Guillermo del Torohas a vast filmography that has always played with genre and monsters. Whether it’s a monster from hell adopted by humans and raised to fight other monsters, or a half-vampire that hunts other vampires, or an aquatic monster that falls in love with a human lady, or a bunch of giant monsters that fight giant robots, the Oscar-winning filmmaker has always been interested in using genre to tell spectacular stories with a lot of heart. But there is one film that stands out from his filmography as the purest example of del Toro’s imagination, a film that was well-received but is often not listed amongst his finest work. We’re talking, of course, about the colorful, roaring, blood-pumping spectacle that isPacific Rim.
Why does this movie work as well as it does? Because of the clear passion del Toro puts into every single detail. The story itself is simple, but completely earnest. It’s about people from different walks of life having to come together and bond in order to pilot a giant robot and save the world from giant monsters. The film centers on the relationship between Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam) and Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi). Not a romantic relationship per se, though there is a lot of chemistry and romantic tension between the two leads in the way two people can — in a way — become one. Mako is one of the best female characters in a blockbuster film in recent memory, handling her own against the main character in a fight, with a deeper emotional background and a more nuanced character arc than anyone else inPacific Rim. She’s not a love interest, she’s a protagonist years before characters like Furiosa or Wonder Woman redefined the heroic female lead.
to build Mako and Raleigh’s relationship, their scenes together are shot as ifPacific Rimwas a romance; their training battles are filmed the choreography of a dance, slowly showing how they become completely in synch as their empathy for one another makes them act as a single unit. Indeed, the entire film is about empathy and selflessness, about people sacrificing a little for the good of others, but because it’s not wrapped in a dramatic narrative and is instead a blockbuster spectacle,Pacific Rimis often overlooked in favor of del Toro’s more “serious” movies.
Usually, when a film is described as being for 12-year-olds, that’s meant as a negative. As if to say that anyone above that age would be bored or above finding joy in a film about robots with sword arms and elbow rockets. But whatPacific Rimdoes is that it perfectly captures what it means to be 12 years old and watching something likeStar Warsfor the first time, and the film encapsulates the feeling of wonder you get when a piece of media opens your imagination wide open.Pacific Rimdoesn’t have a single mean bone in it, and the tremendous world-building makes it all the more immersive.
The film wastes no time over-explaining its world or its rules. It tells you only what you need to know to enjoy it, and leaves the rest to your imagination. Why did the world leaders decide it’s better to spend their resources building giant robots than anything else? For the same reason we have mobile suits inGundam— it’s fun! By 2013, summer blockbusters had started to become overly gritty and dark, butPacific Rimis not interested in being what del Torocalledthe “super-brooding, super-dark, cynical summer movie.” Instead, the film has an “incredibly airy and light feel,” returning us to a time when summer blockbusters were fun first and foremost. The moment Gipsy Danger picks up that oil tanker to use it as a baseball bat, you immediately feel the urge to make all your friends experience what you just did, and by sharingaScreen Passyou actually can share your love ofPacific Rimwith your friends. And if you combine that with the co-viewing experience on Movies Anywhere toWatch Together? you may all shout “Today we are canceling the Apocalypse!” together.
Pacific Rimcame in at an interesting time in del Toro’s career, and you may all thank it for revitalizing the filmmaker’s passion for movie making. After working for nearly 20 years making small but successful genre movies, the period between 2008 and 2011 was full of devastating disappointment for the Mexican filmmaker. First, he signs on to direct an adaptation ofThe Hobbit,before delays and other behind-the-scenes issues forced del Toro to part ways with the project. Immediately after, he went to work on his longtime dream project, the Lovecraft adaptationAtthe Mountains of Madness.But even withJames CameronandTom Cruiseon board, the project collapsed. Immediately following these back-to-back disappointments, Guillermo del Toro took on the biggest, most expensive project he’d done then and since:Pacific Rim.
It’s no wonder, then, that the film is filled with every little thing that brought joy to del Toro as a young boy living in Guadalajara, from giant robots in the style ofMazinger Z, to the type of kaiju creatures that even Godzilla would run away from. The result speaks for itself, in interviews del TororeferredtoPacific Rimas “the most fun, the most satisfying shoot I’ve ever had,” going so far as to even say the film was (at the time), “the only shoot I’ve ever enjoyed. Ever. Completely.” Del Toro spent five years betweenHellboy IIandPacific Rimdeveloping projects that never happened, but after it, he wouldn’t wait that long to make another film, withCrimson Peakand his Oscar-winningThe Shape of Watercoming in two-year intervals.
But just adding your favorite childhood toys doesn’t make a great movie. Del Toro also brought along the best in the business when it came to building massive worlds and creatures. We had seen giant monsters and also giant robots in major blockbusters before, a lot of them even brought to life by ILM too. ButPacific Rimputs an exorbitant level of detail and creativity into each creature in the film. From the way Gipsy Danger uses shipping containers as weapons, to the detailed destruction of Hong Kong as a giant kaiju falls on top of a soccer field, to each kaiju and jaeger having their own unique look and feel, whether in their design, their weaponry, or their movement. Not only that, but the film also gives weight to every kaiju to the point where the punch of a jaeger feels grounded. These creatures are not only gigantic, but they also weigha lot, and they move slowly because of it. There’s deep thought put into every frame of this movie.
If you’re to comparePacific Rimto an anime, it wouldn’t beNeon Genesis EvangelionorGundam(even if they do share some similarities), it would beGurren Lagann, a show that celebrates the absurdity and coolness of giant robots fighting.Pacific Rimis not only cutting-edge spectacle that uses the best VFX can offer, but it uses every tool at its disposal to bring back the feeling of being in your pajamas on a Saturday morning, eating cereal while watching a brand new cartoon.
Guillermo Del Toro has made plenty of successful and acclaimed films, yetPacific Rimnever fails to bring a smile to my face no matter how many times I’ve seen it. So get in the robot, call your friends, and cancel the apocalypse withPacific Rim, which you and your friends can enjoy right now onMovies Anywhere.
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