1. It's Fun
Pacific Rim is a massive, massive break from all the all dark and gritty blockbusters we've had in recent years by being at its core a true adventure in the purest sense of the word. While our heroes may have undergone trauma and horrible things happening to them, it's still a race against time to save the world, something a lot of blockbusters have failed to capture. For all its flaws,
Pacific Rim is a breath of fresh air by being just fun and joyful in its exploration of a long-forgotten or disregarded genre. Through its revitalisation of the classic B-horror monster movies and the smash-em-up films that dominated a lot of popular television over the decades, it completely sweeps away any thoughtlessness and throwaway appeal which filled the Transformer films. Even the mass destruction of the cities is done with complete abandon as Del Toro shows them being evacuated prior to the destruction. I don't know about you, but the idea of all the civilians hauling ass out of there and being safe from the destruction makes me extremely more comfortable with the annihilation on process. It's this same, almost childlike attitude to destruction that makes it fun - with the civilians safe, we are with the heroes one-hundred-percent in wrecking the hell out of the kaiju and so it's so much more effortlessly fun and enjoyable because of it. No concerns required. We have a handful of brave heroes, all of them different and fighting one another, but in the face of a larger threat, they are united. It's quite optimistic really and a nice change, one which makes this film more upbeat and more fun as a result, making this a standout film.