2. The Cast
Pacific Rims cast has a lot of acting credibility behind it. No nonsensical down-with-the-kidz casting like Rhianna in Battleship or snooze-fests like Shia Labeouf hogging the screen; Pacific Rims cast is far more interesting. Charlie Hunnam and Rinko Kikuchi take the lead roles and both have a proven track record when it comes to decent acting with Kikuchi being an Academy Award nominee for her performance in Babel. You also have Idris Elba and the always watchable and long term Del Toro collaborator, Ron Perlman. And lets not forget Robert Kazinsky who might be better known to everyone as Sean from Eastenders. But it is the background casting that gives Pacific Rim the real reason to get excited. Its obvious to anyone who is looking that Del Toro makes more than a few nods to the video game world, and that extends to the film's cast. Del Toro got Half Life developer Valves permission to allow him to hire Ellen McLain. She provided the voice of the screwed up computer killer GlaDOS in Portal and the Jaeger AI in Pacific Rim sounds remarkably similar. It is a pleasure to hear her as the voice of the Jaegers and it reminds you that her role is part of the reason why Portal was so memorable and so much fun to play.