by Candace Salima, US Daily Review Senior Contributor
Movie: Pacific Rim
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi
Rating/Runtime: PG-13, 132 Minutes
I was able to attend the Utah Premier of Pacific Rim at the Larry H. Miller Megaplex at the Jordan Commons in Sandy, Utah. I’m not impressed with how Warner Brothers and Megaplex handled the premier or the tickets. You’d have thought the President of the United States was attending. The security, the nonsense, the ridiculous distribution of the tickets (the first 50 people in line got 350 of the tickets). It will be the last time I attend something like that. But, I digress, on to the actual movie, Pacific Rim.
I like a good action movie as much as the next person, but Pacific Rim is something only a ten-year-old boy would love…well, the boy and my 30-year niece. About thirty minutes into the movie, my husband turned to me and said, “There’s no story.” He’s right. The movie is long on aliens and robots fighting and really short on story line. I did a little research, and much to my “not amazement”, Pacific Rim was a video game first.
As war between humankind and monstrous sea creatures wages on, and on; a former pilot and a trainee are paired up to drive a seemingly obsolete special weapon a.k.a. gigantic (humongous might not be overstating it) robot, in a desperate effort to save the world from the apocalypse.
Did I mention that Pacific Rim is REALLY short on story line? Nonetheless, there is a brief one, that’s it up there. There’s nothing more to the movie. No subtlety, context, story arc, or anything else, pretty much just big robots and giant ugly aliens duking it out, a ten-year old boy’s dream.
So what was good about the movie?
- The special effects were amazing. It is truly amazing to see how far we have come in live animation. The battles were epic, although I just can’t get worked up over the robot/alien thing, which comprised the entire movie.
- The acting, considering they were working with a really lame script, was relatively decent.
- The directing…well, it seems as if Guillermo should have insisted on a real storyline, other than one that strung one battle after another together. So, I can’t give him props for directing.
And that’s it. That’s all that was good about it. I give Pacific Rim 2 out of 5 stars, and I believe I’m being very generous in that. I’d say if you’re going to watch this movie, get a big ol’ soda (sorry if you live in New York City) and the biggest tub of popcorn and munch and slurp away. That will be the best entertainment you’ll get in those 132 minutes.
On a side note, Thor: The Dark World is hitting theaters November 8th of 2013. So at least we have something to look forward to…where gods battle aliens, but SO much better.
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Candace Salima is an author, columnist, and public speaker. She makes her home in the Rocky Mountains. Learn more about her at www.CandaceSalima.com. Follow her on Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn or Facebook.
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