10 (Probably Failed) Attempts At A Measured Response To Pacific Rim

By Jeremy Wickett / July 20, 2013

I walked out of Pacific Rim feeling pretty disappointed. That didn't surprise me. This is my usual reaction to a new Guillermo del Toro film. The same thing happened after seeing both Hellboy movies and Pan's Labyrinth. With a little time, I began to appreciate what del Toro was doing in those films - and how much imagination and love he puts into every one of his creations. Now, each of those movies are among my all-time favorites. Pacific Rim probably won't be joining that esteemed list. Don't get me wrong - it's not a bad movie. Far from it. It's certainly the most satisfying and cohesive blockbuster of the summer, made with a lot of passion and good will. But it has the same problems that have plagued this crop of summer movies: it crams more ideas than can comfortably fit into its runtime, yet rarely spends any time exploring those ideas. Before we go any further, let€™s start with the facts of the case. I€™m a thirty-four year-old male and an all around smart-ass. I've always had a thing for robots - especially giant robots that punch giant monsters right in their no-good, alien kissers. I wouldn't say I'm a big kaiju fan or anything - with only a few Godzilla films to compare Pacific Rim to. But I am a self-professed del Toro fan. I love this man and his Hellboy movies more than I should, possibly to unhealthy degrees. With a few days of reflection, I'm warming up to Pacific Rim - but not as much as I expected. Here's where I stand now on a very unlikely but enjoyable popcorn movie. So let's get some spoilers going and talk a little Pacific Rim, shall we?