Poll: Pacific Rim: not great (spoilers)

[JagermanXcell]

For a movie, it is better to be amazing at one thing than be average at everything.

Took the words right out of my mouth.
I knew ahead of time I was gonna have to sit through an 1hr of under developed characters
and the most EPIC TOTALLY ENTERTAINING HUNT... for a co-pilot.
If anything the action, and Idris Elba, saved this movie big time.
I loved the geeky nods, and just overall had a fun time at the theater. Its really hard to hate this movie since the people in my theater we're cheering like monkeys when Gypsy rocket punched uglies.

 

[chozo_hybrid]

I found it to be quite enjoyable and exactly what I wanted, fun all around and I hadn't seen anything like it in a while. I have a lot of catching up to do mecha wise is why ^^; No shaly cam was a big plus for me, I'm kinda disliking that trend at the moment, in this film I could tell what was going on.

Also, the bit after the initial credits, awesome XD

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Obviously this movie isn't going to please every viewer. A viewer who prefers a more cerebral experience, for example, is going to be upset that the movie invests the majority of its time showing us scenes of enormous monsters fighting enormous mecha.

What makes this movie special is that it has a purity of function that leads to its purity of form. Pacific Rim is about monsters vs mechs so that's the majority of what you get. Any time spent upon the setting is purely to engage Suspension of disbelief in as little time as possible. This is a good thing. If Pacific Rim tried to be more talky-thinky then that would end up downplaying the incredible action scenes and the whole movie would lose its focus. For a movie, it is better to be amazing at one thing than be average at everything.

I think that Del Toro set out with a specific vision and achieved it. So: Best Sci-Fi action movie of its kind.

Nope, that's not it.


I went explicitly to see giant monsters get punched in the face.

The movie has very little style, there's no finesse to the fights, apart from one scene, it's just giants exchanging body blows.

 

[Zhukov]

Obviously this movie isn't going to please every viewer. A viewer who prefers a more cerebral experience, for example, is going to be upset that the movie invests the majority of its time showing us scenes of enormous monsters fighting enormous mecha.

Actually, considering that the story elements were rather lacking, I wished it had spent more time on the titanic punch-ups.

I'm pretty sure if you were to break it down minute-by-minute you'd find they spent more screentime on the insipid drama and predictable character arcs than on the fights.

I realise that it can't be just one long beatdown because of pacing and whatnot, but it could have used a bit more. I wanted to see the Russians and Chinese actually get to do something damn it!

 

[Vern5]

I went explicitly to see giant monsters get punched in the face.

The movie has very little style, there's no finesse to the fights, apart from one scene, it's just giants exchanging body blows.

What kind of "finesse" were you expecting to get out of two massive creatures beating the snot out of each other? The jaeger's use two human brains and conjectural psychic technology to function; they can't be easy to control at all. If they jaeger's were filmed as being anything other than slow and ponderous then they would lose the illusion of size and weight.

I realise that it can't be just one long beatdown because of pacing and whatnot, but it could have used a bit more. I wanted to see the Russians and Chinese actually get to do something damn it!

This is my big complaint as well. We only get to see how Gypsy Danger fights throughout most of the movie. And while this may be enough for some people, I was really excited to see how the triplets used their jaeger and how the Russian "Mark I" had survived all of these years in constant combat without being replaced.

Instead we get to see two giant robots go down like chumps. It was tragic.

 

[VeneratedWulfen93]

I loved it. Robots punching monsters. Its something, while not new, I havn't seen in awhile and neither has the movie industry.

I watched the Best Friends Get Hype video for it and it explains why I love it.

Spoiler

 

[Daystar Clarion]

I went explicitly to see giant monsters get punched in the face.

The movie has very little style, there's no finesse to the fights, apart from one scene, it's just giants exchanging body blows.

What kind of "finesse" were you expecting to get out of two massive creatures beating the snot out of each other? The jaeger's use two human brains and conjectural psychic technology to function; they can't be easy to control at all. If they jaeger's were filmed as being anything other than slow and ponderous then they would lose the illusion of size and weight.

I realise that it can't be just one long beatdown because of pacing and whatnot, but it could have used a bit more. I wanted to see the Russians and Chinese actually get to do something damn it!

This is my big complaint as well. We only get to see how Gypsy Danger fights throughout most of the movie. And while this may be enough for some people, I was really excited to see how the triplets used their jaeger and how the Russian "Mark I" had survived all of these years in constant combat without being replaced.

Instead we get to see two giant robots go down like chumps. It was tragic.

So a movie where people pilot a giant robot is fine, but asking for a little more variation in the combat is totally outside the realms of belief?

Gimme a break ¬_¬

 

[Vern5]

So a movie where people pilot a giant robot is fine, but asking for a little more variation in the combat is totally outside the realms of belief?

Gimme a break ¬_¬

So you wanted variety rather than finesse? I did as well. You just seem wholly disappointed by this movie so I've got to assume you know there's a better alternative of this genre floating around otherwise you wouldn't have anything to compare to.

 

[Cecilo]

I went explicitly to see giant monsters get punched in the face.

The movie has very little style, there's no finesse to the fights, apart from one scene, it's just giants exchanging body blows.

What kind of "finesse" were you expecting to get out of two massive creatures beating the snot out of each other? The jaeger's use two human brains and conjectural psychic technology to function; they can't be easy to control at all. If they jaeger's were filmed as being anything other than slow and ponderous then they would lose the illusion of size and weight.

I realise that it can't be just one long beatdown because of pacing and whatnot, but it could have used a bit more. I wanted to see the Russians and Chinese actually get to do something damn it!

This is my big complaint as well. We only get to see how Gypsy Danger fights throughout most of the movie. And while this may be enough for some people, I was really excited to see how the triplets used their jaeger and how the Russian "Mark I" had survived all of these years in constant combat without being replaced.

Instead we get to see two giant robots go down like chumps. It was tragic.

So a movie where people pilot a giant robot is fine, but asking for a little more variation in the combat is totally outside the realms of belief?

Gimme a break ¬_¬

Isn't Okami's first 3 hours basically spamming the attack button and then slicing the monster in half with the paint brush?

They didn't add random guns, or whatever to Okami because it didn't make sense. Giant robots aren't going to do backflips, or super advanced maneuvers because they are giant robots. Just like Amaterasu is a dog, and probably isn't going to do much more than lunge, bite and scratch.

 

[Abomination]

Obviously this movie isn't going to please every viewer. A viewer who prefers a more cerebral experience, for example, is going to be upset that the movie invests the majority of its time showing us scenes of enormous monsters fighting enormous mecha.

Actually, considering that the story elements were rather lacking, I wished it had spent more time on the titanic punch-ups.

I'm pretty sure if you were to break it down minute-by-minute you'd find they spent more screentime on the insipid drama and predictable character arcs than on the fights.

I realise that it can't be just one long beatdown because of pacing and whatnot, but it could have used a bit more. I wanted to see the Russians and Chinese actually get to do something damn it!

Some flashbacks would have been nice. I wanted to see how the Russian crew supposedly held the entire Russian coastline by themselves (at least I think that's what they were said to have done) and some examples of how the Chinese's 4 arm combo worked that didn't involve them getting KO'd in a minute.

I will say the Russians had the best musical score. When I heard it my hair stood on end.

Looks like the heroism and screen-time of the movie was directly proportionate to how much English you can speak. The Russians said a few things in English and got to hang around a lot longer than the unfortunate Chinese triplets who didn't say anything in English.

Not sure what everyone is going on about the Australian accent though... there are Australian accents like that. Figured the BRITISH bulldog would have given that away? Some Aussies are just 1st generation British immigrants.

 

[Zhukov]

[snip]

Some flashbacks would have been nice. I wanted to see how the Russian crew supposedly held the entire Russian coastline by themselves (at least I think that's what they were said to have done)...

As I recall, the Russian's claim to badassery was that they had been operating the same first-generation mech since the very beginning of the conflict. Hence it being named Cherno Alpha and looking blocky and clunky compared to the newer and sleeker models.

Not sure what everyone is going on about the Australian accent though... there are Australian accents like that. Figured the BRITISH bulldog would have given that away? Some Aussies are just 1st generation British immigrants.

A lot of us Australians have this funny defensiveness about our accents being imitated. Any attempt to do so gets criticised mercilessly. In our defence, it often is pretty bad. A lot of the world seems to assume that we all talk like Steve Irwin, which is like assuming that all Brits speak like the queen or all Americans speak like a Texan cowboy.

On the other hand, I've seen people criticise the accent of, say, Claudia Black as being a bad imitation despite her being, y'know, actually Australian.

So yeah, seems to be something of a national quirk.

Anyway, I thought the Aussie accents in the movie were acceptable. Bit hammy, but no harm done.

 

[NoeL]

Just saw it - I was a bit disappointed. It was just soooooooooo fucking formulaic - I can't stand it when a scene starts and I immediately think "Oh, ok it's this scene. I already know how this will end, just need to wait for the movie to catch up... aaaaand yep - exactly as I thought". Every major set piece was predictable as hell and sucked out any investment I had in anything going on that WASN'T giants punching each other in the face. I was hoping for something really special, but it was just another dumb blockbuster. I guess I'm just annoyed at how much better it COULD have been.

The action scenes, while not nearly as atrocious as Bayformers, were still hard to follow 90% of the time. The camera was always too close, it was always too dark, and there was always way too much distracting shit going on (rain, sparks, etc.). The monster designs got lost in everything, which was a shame. Can't we have a battle out in the sunlight so we can appreciate how these things look?

On the other hand, I've seen people criticise the accent of, say, Claudia Black as being a bad imitation despite her being, y'know, actually Australian.

Claudia Black has an English accent - she just lives (lived?) in Australia.

 

[Abomination]

As I recall, the Russian's claim to badassery was that they had been operating the same first-generation mech since the very beginning of the conflict. Hence it being named Cherno Alpha and looking blocky and clunky compared to the newer and sleeker models.

There was some mention about them patrolling a certain area (couldn't remember the exact name, definitely Russian & remote sounding) by themselves for an extended period of time. But yeah, still doing it in a Mk. 1.

Anyway, I thought the Aussie accents in the movie were acceptable. Bit hammy, but no harm done.

I thought it sounded a bit like a "posh" Aussie, from an old rich family or something. It would make sense with them being Jager pilots and all, it's not like anyone got the job.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

It's an OK movie. It's so tame and innocent it achieves a childish kind of coolness, which is cute and so much better than grimy macho cynicism. I wish we'd had less stereotypes onboard, and they didn't wipe out half the supporting mecha cast in such a dumb and improbable way, and they hadn't hand-waved the importance of neural bonding by coupling Idris with that asshole in the end, and hadn't relied on so many deus ex machinas to solve situations (how about I PULL OUT A SWORD), and Ron Perlman's character hadn't been totally pointless to the plot, and Charlie Day hadn't been cast in the first place, and we'd had a little more variety in kaiju design. But it was a fun movie.

 

[Rylot]

I've got to say I like how the characterization was done. I know I'm in the minority here but it was a breath of fresh air to not have a movie tell us the one thing that motivates a character in an exposition dump but show us through how the character acts. Raleigh did fall a bit flat in this regard. I think it was mostly acting but

Spoiler

I never really got the sense that he was still haunted by not only seeing his brother killed but that he experienced it himself from his brother's perspective and so he had to state it.

Mako and Idris' relationship was brilliantly done, I felt.

Spoiler

From the first time we meet her we get that she's devoted her life to the Jeagers and hero worships them. We see that she's so devoted in fighting the Kaiju and being a Jeager pilot that she's a better fighter than the main character. We see that Stacker still won't let her be a pilot but that she won't go against him. We live through her memory of being a terrified child having her family killed by a Kaiju and how Stacker saved her. It has way more of an impact that we're shown that she seeks vengeance against the Kaiju for killing her family and that she'd never go against Stacker because she owes him everything from saving her life to raising her instead of being told.

It would have been cool to see the other pilots more and more of a back story on them but they were trying to make a more consice movie.

It was also nice to see a movie with a male and female lead that didn't end with them falling madly in love and having a make out session at the end. There is some subtext that their relationship might be heading that way but it felt more organic and realistic that way.

Full disclosure: I saw this in 3D (normally I hate 3D but this movie did it extremely well) and at a theater with seats that move. The seat would shake every time a Jeager stepped and it was awesome.

PS: This comment took a fucking life time to type since the ad for The SUB is partially covering the comment box. I had to open the preview and look at that while typing not to mention stop everything and wit for the fucking thing to close when ever I'd accidentally scroll over it. It fucking sucks and I'm hating these fucking ads every day more and more.

 

[Ishal]

It's an OK movie. . I wish we'd had less stereotypes onboard, and they didn't wipe out half the supporting mecha cast in such a dumb and improbable way, and they hadn't hand-waved the importance of neural bonding by coupling Idris with that asshole in the end, and hadn't relied on so many deus ex machinas to solve situations (how about I PULL OUT A SWORD), and Ron Perlman's character hadn't been totally pointless to the plot, and Charlie Day hadn't been cast in the first place, and we'd had a little more variety in kaiju design. But it was a fun movie.

Really perplexed as to the sudden dislike of deus ex machinas, they've been around for ever in almost everything, but I digress. Perhaps its just now that I see people complaining about them.

and they hadn't hand-waved the importance of neural bonding by coupling Idris with that asshole in the end

I'm starting to realize that I am more forgiving of a movie/shows conceits than probably a lot of other people. Conceits = negative aspects. What you see as hand waving, I see as strategic ignoring in favor of keeping the pace moving along. One of the weaker points of the movie for a lot of people seems to be the story and the characters. This movie seemed to take a very anime approach when it came to relationships. Except for a few times, nearly every character was stoic in their actions toward the other characters. The movie wants to get to the action, so it gets hand waved away. However, that scene where the two Australians say goodbye and get all emotional the father says we share memories in the drift so there isn't much to talk about. For me, that is all I need. I am completely fine with that line waving away poor characterization, because it makes sense. I'm okay with this, others might not be.

It's so tame and innocent it achieves a childish kind of coolness, which is cute and so much better than grimy macho cynicism

I'm glad it was like this but also glad it wasn't flashy and OTT. The scene where the chinese Jaeger flipped over the kaiju rubbed me the wrong way, but for the most part it good. Making it flashy and giving "finesse" to the jaegers would have been too anime for me and would have turned me off. That is a common trope in anime, each fight has to be more OTT, more bombastic, more unreal, more epic than the last. Dragonball Z and so many others do this and I think its stupid. really freaking stupid. So I'm happy remained innocent but didn't go too far to the other side of the spectrum.

 

[axlryder]

Obviously this movie isn't going to please every viewer. A viewer who prefers a more cerebral experience, for example, is going to be upset that the movie invests the majority of its time showing us scenes of enormous monsters fighting enormous mecha.

What makes this movie special is that it has a purity of function that leads to its purity of form. Pacific Rim is about monsters vs mechs so that's the majority of what you get. Any time spent upon the setting is purely to engage Suspension of disbelief in as little time as possible. This is a good thing. If Pacific Rim tried to be more talky-thinky then that would end up downplaying the incredible action scenes and the whole movie would lose its focus. For a movie, it is better to be amazing at one thing than be average at everything.

I think that Del Toro set out with a specific vision and achieved it. So: Best Sci-Fi action movie of its kind.

A movie doesn't need to be cerebral to have decent, entertaining dialogue and engage you in its characters. I'm hard pressed to find a film with boring characters that is better for it. The quantity of the fight scenes were not the problem for me. Admittedly I think some of them could have been more creatively executed and implemented into the plot, but the ratio of talk to fight was fine with me. What's more, as I said before, the pacing was off. Some scenes went too slowly while others felt so brushed under the rug that they might as well not have been there at all. The complaint it seems most of us had about the other two robots/pilot teams getting killed off with barely any screen time is a prime example of that.

the reality, for me anyway, is not that the movie didn't spend enough time on the non fighting elements, I just don't think they were done very well and that ultimately took away from the action.

 

[[Kira Must Die]]

I loved it. I thought it was fine as it was. It wasn't trying too hard with its story like most hollywood blockbusters these days. It kept the characters simple, while still making them likable and rootable. It kept the focus on where it should be; Giant robots punching monsters in the face. But at the same time you can see the love and passion that went into making it. You can tell that Guillermo del Toro loves what he's doing here and really wants it to be good and have lasting power, and that I find commendable. It didn't need to have any sort of complex story or philosophical themes, just to be a really good time and make you feel like a fucking ten year old.

The point is that you can have a formulaic plot and characters and still be a good movie.

Also, I'm just glad that we're not only getting an original (as in not a sequel or based on any source material) film, but a giant mecha/kaiju film, and hopefully if this does well we'll see more of that.

 

[DarkhoIlow]

I saw it a few hours and ago and I can say it was exactly what I was hoping for.

I went in with the mindset that the story with be very clishee and wanted to see robots fighting monsters and that's what I got. The action scenes blew me away. It really brought the kid in me and was barely able to hold my giddiness inside.

Guillermo del Toro said he is interested into making a video game and a sequel so I really hope this movie does well so that will happen, the latter specifically.

 

[Lunar Templar]

i am surprised how many people had so high expectations on this flick.


i mean giant robots vs monsters is nothing new.

this.

If you went in expecting more, your doing it wrong. At no point did any of the trailers give hint this would be a sweeping epic full of excellently written characters, no, they showed us robots fighting monsters o.o why where you expecting more then that?

Hell >.> I'd have liked at least one more Jager VS Kaiju battle then we got, but what we got was very good.