Pacific Rim

[Blademaster!]

Just finished watching this movie, and have to say it was awesome as far as action and special effects go. The plot was at least interesting enough to keep me entertained, and I certainly felt the thrill of this movie really being a kind of "Humanities last Stand" sort of feature.

Was kinda upset that the two lead characters lived in the end since I thought it would have been more interesting and emotional if they died, but alas such is the general trend of American cinema.

Probably going to be my favortite movie of the summer.

Anyone else see and enjoy this film or have any complaints?

[Airship Canon]

I saw it, but I had too high of expectations, so I wound up rather disappointed. Good action flick, but that's all.

My problems: [spoiler=Contains Spoilers]

• Standard Movie Use of F-22 Raptor, or "We want our Threat [X] to look impressive" so we'll have it **** up F-22s. In this case it was especially terrible because F-22s would not ever be that close to the target. (This is not mentioning the fact that the F-22 Raptor can only feasibly carry 1 gun pod, and the movie shows it using 2.)
• Extremely dumb combat doctrines by humanity. Ok, so nuking away the portal doesn't work. Why isn't it being camped? (Seriously, Jaegers shouldn't have been in Alaska. They should've been being deployed from a base that's right at the breach, or better yet, the Breach should've been surrounded by autofiring plasma cannons or something. Either way, the Kaiju spawn point should've been camped.) Where's the ranged weaponry? Gypsy Danger clearly had that plasma cannon. Why did it take so long to bring it out? Why weren't there other ranged weapons? Seriously, if they can make a sword that cuts thru the Kaiju like knife thru butter, they can make big ass cannon to blow Kaiju face off. Why'd it take Striker so long to start using it's chest blaster? (Notably during the Hong Kong fight, Striker just stood there, doing nothing (yes, they were told not to engage, but that was to keep it from being damaged in melee combat. There shouldn't have had any bearing on it in ranged combat) instead of commencing ranged bombardment of the Kaiju.) Speaking of weapons, did anyone else note the problems? Chinese weapon sucked. Rotating scythe? Dumb. Should've been outright buzz saws. Sword. Cool. Chainsaw? Effective and cool. (Chainsaw has maintenance problems, but Kaiju are coming 1 at a time until the events of the movie (first ever double/triple event) Chainsaws are much better.)
• Too much Super Robot in a "real robot" setting, plain and simple.
• -- Why was there feedback? Sure mental control, but the mech shouldn't be feedbacking to the pilot. Mech loses its arm, pilot shouldn't feel "Arm lost", outside of the jolting that occurs from the actual damage. That garbage makes sense in Evangelion, but not here.
• It really didn't seem like a battle for survival. Really. (This compounds with the stupidity of mankind's actions in the movie)
• SIZE DISPROPORTIONALITY, MUCH?! Jaegers appear to be about the size of Eva (40m mech) from their cockpit scenes (Which head cockpit, something I have an Issue with, but that's just a problem with American Mecha design in general) or the scene with Gypsy Danger charging its plasma cannon in the trial (Which, was, a scene straight out of NGE) or when they're in the hangars. However otherwise they vary in size by waaaay too much. They're stupidly Gargantuan in some scenes (Sydney fight; in comparison to choppers, the freaking boat-bat)
• Mako is Rei. Nothing else. She was "tragic backstory" then no personality-- at all, whatsoever.
• The Black Dude dies. REALLY?
• Rival dude dies. REALLY?
• That last scene was cliche as hell-- the main character should not be alive, but is for the sake of cheesy ending.

Don't take that as the wrong way though, I liked the movie. I'm just kinda hyper critical of it (partially due to ill proportioned expectations of it (And having seen the likes of Eva and Muv Luv, both of which do Mecha vs. Kaiju much better than Pacific Rim does-- ESPECIALLY the latter, which really does have that "this is humanity's last stand" feel to it.) and me getting this feeling of "I can personally do better writing than this".)

Things I liked: [spoiler=Still got some spoilers]

• It's freaking Mecha vs. Kaiju, enough said.
• Mech design in general. Barring Head placed Cockpit (which is dumb) and lack of big guns to go along with big robots, the Jaegers were pretty cool-- ESPECIALLY Striker.
• Main Character himself. Compared to other cases of Mecha vs. Kaiju (*cough Evangelion cough*) the Main Character of Pacific Rim was pretty damn cool- he didn't hang out in the emo corner. And when he got to Shatterdome, he was in control- and that was awesome. Rival dude takes issue? He kicked his ass. Mako wanted to pilot? He got her to pilot. Dude was badass.
• "Where the hell is my shoe!?"-- there wasn't a whole lot of comedy tossed in there, but what there was, was absolutely hilarious.
• The action was great, so were the effects. As much as I hold the combat doctrine in disapproval, I loved the actual Kaiju fights.
• ATTACK ON TITAN REFERENCE.
• ...Shatterdome reminded me heavily of Yokohama base from Muv Luv-- but that may be "Military base realism"... eh. On the other hand, the drift with Kaiju and whole Hive Mind thing definitely felt ML:A inspired. This is a good thing.

All in all, i'd give like a Upper 6, maybe a low 7 out of 10 (5 is average) for being a great action flick, but having some points that really irked me, and being kinda cliched.

[MacLovin]

I guess it rimmed people's expectations.

From what I've heard, it's kinda average.

[Samias]

I really enjoyed the movie because the action is really great. It's not really logical and the script is cheesy, but this is very much a giant homage to mecha anime and the old kaiju movies. Nothing here is very deep. There shouldn't be a *need* for mechas to punch out a kaiju but this movie is not going to let common sense rule the day when they can rocket punch a monster in the face.

That said, this movie is also really brutal for a summer popcorn flick. When I see posts from people gushing about how the movie is great and they should bring the kids, DO NOT BRING THE KIDS. I wouldn't bring anyone younger than an older teen to see this film. Lots of people are killed on screen and while it is not particularly gory, it is still intense. I found the reviews really glossed that over, and maybe some people aren't as sensitive, but some scenes did leave me pretty squeamish.

[Airship Canon]

That said, this movie is also really brutal for a summer popcorn flick. When I see posts from people gushing about how the movie is great and they should bring the kids, DO NOT BRING THE KIDS. I wouldn't bring anyone younger than an older teen to see this film. Lots of people are killed on screen and while it is not particularly gory, it is still intense. I found the reviews really glossed that over, and maybe some people aren't as sensitive, but some scenes did leave me pretty squeamish.

...Are you the "intense Tales violence" guy?

Pacific Rim really, really, really wasn't violent or intense. At all. Maybe thematically it was, but other than that, no it wasn't.

[Samias]

Well it's not like I'm going to have nightmares about it but I still wouldn't bring children into the theatre. I know explosions are par for the course but...

The onscreen drowning, for example, might not be gory but it hit me a little harder than most deaths, even if those characters were incredibly minor.

Obviously it's not as violent as Pan's Labyrinth, but del Toro's shot choices are still more impactful than many other summer explosionfests. It's worth a heads-up to people who might be sensitive. It's not really as in-your-face as the Dark Knight trilogy but compared to some of the other summer flicks I've watched this year like Iron Man 3 or Star Trek, I felt mildly unnerved for a few scenes.

[Loki Laufeyson]

I really enjoyed the movie because the action is really great. It's not really logical and the script is cheesy, but this is very much a giant homage to mecha anime and the old kaiju movies. Nothing here is very deep. There shouldn't be a *need* for mechas to punch out a kaiju but this movie is not going to let common sense rule the day when they can rocket punch a monster in the face.

That said, this movie is also really brutal for a summer popcorn flick. When I see posts from people gushing about how the movie is great and they should bring the kids, DO NOT BRING THE KIDS. I wouldn't bring anyone younger than an older teen to see this film. Lots of people are killed on screen and while it is not particularly gory, it is still intense. I found the reviews really glossed that over, and maybe some people aren't as sensitive, but some scenes did leave me pretty squeamish.

Considering del Toro's track record, this movie was really tame in terms of certain types of content. Sure, the kaiju may give some kids some nightmares, but i think your average 10 year old would have a hella good time with this movie. Because giant freaking robots! Its got a similar violence ratio as Independence Day...

but I had too high of expectations

That, my friend, was the problem.

I didnt go in expecting super brilliant plots and amazing acting and groundbreaking anything. I expected del Toro visuals and a good time. The hamminess of the whole thing was an extra cherry on top of a great looking sundae.

Some spoilers on my thoughts of the characters.

I got the impression that Raleigh wasnt really meant to be the main protagonist. Like del Toro really wanted Mako to be the lead. She was more fleshed out, had a more interesting backstory, and just was much more sympathetic. It also felt like this was intended to be the Mako/Pentecost show. Raleigh felt really shoehorned in for some reason. I do think if he was bumped down to being a supporting character, the whole plot would have been a bit more solid. Mako's entire flashback during the first Drift between her and Raleigh pretty much slapped me in the face with "oh she should have been the lead." Her connection to Pentecost also smelled of that. I often wonder why the hell she wasnt the main. Oh well.

Them kaiju looked amazing.

[Florete]

This movie greatly emphasized why I've been tired of movies in general lately. I was completely unimpressed with everything: generic, cliched, and predictable plot, stock characters, action. And yet apparently people are talking about this movie like it's some amazing thing; the two people I saw it with both came out saying just that, as well as how it lived up to the hype. One of the people I saw it with praised the whole dual pilot system thing (drifting?), but as a movie with a 2 hour run time, all I saw in that was potential without the ability to be expanded into anymore than a gimmick.

I don't get it. Giant robots and destruction just isn't enough for me anymore. But I guess if that's your thing, yeah, it was great.

Edited July 15, 2013 by Red Fox of Fire

[Da Bear]

I liked it.

Then again Robots fought aliens/monsters and stuff blew up. Saying I liked it is a given

[Blademaster!]

This movie greatly emphasized why I've been tired of movies in general lately... And yet apparently people are talking about this movie like it's some amazing thing

As you've already mentioned, most people I've seen talk about the movie mention how it's a lot better than most of the other crappy movies that have been released as of late, and gave them some new hope for the future.

[pinkbubblegum]

I reaaally really enjoyed Pacific Rim! It's just such a fun movie. Plot was... okay, and sometimes the acting was laughable (Mako's delivery in her lines felt really inappropriate sometimes!)

But it's a movie that was meant to be a love letter to mechas and kaiju movies and anime and I think it did pretty great in that aspect. Objectively though, yeah. The plot was so-so but I don't know. I thought it managed to do what it set out to do, which was to make an homage to mechas and kaijus and introduce it to an audience that may be unfamiliar with it in an unpretentious and unabashed way xD

3/10 for plot, but +5 for how fun it was to watch.

And I don't know if it was just me, but I thought Pacific Rim was even better the second time around xD

Edit:

Aw shoot, yeah. I was quite disappointed they lived as well. I was quite okay with Mako living, but I was expecting... Riley (?) to have died. Though after a second watch, I guess I'd have felt pretty bad for Mako if that was the case :c

WELL AT LEAST THEY DIDN'T KISS AT THE END. I'm so tired of lead kissing scenes, please no more.

The death I wasn't expecting as much (or more like, I was disappointed that happened) was the Australian kid. I kind of wish he was ejected out of Striker Eureka and got to live but oh well :c

Edited July 16, 2013 by pinkbubblegum

[Airship Canon]

That, my friend, was the problem.

I didnt go in expecting super brilliant plots and amazing acting and groundbreaking anything. I expected del Toro visuals and a good time. The hamminess of the whole thing was an extra cherry on top of a great looking sundae.

Some spoilers on my thoughts of the characters.

I got the impression that Raleigh wasnt really meant to be the main protagonist. Like del Toro really wanted Mako to be the lead. She was more fleshed out, had a more interesting backstory, and just was much more sympathetic. It also felt like this was intended to be the Mako/Pentecost show. Raleigh felt really shoehorned in for some reason. I do think if he was bumped down to being a supporting character, the whole plot would have been a bit more solid. Mako's entire flashback during the first Drift between her and Raleigh pretty much slapped me in the face with "oh she should have been the lead." Her connection to Pentecost also smelled of that. I often wonder why the hell she wasnt the main. Oh well.

Yeah I know that was the problem, but when I'm walking out of the theater, thinking "I can write better than that. I have written better than that....in a fanfic, no less." I can't help but be rather disappointed.

I wasn't expecting the quality of Muv Luv Alternative or Evangelion outright, but something on their level. (At least better than ****ing RaXephon)

Mecha vs. Kaiju is extremely potent as a genre/sub genre, and while Pacific Rim is good as an explosionfest, it doesn't do the world building that is necessary for that genre.

Basically it comes down to it should feel like "Humanity is fighting for survival" when it doesn't-- and going with they had, it wouldn't have been that hard to get there. Hmm... perhaps they drop a mention of the Kaiju having energy shields like Eva's Angels do- that alone would axe two of my points (F-22 problem (F-22 wouldn't have gotten that close to the Kaiju, unless there was a serious need to, like perhaps a tweaked copy of Absolute Territory forced it) (Although it'd still be cliched... (Seriously, Raptors are badass, but they're not -that- badass. Have the next movie threat **** up some Russian TU-50 PAK-FAs or something.) and the lack of Jaeger Ranged weapons/having to point blank with the plasma cannon.) And/or introduce a direct reason why "spawn point camping" isn't a viable strategy (Obviously it's not because the spawn point is underwater.)

And it's that feel that is most important for MvK-- Hell, Muv Luv... kinda sucks plotwise (surprisingly generic), and it's characters are not that great (when you can kill an entire cast and I feel nothing, your characters sucked). No, what made it great is the world building-- that feel of humanity fighting with everything its got for survival against an undefeatable foe.

Pacific Rim is way too laid back, honestly. And it doesn't take violence to get there, so it's not "But if more, not for kids", no-- they could've shown more effort (Hell, take out Muv Luv's intense violence, and that feel would still be there.). Things seemed pretty cataclysmic, but really, there wasn't a whole lot of effort shown in combating that.

As far as the characters go, I think I've said my peace. I liked the lead. Really did. For the exact same reasons I like Yuuya Bridges in Muv Luv Alternative Total Eclipse. Didn't like Mako, because she's just a copy of Rei. Didn't really care for anyone else, except the Kaiju-Drift-guy who was pretty funny (also that dealer dude. "WHERE THE HELL IS MY SHOE?")

[Magical CC]

Well, it's not bad...but really, I have seen better, less ridiculous, more logical things in mecha anime. Aside the giant mech stuff which is not that good either, this movie is just so generic and boring.

[Esau of Isaac]

The Raptors were shown close up shooting lots of bullets because that is how people interpret aircraft and the actual real-life application would be boring as hell. It's what was interesting, not what was realistic. Why do you think all the Jaegars were bipedal humanoids? It's cool, not realistically effective. That's how the majority of many interesting movies works.

Edited July 17, 2013 by Esau of Isaac

[Magical CC]

The Raptors were shown close up shooting lots of bullets because that is how people interpret aircraft and the actual real-life application would be boring as hell. It's what was interesting, not what was realistic. Why do you think all the Jaegars were bipedal humanoids? It's cool, not realistically effective. That's how the majority of many interesting movies works.

Well, it's not bad...but really, I have seen better, less ridiculous, more logical things in mecha anime.

[NICKT™]

Movies like this, and how people go rabid over them, make me truly wonder how people can honestly question the integrity and value of Video Games as a storytelling platform.

[Airship Canon]

The Raptors were shown close up shooting lots of bullets because that is how people interpret aircraft and the actual real-life application would be boring as hell. It's what was interesting, not what was realistic. Why do you think all the Jaegars were bipedal humanoids? It's cool, not realistically effective. That's how the majority of many interesting movies works.

Well, it's not bad...but really, I have seen better, less ridiculous, more logical things in mecha anime.

That's my thoughts.

It really was break in "Suspension of disbelief" for me seeing the F-22s get in close, because face it: They wouldn't. There should've been a more "realistic" point there- F-22 shooting missiles at the Kaiju from afar, but not to any real effect (a more standard Worf Barrage)... which would've put more of a sense of threat to the Kaiju, and put more of the "Humanity is fighting for survival" sense in place, not dumb**** F-22 pilot deciding to be Mobius One today, oh wait, he got thawked. No, he's dead.

It's not the mecha that's that illogical. It's everything else. You can certainly make mecha seem logical: look up Muv Luv. The Tactical Surface Fighter is a prime example of this.

[Blademaster!]

Movies like this, and how people go rabid over them, make me truly wonder how people can honestly question the integrity and value of Video Games as a storytelling platform.

I don't follow this line of thought at all. What do you mean by this exactly?

[Esau of Isaac]

Well, it's not bad...but really, I have seen better, less ridiculous, more logical things in mecha anime.

Less ridiculous and more logical is irrelevant. The mecha genre literally has multiple defining subgenres to indicate different kinds for different tastes. Gurren Lagann was a superb mecha anime but was completely unrealistic and utterly impossible, filled to the brim with zany weaponry and manly bravado alike. It's why it's part of the super robot genre, while others that attempt to be closer to a more realistic application of mecha are referred to as real robots. Gundam to Getter Robo. Macross to Mazinger. And so on and so forth.

That's my thoughts.

It really was break in "Suspension of disbelief" for me seeing the F-22s get in close, because face it: They wouldn't. There should've been a more "realistic" point there- F-22 shooting missiles at the Kaiju from afar, but not to any real effect (a more standard Worf Barrage)... which would've put more of a sense of threat to the Kaiju, and put more of the "Humanity is fighting for survival" sense in place, not dumb**** F-22 pilot deciding to be Mobius One today, oh wait, he got thawked. No, he's dead.

It's not the mecha that's that illogical. It's everything else. You can certainly make mecha seem logical: look up Muv Luv. The Tactical Surface Fighter is a prime example of this.

Once again, that was done for pure entertainment value. No one wants to see planes acting like real-life versions. Why do you think people like watching Jackie Chan fight but not UFC fighters? One is simply more entertaining to watch despite being an utterly ineffective methodology. Really effective fighters don't jump around like grasshoppers and do triple spin kicks, they do boring old punches, kicks, armlocks, etc. The purpose of movies, especially action ones such as Pacific Rim, are to entertain through flashy, dynamic combat. If you honestly thought you were going into anything even remotely realistic when you paid for admission then you did absolutely zero research beforehand and the blame rests on you. I mean seriously? Complaining about F-22 tactics in a kaiju movie? How can that even register in your mind as you watch the movie? "Yeah this gigantic monster twenty stories high wrecking shit and getting clobbered by massive robots piloted by two dudes whose brains are sexing it up is certainly logical to believe but HEY WHAT THE HELL THAT'S NOT HOW PLANES FIGHT I DEMAND A FULL REFUND AND FELLATIO FROM THE MANAGER OF THIS ESTABLISHMENT IMMEDIATELY."

[Acacia Sgt]

Once again, that was done for pure entertainment value. No one wants to see planes acting like real-life versions. Why do you think people like watching Jackie Chan fight but not UFC fighters? One is simply more entertaining to watch despite being an utterly ineffective methodology. Really effective fighters don't jump around like grasshoppers and do triple spin kicks, they do boring old punches, kicks, armlocks, etc. The purpose of movies, especially action ones such as Pacific Rim, are to entertain through flashy, dynamic combat. If you honestly thought you were going into anything even remotely realistic when you paid for admission then you did absolutely zero research beforehand and the blame rests on you. I mean seriously? Complaining about F-22 tactics in a kaiju movie? How can that even register in your mind as you watch the movie? "Yeah this gigantic monster twenty stories high wrecking shit and getting clobbered by massive robots piloted by two dudes whose brains are sexing it up is certainly logical to believe but HEY WHAT THE HELL THAT'S NOT HOW PLANES FIGHT I DEMAND A FULL REFUND AND FELLATIO FROM THE MANAGER OF THIS ESTABLISHMENT IMMEDIATELY."

It's true that it can be exaggerated, but the argument itself is actually sound. The kaiju and mecha were created just for this movie, and therefore likewise any rules they follow, so that's why it's easier to accept what they can do in the movie. The Raptors however weren't invented for the movie, just burrowed, and therefore come with pre-existing rules the movie opted to not follow, which is the source of the complain. Especially more so since the setting of the movie doesn't even imply that their Raptor's rules are different from ours.

Edited July 18, 2013 by Acacia Sgt

[Esau of Isaac]

Okay. Then I point you to just about every martial arts movie in existence. Do you think this is actually a sound way to fight people?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxnEH8JmsfY

No. That is how they fight in the movie because it looks cool. Have you ever seen modern combat involving jets in a realistic scenario? It doesn't involve any actual form of combat or dogfighting in the least. People don't want that because it doesn't and wouldn't give a sense of a fight at all. Filmmakers wouldn't even be able to render it without cuts because of how far away modern jets actually behave. That is boring to watch. That is why there are mechs fighting kaiju instead of a million submarines and destroyers with depth charges and shit.

Edited July 18, 2013 by Esau of Isaac

[RJWalker]

One of the most minor things I liked was that they didn't shoehorn in a shitty romance at the end. Sure, you could interpret it as such but there wasn't the 'last minute kiss' that so many action movies throw in just for the sake of it.

[Helios]

Airship Canon's opinion is pretty much similar to my own. I came in with higher expectations because of all the hype it got, and so I was a little disappointed with the movie, but it wasn't bad. The kaiju and mecha looked really really really really really awesome. The characters for the most part were okay, and some of the backstories were cool, but the plot was just so...ehh. Really cliche and predictable, and super obvious foreshadowing attempts. Plus the 3D glasses hurt my ears after a while. It's just mindless entertainment really, which isn't bad, I just expected a little more out of it. I thought it was good compared to the movies that have come out lately, so I'd give it a 6-7/10 as well. Wouldn't go see it a second time though.

[Esau of Isaac]

I think another one of the reasons I really liked it aside from the fact that I have wet dreams about piloting mechs is the soundtrack, man. The theme is just so catchy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DABGdvCOs4

Edited July 24, 2013 by Esau of Isaac

[CT075]

i watched this movie pretty much solely because i wanted to see GIANT ROBOTS PUNCHING GODZILLA

I saw it, but I had too high of expectations, so I wound up rather disappointed. Good action flick, but that's all.

My problems:

[sNIP]

while i agree with pretty much everything in this (honestly why didn't they like, drape a hugeass grid of those swords over the breach since it's apparently the most effective weapon they have), I didn't have a problem with

Too much Super Robot in a "real robot" setting, plain and simple.

as a mecha fan myself, i don't personally have an issue with super robots in a real robot universe as long as they're done right (this movie perhaps isn't the best example because the plot clearly took a backseat to GIANT ROBOTS PUNCHING GODZILLA) since i think it'd be legitimately interesting to see how the presence of, like, getter robo would affect the power structure (ALL COUNTRIES GET WORKING ON THOSE GETTER RAYS NOW) or something idk

not to mention the proof that it can work is in ideon