When I told my friend that Pacific Rim was on my list of movies to see, he reacted with surprise and incredulity. Yes, Pacific Rim. You too? Surprised? Indeed, for if you follow my movies at all, you know that for the past half-dozen years, I’ve been mostly drawn toward the Oscar-type artsy-type films.
But summers are not exactly known for offering a plethora of, um, intelligent films. So earlier this summer, I found a (reputable) list of 2013 summer movies worth watching. And Pacific Rim was among those films listed. Based on the rationale for including it, which gave nothing away regarding the plot, I added it too to my list. (Okay, the fact that Charlie Hunnum, on whom I have quite the SOA crush, was in the movie—-nah, that didn’t hurt.) And so last night I found myself at the theater, quite surprised when that same movie companion mentioned above leaned over to me and said something about Godzilla. What? Wha? Huh? Oh my. What was I in for? (I had no idea about the plot; this movie was on the other list, so I unquestioningly added it to my own.)
And what a fun two hours followed ! I giggled quite a bit at the over-the-top musical score. I held my breath a bit in the more suspenseful scenes, even if I knew that this was the girl-meets-boy and all-is-good-in-the-world-i
The movie does what it is supposed to do: it entertains. True, to get there, one must suspend logic and any knowledge of physics or other natural sciences, as the movie seems to completely thumb its nose at all such things. (Interestingly enough, the giant monsters didn’t bother my biology education at all. I can totally go with that. wink emoticon ) But once you let yourself just accept the machines, the brain-joining, and the lack of tidal waves, you can just enjoy.
Hunnum is not much different than who he is as Jax Teller as an actor, even in playing this character without the addition of being outlaw. (And yes, though, he still brings whatever evokes that SOA crush I cannot get past.) I delighted too when I saw Ron Perlman (another SOA cast member) in the movie. And I thought Rinko Kikuchi did a pleasing job as the female lead, tying the American film to its Asian roots of the giant monster movies. (I had to chuckle too about the settings here—surely a nod to those movies from so long ago. (However, the little girl running and crying through the destruction was a bit too over-the-top in a movie otherwise fine with going over the top as it really cut too close for me to that famed picture of the little girl running during the Vietnam War. I suppose most won’t make the connection, as here the girl is not at all nude but instead is in a beautiful blue coat carrying the brightest red shoe (a hat tip to Schindler’s List, perhaps?). Still—-it stuck a chord in some nerve in me.))
Suspend your logic. Let go of knowledge of physics. Don’t ask why so many helicopters could possibly be needed for that final rescue. And enjoy. For that, really, is all that is needed for this movie that pretty much makes just enough fun of its own genre while delivering some entertainment to have a pleasant couple of hours in the summertime.