Pacific Rim; no not another film about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, and it is definitely not (as my friend thought when I told her I was going to the preview) a film about a particular sex act performed on a grand scale. It's in fact the new science fiction film from highly acclaimed producer/director Guillermo Del Toro. It's not out for another month but WhatCulture was invited to a special preview of the film on Friday to get a taster for the film. If the thought of giant robots fighting monsters and causing epic destruction gets you excited, then this will be the film for you. Anyone who happens to have a passing interest in 80s & 90s kids TV, videogames, old Godzilla movies and Japanese Mech culture, then you will see something you can relate to in Pacific Rim. Never one to prejudge a film but Pacific Rim does look set to be an awesome thrill ride, and going by the special preview, here are 5 reasons why you should sit up and pay attention to Pacific Rim.
5. The Story
It is fine creating spectacular, awe inspiring fight sequences between giant robots and monsters, but as you will know if you have ever brought a rubbish video game, unless the action has context, the whole experience will be a hollow one; even if it is visually exciting. Luckily for us, Guillermo Del Toro is a director who has a proven track record for putting together a good yarn and Pacific Rim is no different. Co-written by Del Toro and screenwriter Travis Beacham, the story is set in the not too distant future. Giant colossi known as the Kaiju find a way to our universe via a portal beneath the Pacific Ocean and humanity fights back at a cost of millions of lives. When people realise that the threat is not going away anytime soon, the globe pools its resources to build a new weapon, the Jaegers. Jaegers are giant robots which are controlled remotely by two pilots who are linked on a neural level. While the core of the film is about the Jaegers fighting the Kaiju, the film also has themes about fame worship, traumatic stress disorder and internal conflicts. If Michael Bays Transformers movies are a perfect example of shallow and cynical filmmaking, Pacific Rim aims to be a bit more cerebral. You can enjoy the spectacle of the massive action scenes while still engage the parts of the brains that these films don't normally try to appeal to. Anyone who has read Joe Haldeman's Forever War series should find a similar tone in Pacific Rim.