This film has been highly anticipated all year to be one of, if not the best blockbuster of the summer. I remember sitting in Legendary’s panel at NYCC last year watching the trailer for this film and being instantly inflicted with excitement. When I sat in the theater this past weekend that excitement came to perdition and I sat in awe at the glory that Guillermo Del Toro has created. I’ll first start by saying that this film was the first original screenplay that I have seen in quite some time. There is a lot of merit to that mere fact alone, considering that everything to hit theaters lately is either an adaptation, sequel, or prequel. So the fact that this film stood alone as it’s own universe and script, not only is it well welcomed but, also opens a whole world of possibility for expansion.
When I say a whole new world, I truly mean a completely new concept that had not been tapped before. The prologue of this films goes into detail about how a gateway between a supernatural world and earth is formed at a crevice in the bottom of the ocean. Through this gateway large monsters enter the world laying their own special dose of chaos upon the major cities of the world. Set in the future, it is made imminent that the human race needs to create some kind of machine to battle these monsters as they continually keep coming through the cracks. This machine comes in the form of a Jager, larger than life robots crafted to be driven by two pilots to defeat the enemies. These Jagers are controlled by two pilots who are connected by brainwaves, they share memories, thoughts, and each others feelings to truly be one in order to to mimic each others movements thus controlling the robot. This film is the documentation of a war that the human race is losing more and more as the years go by. The film stars Charlie Hunnam who plays Raleigh Becket who plays a young cocky pilot who is paired with his brother to control their Jager. Pilots are usually paired with a family members because of their shared past memories. These memories make the drift of brain connectivity easier. The continuity of the drift is the key to proper function of the machine, because if the drift is compromised the pilots can be lost in their memories and endanger each others lives. After a dismal event Hunnam’s character is no longer capable of piloting a Jager and he is assigned to another form of protection against the Kaiju. Years pass and the Jager program is discontinued leaving only a few of them left to protect the world. When the threat of the Kaiju heightens as more are produced at an accelerated rate, the world has no choice but to rely on the few remanding Jaegers to execute a plan that will save the world. Ron Pearlman also makes an appearance in this film with his comic relief and gold cladded shoes. After watching this film, the only thing I wanted out of it was more. I wanted a prequel, I wanted multiple sequels, I wanted to know more about every piece of it. I craved more of the Kaiju world. I wanted to know what happened at the beginning of the war on the human world. There was a completely full and developed story line for one film. There was a start, end and finish spanning over the course of years following the imminent demise of the world as we know it. The film was packed with the perfect amount of action that was portrayed in the most gorgeous fashion. I did not feel at one point that the film was too long or drawn out. I can attest to one thing. I have faith in Guillermo Del Toro. I have yet to see something that he has written/produced/directed that I have not fallen in love with in some way, shape, or form. He is the next generation of sic-fi and action films and he is taking the torch with pride. With no deviation to these statements, Pacific Rim is a must see.