You may not know it yet, but Kaiju movies are about to make a major comeback in motion pictures. The work kaiju means “monster” or “strange beast” in Japanese, and Kaiju movies were once wildly popular. With a new Godzilla movie in the works, America is about to be hit by a kaiju craze, and Pacific Rim is the movie that's going to ignite it all.

Pacific Rim is a love letter to the Kaiju genre by director Guillermo del Toro, which was evidenced to me as I watched him present the film for the first time at San Diego Comic-Con in 2012. He's a junkie for big monster movies, and it shows in Pacific Rim.

Pacific Rim tells the story of Earth under attack from massive alien monsters which come from a dimensional rift at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Mankind found these monsters nearly impossible to kill with conventional weapons as they ravaged coastal cities, so they created equally-massive machines to fight back. These machines, called Jaegers (after the German word for “hunter”), are so massive and complicated that they require 2 pilots working through neural synchronization technology called “the Drift”.

Pacific Rim is a movie about giant robots fighting giant monsters. If you go into the film expecting that, you will be rewarded with thrilling battles between machine and monster. This film isn't a run-of-the-mill action movie like Transformers, though. Pacific Rim handles gigantic robot fights with the fluidity and gravity that your average popcorn action flick never seems to achieve. Action in movies like Transformers is often difficult to follow, either due to the speed of animation or poor directorial decisions on how fights are edited together. Not Pacific Rim, though. It is evident that del Toro agonized over the way these fights are portrayed, and the results in the film are easy to follow and equal parts satisfying and exhilarating to watch. Pacific Rim was shot with an 1.85:1 aspect ratio; in layman's terms, that means that the film was more square than many movies you see today. As a friend of mine pointed out, this was almost certainly to point out just how massive these monsters and robots are as they skirmish across the screen.

Guillermo del Toro also succeeds in Pacific Rim because he invested heavily in practical effects when most directors would have pushed for animated effects instead. Inside the cockpit of the Jaeger, the pilots frequently move in synchronization within a rig that telegraphs their actions to pilot the Jaeger. These harnesses are convincing and the amount of prop-building and engineering required to create this is a triumph of it's own. When animated effects blend with these practical effects, the result is a high-gloss image that rivals anything Avatar accomplished. The color usage in Pacific Rim is refreshing. The film is populated with vibrant splashes of color, even when many of the battles are shot at night. del Toro isn't hiding anything in the shadows with this movie, which makes the fights all the more satisfying to watch.

The acting in Pacific Rim feels somewhat imbalanced, though. Charlie Hunnam plays Raleigh Becket, a Jaeger pilot who leads most of the film. He acts his scenes well, but he seems to have a monotone delivery that makes him blend into the background. The real treat of the film is watching Idris Elba playing Stacker Pentecost, the director of the Jaeger program. His performance carries many critical scenes, making us quick to forget any flaws. Also of note is the child actor Mana Ashida, who plays out a memory of aspiring Jaeger pilot Mako Mori. The scene is gripping and her reactions are so authentic that I could envision my daughter acting exactly the same way faced with the same scenario. The authenticity of her scene drives home an often-overlooked point of Kaiju movies; the devastation caused by such massive monster fights carries a deep psychological impact on the survivors.

Ron Perlman rounds out the cast playing Hannibal Chau, a dealer in Kaiju organs as medicinal remedies. We don't get to see enough of his character, but his very presence teases out another point where Pacific Rim thrives. Writers Travis Beacham and del Toro have created a deep world around the Kaiju, and they've weaved it with great care into the movie. Some of the signs of the Kaiju are so subtle they may be easy to miss, but the cultural impact of the Kaiju is shown in every aspect of the film. This attention to detail sets the movie apart from average summer popcorn blockbusters; indeed the film is immersive enough that I can see it becoming an iconic sci-fi franchise.

Pacific Rim will be released in both 2D and 3D formats, and my suggestion is that you choose which version to see based on your personal preferences. The 3D version of the film is enhanced by directorial decisions made by Guillermo del Toro, from his decision to use vivid colors (to avoid the “wash-out” effect many 3D films suffer from) to the avoidance of screen-jumping gags common in movies for younger audiences. The 3D version is fun, but I'm anxiously awaiting my chance to see it in 2D format.

Pacific Rim is exactly what it advertises – a fantastic action movie paying homage to classics from the kaiju genre. The movie had me cheering at many points, not believing the visceral and exciting stunts pulled off on the screen before me. While the acting felt imbalanced in some spots, the pace and action in the movie more than makes up for these sins. I've been waiting for this movie for almost a year, and I was rewarded for all my interest. Pacific Rim delivers stunning action. I give Pacific Rim 5 out of 5 stars. Pacific Rim hits theaters July 12, 2013.

Theatrical Trailer:



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EDIT: Redditor /u/viking_samurai shared the video below, which perfectly highlights the practical effects inside the Jaeger cockpits. Watch this and you'll see how much more visceral the movie feels due to this attention to detail.





