REVIEW - PACIFIC RIM

There is a place in the film industry for loud, gargantuan, stupid sci-fi movies like Pacific Rim, and Guillermo del Toro has ensured that that place is thoroughly occupied. It is everything you could reasonably expect from such a movie, meaning that the action is plentiful, the effects are top-notch and the dialogue is shit. Your enjoyment of Pacific Rim may depend on how high a high its best bits leave you on, as you prepare to face its lows. Del Toro's devotion to the film's core needs is absolute - in this sense, the reach of his imagination is astounding, and his attention to detail a subtle but clear indication that this is the work of a true filmmaking talent. His neglect of its peripheral needs (for, in a film that could be called 'Transformers vs. Godzillas', they are peripheral) is also absolute, which makes much of the first act a slog. Creaky accents and curious casting rule the roost, and there's even an absence of creativity in the concept, with limited art direction and cliched set-pieces. Whoever thought to cast an actor of Rinko Kikuchi's ability in a role so insipid might have had higher hopes than they ought to have had; whoever thought of Charlie Hunnam certainly did not. For all that it lacks in human, emotional content, it puts up a pretty good fight on the crash-bang-wallop fantasy spectacle front. Del Toro's intimate, immersive style of shooting action so enormous may be frequently dizzying, but there's a strong sense of weight to these battles. Guillermo Navarro's neon-lit Hong Kong is sumptuous; when one of the film's many 'kaiju' monsters goes for a stroll around the city for the first time, it's a classic bit of bitching alien badness. Among a diverse ensemble, it is Mana Ashida who stands out as the young Mako, and her wordless performance is remarkable considering the vast difference between the finished product and what the filming circumstances must have been. I'm being totally serious when I say that it is worthy of major awards consideration.