1. Giant Monsters, Up Close And Personal, With No Zippers!
Promptly erase reasons two through five and Pacific Rim still has everything necessary for the ultimate fan boy dream flick. From the early days of watching stop-motion apes fight jittery dinosaurs, and guys in costumes with exposed zippers pretending to be oversized shrimp and squids, fandom has loved the giant monsters. Unfortunately, for many years the concept of a city-sized something eating its way through humanity was never met with much enthusiasm or the necessary respect for material. Even when a giant monster does show up its usually in the service of some other larger goal, and theres a concentrated effort to distance it from generally derided stuff like the older Godzilla films or Gamera. Not the case with Pacific Rim, that features the massive beasts with all of the creepy accoutrements they would have in a classic kaiju flick, but with the difference of expertly realized effects and a majestic, grand beauty applied to the execution. From the glowing, curled tongue of a kaiju trailing after Day, to the audiences first proper glimpse revealing an underwater critter playfully paddling through the water like an overgrown puppy, these monsters have character and weight and identity that few beasties outside of Harryhausens gang ever had. Safe to say too, that Harryhausen never had the opportunity to so seamlessly integrate his monstrosities into their surroundings. The way Del Toro frames the kaijus manic warfare is every bit as important as what they look like while they are fighting. There are numerous moments where a low-angle, canted camera lets us witness the destruction while feeling like a small spectator to it; the level of detail is so great that we could literally be right there in the midst of it. Del Toro also ensures that we can make clear sense of the action, even when the environs are rain-soaked seas or the bottom of the ocean. The result is giant monsters the way we have always yearned to see them, but never have until now. Have you seen Pacific Rim? Whats your favorite geek aspect of the movie? Did the pure awesome of the better parts outweigh the flaws? Let us know below what you thought.