing from del Toro. Watching the behind-the-scenes, this was clearly a huge passion project for him and he had plans to do even more if the budge allowed. Alas some ideas were scrapped but I really enjoyed this on my second viewing as I was now prepared for the eccentric subplot with Charlie Day, Burn Gorman and Ron Perlman. On my first viewing, this felt out of step with the rest of the film's tone but somehow it added levity and variety to the overall story this time. 

Hunnam makes for a solid leading man here, having had a mixed career as he moved from Sons of Anarchy into Hollywood, and has just enough chemistry with Rinko Kikuchi to form the central part of the film. Much of this is thanks to a great screenplay and del Toro's directing who sells all of the characters and their stories perfectly, particularly towards the end in a surprisingly emotional twist. Elba also shines as the military leader, bringing about an impressive cast to set the stage for some highly entertaining action sequences.

When watching I did wonder why Hollywood never thought to make a sequel and then realise, "of course they did!" with that dismal 2018 action flick that was totally devoid of any of the soul and passion del Toro displayed here. The action there felt light and bland but here there is a sense of scale and gravity that comes with each thunderous blow as the two sides collide. Thankfully that forgettable sequel hasn't diminished what came five years prior and remains an easy film to recommend if the simple premise of robots verses monsters sounds appealing to you.