#MONSTER MOVIE

[a34trgv2]

Why It Worked: Pacific Rim

Introduction: Pacific Rim is a 2013 science fiction monster action film directed by acclaimed director Guillermo del Toro. The film stars Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, Ron Perrlman, Robert Kazinsky, and Max Martini as Raleigh Becket, Marshall Stacker Pentecost, Mako Mori, Dr. Newton "Newt" Geiszler, Hannibal Chau, Chuck Hansen, and Hercules "Herc" Hansen respectfully. Distributed by Warner Bros. And produced by Legendary Pictures and Double Dare You Productions, the film premired on July 1, 2013, in Mexico City before being released worldwide on July 12 that same year. The film received positive reviews, with 72% of 294 reviews aggregated by Rotten Tomatoes being positive with an average rating of 6.6/10. The film was a modest box office success, grossing $411 million on a budget of $180-200 million. That said, it gained a cult following in the years since it's released and it even spawned a sequel, Pacific Rim: Uprising, in 2018 and an animated series, Pacific Rim: The Black, in 2021. I only recently got around to finally watching this film, and I wholeheartedly agree that this was a brilliantly made action film. For this post, we'll be looking into what made this film such a cult hit that continues to resonate with people to this day.

The Plot: Set in a world where kaiju attacks become as common as natural disasters, the world nations came together to build giant robots (called Jaegers) maned by 2 pilots to comebat these behemoths in epic battles. During one of these battles, Raleigh lost his brother, and the grief and trauma caused him to quit. But when Marshall Pentecost recruits him for one last mission to end the kaiju apocalypse, he must overcome his trauma to help save the world, while along the way help his co-pilot, Mako, overcome her own trauma. The story does a really good job getting us invested in this world with the cold opening of a kaiju attack on the Golden Gate Bridge and the subsequent attacks and fallout. The Jaegers become so successful at beating these monsters that the pilots become celebrities. The world building is handled very well with natural dialogue, genuine responses from the humans, and newsreels of the kaiju battles that unfold. This film also does a good job handling the themes of grief and PTSD and how they never really leave you, but there's always a light of hope. There's also a good amount of comedy thrown in to not make it all doom and gloom such as Newt's frantic nature and Chuck getting his but whooped by Raleigh for insulting Mako. Of course, the true highlight and main selling point of the film are the monster battles, and they more than delivered. The cinematography excellently captures the scale and intensity of these giants duking it out, the visual effects are very well crafted, and the score by Ramin Djawadi amplifies these scenes to a whole new level. The film could've just been robots versus monsters for 2 hours, but I'm happy to say there is, indeed, substance to the style.

Cast and Characters: This was a very well put together and well directed cast of characters. Everyone gives such honesty and urgency in their performance and sell every line of dialogue. Charlie Hunnam did a great job portraying Raleigh as a socially distant pilot who's still brave, smart, and clever. His co-pilot, Mako, is a very smart, cautious, and headstrong woman who has natural chemistry with Raleigh and is played brilliantly by Rinko Kikuchi. Idris Elba's Marshall Pentecost has got to be my favorite performance in the film. He has such a commanding presence and is the one who cares the most about saving the world. The more he appears, the more we sympathize with him as a character, and Idris Elba really captures that humanity really well. Charlie Day provides a good amount of funny comedy with his frantic nature as Newt with Burn Gorman's Herman Gottlieb being such a snarky foil to him. Ron Perrlman was such a delight to see Hannibal Chau, making him so charismatic and fearless. Robert Kazinsky makes for an enjoyable jerk character with Chuck that gets his comeuppance in a very funny way. Max Martini did a really good job portraying the seasoned and resourceful Herc. The cast did such a good job bringing these characters to life and kept me engaged, even in between the giant robot on monster battles.

Where It Falters: As good as the opening was, I thought it was a bit rushed. By that, I'm mean Raleigh's brother, Yancy, was killed almost as soon as he was introduced, which felt a bit too quick, in my opinion. I think showing more scenes with Raleigh and Yancy together would've helped add to the former's character development. If not a few more minutes in the beginning, then maybe in a flashback or 2. I just would like to know what Yancy was like before he inevitably bit the dust.

Conclusion: Pacific Rim certainly lives up to the hype surrounding it. With a very well told story, a great cast of memorable characters, excellent cinematography, incredible visuals, and a superb score, this film more than delivers on what it promised. My only regret was not seeing it sooner. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend giving it a watch. This is especially true for die-hard kaiju and anime fans as this is basically the closest y'all will get to a live action Gundam movie. Thank you so much for reading, and I'll see you soon ;)

[rhetthammersmithhorror]

The Wasp Woman | 1995

[asoftepiloguemylove]

SPEND ALL THE EVENINGS YOU CAN WITH THE PEOPLE WHO RAISED YOU / 'CAUSE ALL THE TIMES THEY WILL CHANGE // ON NOSTALGIA, GROWING UP, AND MOVING ON

Lorde Stoned at the Nail Salon // Djo End of Beginning // Katatsumori (1994) dir. Naomi Kawase (via @octoberdead) // @lettingitlinger1 // Taylor Swift Never Grow Up // 怪物 Monster (2023) dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda // Sam Haft You Will Be Okay (Simon's Lullaby) // Keaton St. James A LIST FOR NIGHTDREAMERS // @chloeinletters // Sylvia Plath Witch Burning from "The Collected Poems" // Aftersun (2022) dir. Charlotte Wells // Lorde Stoned at the Nail Salon // Banana Yoshimoto Kitchen // Moonlight (2016) dir. Barry Jenkins // John Green Looking for Alaska // 방탄소년단 BTS EPILOGUE : YOUNG FOREVER // Stephen Chbosky The Perks of Being a Wallflower // 火垂るの墓 Grave of the Fireflies dir. Isao Takahata

[maekar76]

The Thing

John Carpenter, 1982

[kjudgemental]

Somehow, Godzilla Minus One does the impossible: it makes it personal. It makes the lizard, an amorphous metaphor throughout its years, the spectre not just of WWII, but of survivor guilt, of grief, of the ghosts of those lost coming back to say 'how dare you move on, how dare you live whilst we have perished.' Not only that, but it made me feel Hiroshima and Nagasaki in a way that, whilst spectacular, Oppenheimer failed to do. Such a fucking good movie.

[videoreligion]

Dark Universe (1993)

[humanoidhistory]

Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957)

[katherinehoughtoncastle47]

[productofreinforcements]

watched monster 2023 and I WANT THAT MAN GONE

[grendel-menz]

MONSTER MOVIE: The Diary of a Schizophrenic will be out in THREE DAYS

[shirtlesssammy]

Dean Winchester every day -- 65/326

Supernatural 4x05//Monster Movie

[rhetthammersmithhorror]

The Beast of Hollow Mountain | 1956

[whirligig-girl]

Commission for @foxgirlchorix of Zoecia, an amalgam of many slimes mixed together, as a Gymnomi slime movie monster.

[kjudgemental]

Them! (1954). Really nice slow build of a monster movie, the first 20 minutes or so being exemplary in intrigue and pacing. It might be giant ant attack, but it's a damn good giant ant attack. Underrated and underappreciated for its direction and writing.

[videoreligion]

Basket Case 3 (1991)

[arcanespillo]

can you tell which is which? TXF "The Post-Modern Prometheus" SPN "Monster Movie"