Pacific Rim (2013)

As a war between humankind and monstrous sea creatures wages on, a former pilot and a trainee are paired up to drive a seemingly obsolete special weapon in a desperate effort to save the world from the apocalypse.

Director:

Guillermo del Toro

Writers:

Travis Beacham (screenplay), Guillermo del Toro (screenplay),

Stars:

Idris Elba, Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 4 wins & 41 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charlie Hunnam	...	Raleigh Becket
Diego Klattenhoff	...	Yancy Becket
Idris Elba	...	Stacker Pentecost
Rinko Kikuchi	...	Mako Mori
Charlie Day	...	Dr. Newton Geiszler
Burn Gorman	...	Gottlieb
Max Martini	...	Herc Hansen
Robert Kazinsky	...	Chuck Hansen (as Rob Kazinsky)
Clifton Collins Jr.	...	Ops Tendo Choi
Ron Perlman	...	Hannibal Chau
Brad William Henke	...	Construction Foreman
Larry Joe Campbell	...	Construction Worker
Mana Ashida	...	Young Mako
Santiago Segura	...	Wizened Man
Joe Pingue	...	Captain Merrit

Storyline

When monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity's resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes - a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi) - who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind's last hope against the mounting apocalypse.

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Plot Keywords:

kaiju | pilot | robot | portal | giant monster | 

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Taglines:

To fight monsters we created monsters

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence throughout, and brief language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese Cantonese Mandarin

Release Date:

12 July 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Still Seas

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Toronto Studios, Port Lands, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$190,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$37,285,325 (USA) (12 July 2013)

Gross:

$101,785,482 (USA) (11 October 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Legendary Pictures, Disney Double Dare You (DDY)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

131 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat SDDS Dolby Atmos Dolby Surround 7.1

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Stellan Skarsgård was considered for the role of Herc Hansen.

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Goofs

Russian surnames take masculine and feminine forms. So the female pilot Lt. A. Kaidanovsky should really be Lt. A. Kaidanovskaya.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Raleigh Becket: [narrating] When I was a kid, whenever I'd feel small or lonely, I'd look up at the stars. Wondered if there was life up there. Turns out I was looking in the wrong direction. When alien life entered our world, it was from deep beneath the Pacific Ocean. A fissure between two tectonic plates. A portal between dimensions. The Breach. I was fifteen when the first Kaiju made land in San Francisco.
[pause]
Raleigh Becket: By the time tanks, jets and missiles took it down, six days and 35 miles later, ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

At the very end of the credits, there is a dedication to monster masters Ray Harryhausen and Ishiro Honda.

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Connections

Featured in Showreel: We've Got Keanu Reeves (2013)

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Soundtracks

Drift
Written by Blake Perlman, RZA and Ramin Djawadi
Produced by RZA and Ramin Djawadi
Performed by Blake Perlman featuring RZA

User Reviews

Pacific Rim goes berserk with a great sense of wonder, camp and old-school action.

We all carry a great sense of wonder. It seems to hide away as we get older, but was always strong and persistent when we were children. We could sit down and really make something out of nothing physical, or tip our toy-box all over the floor and just go mad. Pacific Rim is Guillermo Del Toro at his most unleashed. He's been given the toys for his sandpit and has gone completely bonkers, but he has also created a sense of wonder from completely nothing.

The plot is simple. Kaiju (monsters) from another dimension break through to ours and wage war on the planet and us humans must do what we can to stop them. So we build giant machines called Jaegers. General audiences are doing the worst thing by comparing this to Transformers or Battleship simply because of some simple image traits. Well I'm here to tell you that you're way off and also working comparisons in the wrong league. Del Toro has crafted an insane amalgamation of Sci-Fi, old-school thrills, special effects and brilliantly entertaining set pieces that all meld together in beautiful harmony, with just enough satisfying human moments and arcs that carry a nice balance of emotion and camp. It all blends well with the loopiness of it all. Its Guillermo Del Toro's trademarks turned up to 11, all while going nuts and having fun with his toys.

There's just so much to love, that not even some minor pacing problems or a couple of sub-par performances can destroy the experience. Mainly its in the lesser background characters, but for me I'd say that Charlie Hunnam doesn't quite shine in the lead. He's certainly more than commendable, but he just doesn't break out here. Idris Elba steals the spotlight with a look and a bellowed delivery and its amusing to watch and Rinko Kikuchi has such an incredible skill with her mannerism and in her eyes, that's its a shock that she isn't in more films. Ron Perlman comes and goes and works his usual incredible moments.

Pacific Rim is triumphant above the rest of the blockbuster herd. It knows what is missing from the norm and just goes crazy with it. Its a big, giant load of awesome fun. Prepare your jaw muscles, because you'll be smiling throughout.

(Hint: Stay a couple of minutes into the end credits for an awesome additional scene)