Movies can be made from templates these days. The characters, acts, set pieces are all
templates. In case of action
blockbuster, the main purpose is to showcase the stylized action pieces. In case of Pacific Rim, these pieces assume
ginormous proportions and deliver orgasmic levels of gratifications to
blockbuster fanboys and casual moviegoers alike.
Pacific Rim could be
any number of combinations of Independence Day, Godzilla, and numerous others
that belong to the nameless, faceless horde that is the Summer
Blockbuster. Characters, plots and arcs
are mixed and matched and one could easily substitute a scene from one into the
other and get away with it. I do not
mention transformers here, since it does not have anything in the name of
characters, arcs or plot points. At
least, not memorable ones. You have the
hero struggling with inner demons or with a past, you have a seemingly at odds
yet ultimately ultra-compatible team/duo.
You have the geeky scientist providing comic relief and last minute Deus
Ex Machina revelations. And you have
the token leader/speech giver who delivers the big speech right on cue at the
beginning of the third act and who will ultimately step into the thick of
action him/herself.
In a way, Pacific
Rim is akin to softcore pornographic films.
Plots, dialogues and stories are a means to get to the parts that one
really wants to see. And those bits are
a treat to watch. I saw the movie in
IMAX 3D. The post conversion on the 3d
was one of the best I have seen. The set
up to the world is done in a quick voiceover, throwing in basic neurological
study with Zen and psychological mumbo jumbo, giving us terms like Neural
Handshake, Drafting, Neural Link etc.
The world is well threshed out enough to make you think this was adapted
from a preexisting comic/manga or tv series source. But this is one of those rare gems – a
completely original summer blockbuster.
Well, original at least in terms of origin and superficial story
trappings.
So back to the set
pieces. It’s basically the dream mashup
with Giant monsters battling Giant Robots with tons of destruction. Even in the midst of these intense pieces,
Guillermo Del Toro manages to find moments of absurd humor that you can’t help
but laugh out loud at. The robots,
called Jaegers, piloted by humans, are brilliantly conceived, as is their
weaponry. Especially the two main ones,
piloted by our chief protagonists – Gypsy Danger and Striker Eureka are vividly
realized. The monsters are a mix of
various Japanese monsters and several dinosaurs (the reason for the dinosaur
similarity is offhandedly explained in an easy to miss sentence – not that we
cared). All in all, this is worth
checking out, just to marvel at sheer technology, on the biggest screen you can. The one glaring letdown – the soundtrack
could have been much much better.
Instead, while serviceable, it mostly feels like a Nintendo Game Track.
