Trailer Trashin’: Go Big or Go Extinct with Pacific Rim
Now that the 2013 summer movie season has finally kicked off with the release of Iron Man 3 – go see it if you haven’t – we’re off to the races, and the blockbusters will be coming in fast and furious. And in the spirit of big summer movies, this week’s Trailer Trashin’ column takes yet another look at Guillermo del Toro’s upcoming sci-fi epic Pacific Rim.
Premise: In the near future, giant monsters known as “Kaiju” arise from a crevice in the Pacific Ocean, resulting in a war which takes millions of lives and quickly consumes humanity’s resources. To combat this new threat, a special type of weapon is designed: massive robots known as Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But as time passes, even the powerful Jaegers prove almost defenseless in the face of a relentless enemy. On its last stand and on the verge of defeat, the remaining defending forces have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes – a former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rink Kikuchi) – who are teamed to pilot a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the early trials of the mechanical titans. Together, they must stand as the human race’s last hope against the mounting apocalypse.
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My take: As I hope I’ve made clear by now, I am incredibly excited for Pacific Rim, this summer’s giant robots vs. giant monsters epic from writer/director Guillermo del Toro. As someone who has loved Japanese monster films since childhood, and has loved del Toro’s work for almost a decade now, this is a project I’ve been anticipating even since it was first announced. This latest trailer is the “sizzle reel” footage that was shown earlier this year at WonderCon in Anaheim and CinemaCon in Las Vegas. I think this is the best look we’ve gotten at the film so far, and it really encapsulates why I’m so looking forward to it.
In terms of the human cast, the focus is still on the two main pilots, Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam) and Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi). Raleigh seems to be the cocky-but-likeable hero, and If I had to guess, I think that his character arc will be something like him realizing the true enormity of what’s at stake and learning to take things more seriously. Oddly, I don’t think we’ve heard any lines yet from Mako Mori, which strikes me as kind of weird; Rinko Kikuchi is an Oscar-nominated actress, and I wish we got to see more of her in these trailers than just piloting a Jaeger and doing kendo practice. I’ve raved before about how much I like Idris Elba as General Stacker Pentecost, the commander of the Jaeger pilots, and I really hope that he gets to strap into one of the robots and kick some monster ass at least once during the film. Also on hand is Charlie Day, from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Horrible Bosses (2011), definitely playing against type as scientist Dr. Newton Geizler. I still love the fact that del Toro got Ellen McLain to voice the Jaeger AI, although he has said that she won’t sound so much like her iconic role as GLaDOS from Portal in the final film. And we also finally get our first look at Ron Perlman as Hannibal Chau, a sharp-dressed man who apparently runs a black-market business selling organs and fluids from dead Kaiju. This is Perlman’s fifth collaboration with Guillermo del Toro and I’m sure his scene or scenes will be fun to watch.
The more that I see of the designs for the Jaegers and the Kaiju, the more I like them. While the robots all follow the same basic humanoid layout, their specific designs and looks vary greatly, making it easy to tell which is which if you pay attention. The Jaeger that has gotten the most screen time so far is Gypsy Danger, the blue American mech which looks kind of like a cross between Master Chief and Iron Man, but I hope that the others get a chance to shine as well. We also get a few glimpses of a winged Kaiju, which hasn’t appeared in either of the previous trailers, and combined with the vaguely Cloverfield-esque beast that gets hit with the boat, shows that they are going for a nice variety in the designs of the monsters. And I honestly don’t know how to convey what a nerdgasm it is to hear the word “Kaiju” being spoken aloud in an English-language blockbuster movie.
A scene from “Pacific Rim.” © 2013 – Warner Bros. Pictures.
But of course, what I hope will be the big draw of the movie for general audiences is the action, which looks absolutely insane. As I’ve said before, this really is taking the kind of action we’ve seen in the Japanese monster films, but doing it with modern visual effects. Because the robots and monsters are portrayed by CGI, rather than men in suits, they can move in a more dynamic, fluid way than was ever possible before. The big fight in the water looks very cool, especially the brutal moment when the second Kaiju leaps out of the water and the two monsters tear the Jaeger apart. I love the moment at the end where a Kaiju gets smashed in the face by both of a Jaeger‘s fists, but just shakes it off and roars in defiance. And then there’s the big money shot, where a Jaeger uses a huge container ship as a weapon and wields it like a baseball bat against a Kaiju. That really sums up the entire film in a single image, and I think a person’s reaction to this is a good indicator of whether or not they can appreciate what the film is trying to do. You’ll either think it looks awesome and want to see a lot more of it, or you’ll complain that it’s silly and unrealistic – and if you’re going to complain about realism in a movie like this, you’re really missing the point.
I really have nothing to complain about here. Pacific Rim combines so many things which I love that it really seems like a movie that was made just for me. I love giant monsters, I love giant robots, and I love Guillermo del Toro. Put them all together, and you have what is not only my most anticipated movie of the summer, but perhaps of the whole year. No matter what, I will be at the theater to see Pacific Rim on opening weekend, and I hope all of you will be there too.
ANTICIPATION: Step aside, Optimus Prime. There are some new ass-kicking robots here to save the day!
Release Date: July 12th, 2013
Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, Burn Gorman, Robert Kazinsky, Max Martini, Ron Perlman, Clifton Collins Jr, Diego Klattenhoff, Robert Maillet, Heather Doerksen, and Ellen McLain
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Writers: Travis Beacham and Guillermo del Toro
Timothy Monforton
