Pacific Rim

2013  PG-13  SCIENCE FICTION  2h 12min

CAST— Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, Robert Kazinsky, Max Martini, Ron Perlman

MUSIC— Ramin Djawadi  DIRECTOR— Guillermo del Toro

     Clichés abound in this enjoyable escapism from the visionary director of Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), Guillermo del Toro. The Kaiju’s a-comin’, the Kaiju’s a-comin’! The Kaiju are big ol’ building-shredding monsters in the Gojira vein. When they appear from the depths of the ocean mankind has little to protect themselves with. That’s when they build the Jaegers: towering, dual-piloted, bottom-kicking robots that bring the pain to the gi-normous Kaiju… for a while, at least. The Kaiju soon become bigger and badder than anyone anticipated, nearly wiping out the Jaegers and their pilots. Enter Charlie Hunnam, former Jaeger pilot who lost his brother to the Kaiju menace. Hunnam and a small band of defunct pilots plan on dropping a nuke down the throat of the interdimentional rift that spawns the beasts before humankind becomes Kaiju K-rations. It’s Transformers (2007) meets Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1995) meets Godzilla (1954) meets Cloverfield (2008) (with a bit of Top Gun [1986] thrown in for good measure). A touching mood piece that will have the viewer crying… for destruction! Dedicated to Ray Harryhausen and Ishirō Honda.

OUR RATING— ** ½

FOLLOWED BY— Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018)