Pacific Rim

One of my most anticipated films of the year turned out to be pretty weak! I’d been looking forward to Pacific Rim basically ever since the first reports. A war between giant human-controlled robots and giant sea monsters could be conceived in many ways, but I was hoping for a gritty and dark sci-fi bash with relentless apocalyptic atmosphere and massive and originally conceived battles (the first reports spoke of at least five giant battles, with each being shot in a different way). In short, I was hoping for something like the antithesis to the childish Transformers. If only. Pacific Rim is nothing but a generic popcorn movie for kids with jokes, shallow characters, clichés, and pathos. Even the action scenes don’t have much juice – and there aren’t enough of them (in the first half, the characters are just talking in hangars and it’s insufferable). Del Toro really only aimed for “the bar” – even the design of the monsters and the robots is not amazing. Squandered opportunity. (18/07/2013)

It is much less spectacular than Avengers or Man of Steel, which is quite ironic, as it should be a much "bigger film" in terms of the screenplay. It is also less functional. The battles are decent, the visual effects are good, and even the 3D works. However, the characters are poorly developed, and the viewer doesn't really identify with anyone completely. It reaches its peak with the iconic Ron Perlman, who is clearly only there for decoration, and overall I felt like it was more of a summer blockbuster than a technically groundbreaking or otherwise innovative thing. I didn't feel the desire to say anything, I didn't feel great ambitions, nor a grand score. Entertain and move on. It is thrilling and also suspenseful, they literally played with the Jaegers and got everything they could out of them. (18/07/2013)

A case of cinematic megalomania that is not self-serving and over the top, but is the very essence of the target concept, the blood in the heart of the film. A simple storytelling template, perfect visual effects and super-cool action scenes (Hong Kong Harbor rules), redesigned visuals of mecha-robots and sea monsters. Astonishment over the epic power of the opponents (the Japanese will piss their pants). Plus Guillermo del Toro-like enthusiasm for slime, skin parasites and Ron Perlman. The characters and their interaction, however, are not too impressive and the dinosaur idea is very contrived. That’s a pity. The 3D is better than usual (but still only converted from 2D in post-production). I wonder whether it’s a coincidence that the mad scientist looks exactly like J.J. Abrams. (11/07/2013)

Del Toro brings us something that has been done before. After all, big cities have already been devastated by The Avengers, Transformers, or Superman to the point that falling skyscrapers are becoming a bit of a stereotype. The director tries to add personality to it by providing some pretty clear action scenes, and by not going too far over the edge in terms of visual sweeps. On the other hand, into two hours he didn't cram in a single major character, a real character who could pull carry better than a jaeger pulling a tin can down the street. Idris Elba has charisma but drowns in pathetic speeches, and the rest of the ensemble is severely uninteresting - Ron Perlman is more of an iconic trademark than a functional character. It goes by quickly, but the most important and impressive scene is still the escape of little Mako from the kaiju through the empty street. (18/07/2013)

Something is creaking here and unfortunately not in that good robotic way. Guillermo del Toro might be playing around with huge action figures, but he forgot to give them a beating heart. Any part of Transformers can have as many mistakes as it wants, and yet it works incomparably better in terms of storytelling or emotion. Surprisingly, various dialogue and narrative clichés pile up here for some time, not all the actors are likable (Charlie Day fails miserably in his role), and all the weight lies on the action scenes. As expected, these work perfectly, and the battle for Hong Kong with the third dimension in the background is intoxicating like nothing I've seen in a long while, but it is still far from enough. Behind every precise hit, there is hesitation, and behind every twist, there is awareness that this is only little boy's dream come true without anything that would also satisfy someone who didn't spend his childhood throwing robots and lizards against the wall in his room. Even the plot twists with some added value, like the black market or the hints of a social crisis, feel slightly contrived. And given that the characters fighting the enemy are just pre-set genre figurines (unfortunately, even the eagerly awaited protagonists Mako and Pentecost), it is quite a disappointing experience despite cautious expectations. The third star is saved by the likable Charlie Hunnam and an appearance by a rejuvenated Daniel Craig, as well as Ron Perlman in the role of Ron Perlman. It particularly pains me, as a person who regularly acknowledges both Hellboy and Hellboy II as possibly the best comic book adaptations, that this blockbuster certainty didn't work out in the end. The perfect visual attraction remained just that: an attraction, not an honest film. (11/07/2013)