Pacific Rim (2013) Review

4/5

I went into this film wanting the most badass and entertaining summer spectacle of the year and it delivered on every count. I don't remember the last time I have been so entertained and amazed by destruction, with a pretty good plot to back it all up.

First off, I must say that I saw this film in IMAX 3D, and I mean true IMAX. 8 stories wide by 6 stories high. It was the most perfect IMAX 3D film I have ever seen. If you have access to one of these screens, go. If you have access to a smaller IMAX (or LieMax), it is worth it. At least see it in 3D in a normal theater, and if that isn't an option, see it in 2D. Honestly, the experience is heightened in a dramatic way with the addition of IMAX and 3D. 100% worth the up-charge.

Of course, it is important to discuss the visuals. They are stunning. No other way to put it. The sound design is wonderful as well, with every punch landing with an enormous thud and every building crashing with a thunderous roar. And the fights are merciless; the alien are hellbent on killing humans and the robots, and the robots will stop at nothing to literally tear the aliens apart. It is a glorious sight to see.

Guillermo del Toro is bold, realizing his vision with the money necessary to make it work and the visual prowess to make this savagery beautiful. I can't express enough how joyful I felt while watching this film. He had the gall to make a ridiculously expensive sci-fi destruction extravaganza that is ORIGINAL and release it in the middle of summer. The joy, of course, is that it rocks. It is admirable and it is fantastic.

The script has some wonderfully corny lines and some not so wonderfully corny lines. This isn't a film you go into hoping to see a Best Picture winner, but some lines and line delivery are beyond forgiveness. The acting is unremarkable, save Idris Elba who manages to bring a certain patriarchal grace to this blockbuster character and the film is better for it. 

The part of the film that surprised me the most was the backstory to the alien race. I will not give it away here, but it is a deliciously twisted and somewhat thought-provoking explanation that could exist within the real world. It gave the fight scenes some dramatic weight, and puts it within the reach of our imagination to grasp on to in reality.

As I left the theater, excited and invigorated, I imagined an alien and robot tearing through my city with their ferocity and force, and it made me smile to know that this film has images so powerful I had begun to see them through my own eyes. This is a fun film, and definitely the most fun you'll have had so far this summer.