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Review: Pacific Rim

By Christine Petralia

Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Studios

July 13, 2013

 

If you spend any money on an IMAX 3D film this summer (or year), spend it on Pacific Rim. This film was by far one of the best I’ve seen this summer. Knowing only that the movie was essentially about aliens versus robots, I was skeptical. But I walked out so impressed!

 

The premise is simple. The Kaijus have risen from a portal in the Pacific Ocean and begin terrorizing big cities. Once humans start to fight back with giant robots called Jaegars, the Kaijus keep coming back bigger and stronger to destroy Earth. Each attack is worse than the last with more arising each time.

 

The Jaegars are controlled by two humans who are connected by their minds and work simultaneously inside the robot’s head. The downfall to this process is the pair are in each other’s heads, so all memories and thoughts are shared. Only certain people are cut out physically and mentally to control a Jaegar.

 

Jaegar pilot Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam) and his brother master the art of controlling the robots, until a Kaiju finds their weakness and destroys the robot, killing Becket’s brother. A few years later, the government decides to shut down the Jaegar program because it feels it’s just not working anymore. Determined not to let his program be shut down, Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba), devises a plan to bring an illegal nuclear warhead into the Pacific to destroy the Kaijus’ portable to earth once and for all. Pentecost seeks out Becket, who has since gone into hiding working on building a wall in Alaska to keep the Kaiju out. Reluctantly, Becket agrees to get into the Jaegar once again to help save the world.

 

At the time, there are four Jaegars left. One is powered by Russians, one by Asians and one by the cocky pilot Chuck Hansen (Robert Kazinsky) and his father. The fourth will be powered by Becket and a to-be-determined partner. Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi) is tasked with finding a partner for Becket, but she has dreams of being his second half in the Jaegar. Pentecost feels she’s not ready, but Becket insists she’s his partner after they spar. However, in a test run, Mori sort of proves she’s not ready by ‘chasing the rabbit’ and getting wrapped up in a memory. In this memory, Becket learns Mori’s past and her connection to Pentecost.

 

Meanwhile, a pair of scientists, Dr. Newtown Geizler (Charlie Day) and Dr. Hermann Gottlieb (Burn Gorman), is working to determine the Kaiju attack. Geizler is sort of a Kaiju groupie and wants to synch his mind with one to get inside their heads, while Gottlieb is more level-headed and works on stats. He has figured out the next attack will involve two Kaijus, and the following one will involve three.

 

As the scientists work on their data, another attack occurs and two out of the four Jaegars are destroyed. Despite not wanting to send Becket and Mori out, Pentecost has no choice with a Kaiju knocks out power to the base and the Jaegars.

 

Then there is just more battles between the aliens and the robots. And after an Independence Day-esque speech, Pentecost gets into a Jaegar for one last major battle to try and destroy the Kaiju once and for all.

 

I can not say one bad thing about this film. It has everything you can possibly want in a movie, aliens, robots, big battle scenes, great special effects and hot guys! It also has a bit of humor thanks to Day.

 

The IMAX 3D is entirely worth it. As many know, I am not a fan of wasting money on the 3D versions, but this was just a fun ride. I felt as if I was inside one of the robots. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time, as I couldn’t figure out how it would end. Something very rare in films these days.

 

So far, this is leading my list of the best film of the summer.

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All works created by Christine McGrath; Centereach, New York  All Rights Reserved 2024

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