Where to even start when talking about this massive blockbuster? Pacific Rim begins with a brief history of the world as it is. Alien invaders have arrived, but they did not come from the stars, the creatures have opened a transdimensional rift beneath the Pacific ocean, from which giant beasts emerge to terrorize coastal cities. The humans, with no defenses left, initiate the Jaeger program; massive machines, piloted by two humans, built to defend mankind from the kaiju menace emerging from the sea.
Before I say anything else about Pacific Rim, I must say this: You need to see this movie.
If there is one name synonymous with kaiju, that name is Godzilla. Kaiju was born in 1954 with the release of Gojira, a bleak, symbolic film with messages about the horrors of the atomic bomb and the devastation of Japan during WWII. While other giant monsters had been seen before Godzilla terrorized Japan (such as The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms), this film was the true birth of kaiju in the form that it has become known for.
Unlike in later installments of the Godzilla franchise, the king of the monsters stomped onto screens as a menace to society, leaving a wake of destruction in his path (much like Pacific Rim's kaiju). It wasn't until his second film appearance, Godzilla Raids Again, that audiences would be treated to kaiju-on-kaiju combat in the form of Godzilla taking on Anguirus, another reptilian, dinosaur kaiju. During his 50-year reign, Godzilla would go on to battle dozens of other kaiju, and would play the part of both hero and villain multiple times.
With Godzilla, kaiju began to explode in Japan. Another big kaiju franchise emerged with the turtle-monster Gamera, who was meant to be Daiei Motion Pictures' answer to Toho's Godzilla. Along with that, the Ultraman series began to gain popularity. The episodic TV series had the hero Ultraman face off against a different kaiju beast every episode.
Now that that's out of the way, let's talk about why Pacific Rim is the best movie of 2013.
To begin, the film throws viewers right into the action, with the American Jaeger Gipsy Danger called into action to take down a kaiju off the coast of Alaska, after a brief introduction chronicling the history of the emergence of the kaiju menace from beneath the waves. The action in this movie was absolutely breath-taking. It was free of overly shaky cams that cause motion sickness and barely let us glimpse the actual action taking place, yet still managed to truly bring the fight to life.
The Jaegers themselves were also a fantastic sight to see. Each bot had it's own set of skills and characteristics, distinguishing them each by more than just looks. For example, the Russian Jaeger Cherno Alpha was a heavier, harder hitting fighter, while Australia's Striker Eureka was hailed as the quickest, most nimble Jaeger.
Pacific Rim did what countless kaiju films fail to do; it made us care about the human characters just as much as their giant robot exoskeletons. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Charlie Day's performance as Dr. Newton brought some light-hearted comedy to film while playing a pivotal role in the understanding of the kaiju and how to stop them. Pacific Rim also gave us great character development without using the gimmick of a romance angle, like many sci-fi and action films do.
Much like the Jaegers, Pacific Rim's kaiju were also easily distinguished from one another, and each posed a different threat to mankind. With names like "Knifehead" and "Leatherback", the kaiju were perfectly brought to life, and were awesome to watch in action.
One thing that Pacific Rim definitely got right was marketing. In the months preceding the film, the film's Facebook page posted in-depth statistics for each Jaeger and kaiju, so viewers were able to go into the film with a little background knowledge, and were even able to pick some favorites before seeing the movie (Team Cherno Alpha all the way).
Needless to say, this was a special-effects heavy film, and was beautifully crafted. Unlike in films such as the Transformers saga, the Jaegers looked and moved in a believable manner, and it was obvious how much work was put into their design. Rather than looking like and moving like giant humans, the Jaegers looked more like humanoid battleships, with heavy armor and utility lights, and it made them much more believable.
Much like the Jaegers, the kaiju monsters were also very believable, and looked like living, functioning, destructive beings, rather than goofy giant aliens. Another great touch added to the kaiju was the soundtrack. Every time a kaiju emerged, a very Godzilla-esque theme song would play, which was a great homage to classic kaiju.
In fact, the film did a fantastic job of paying tribute to the kaiju genre with great subtly. For example, the very origin of the kaiju monsters was a tribute to old-school films. When it is discovered that (SPOILER) the kaiju are sent to earth by alien beings in order to conquer it, I was immediately reminded of films like Gamera vs Guiron or Invasion of the Astro-Monster, which both feature the kaiju being used as a pawn by an alien race.
Despite the various tributes to the classic kaiju of the past, Pacific Rim was one of the more original sci-fi/action movies in recent years. One thing in particular that I liked was the mind-meld/drift technology. While they could have easily just said that the pilots were controlling the robots with a virtual-reality type of set up and left it at that, they went a step further with the idea that the two pilots would each control a hemisphere of the "brain" by "drifting" and basically sharing one thought process, which added a very cool angle to an already cool story.
I can say with confidence that Pacific Rim is, and will remain my favorite movie of 2013. It had everything a great sci-fi kaiju film needed, with none of the useless excess. It was visually stunningly, narratively perfect, and overall just a fun, edge-of-your-seat joyride. There are already talks of a sequel, but that all depends on how the film does this weekend, which is why everyone needs to go out and see it. If the film is successful, this would be the perfect time to drop some news or a trailer for the secretive 2014 Godzilla project that the internet has been buzzing about for the past few months. Pacific Rim was the perfect revamp to the kaiju genre, and I'm already preparing to see the film a second time. If you only get to the local theater once all summer, it should be for Pacific Rim.
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