Kaiju is a Japanese word meaning giant beast. Jaeger is a German word meaning hunter. Pacific Rim is a movie title that means popcorn.
There's a portal in the ocean where Kaiju have been emerging from for years. No one knows what they are, where they come from or why they're paying us a visit, although it's certainly not a social call.
Since the first Kaiju battle involved planes, tanks and 35 miles of devastation including the destruction of multiple cities, the Jaegers were created. These giant robots are controlled by two pilots who "drift" together, a process that syncs their minds and memories into one, since the "neural load" is too much for one human brain. One pilot controls the left hemisphere of the Jaeger, and the other, the right. Of course being in someone else's head lends its own set of problems, and if you get stuck in a memory for too long bad things can happen. But, it's also a nice device for flashbacks and a little character development.
We quickly find out that the Kaiju are adapting, evolving and becoming harder to kill. Because of the decreasing success rate, the Jaeger program is being scrapped and a "coastal wall" initiative is being instituted instead. Since the movie poster doesn't have a giant wall on it, I'll let you guess how that works out. However, in the process of the wall building, the remaining Jaegers are all moved to the Shatterdome in Hong Kong for their last assignment before decommissioning.
Now the main story here revolves around the Jaeger pilots and I'm not going to spoil it, though it is pretty predictable. Regardless, it takes a backseat to the story of the two research scientists, Dr. Gottlieb (Burn Gorman) and Dr. Geiszler (Charlie Day). They are hilarious together and their research is not only essential to the plot, but gives us more insight into life beyond the robot versus monster battles. Dr. Geiszler has Kaiju tattoos, he's a big fan, and he's not the only one. There is a world outside of the main story.
Spending time in a Kaiju shelter and even simply seeing a Kaiju skeleton being transported on an aircraft carrier goes a long way in building the world. Pacific Rim also establishes the business of Kaiju cleanup. Enter Hannibal Chau (Ron Perlman). Chau works in the Bone Slums and harvests the post battle Kaiju remains for fun and profit.
The little details are a lot of fun as well. Hearing that there are "50 diesel engines per muscle strand" in one of the Jaegers lends a tiny bit of science to the unbelievable fiction. But it's enough. And when we hear that 300 miles inland is considered the safe zone we immediately wonder, sure, but for how long? All of this adds up to a world we enjoy spending time in, and it makes Pacific Rim more than just a fun concept.
The main Jaeger is an older model, a Mark 3 named Gipsy Danger. There are other bots at work, but we don't get to spend tons of time with them. I suppose that's for the best, because at a certain point it would begin to feel a little too much like variations on the same action figure.
It's a lot of fun watching the Kaiju and Jaegers battle it out. Of course, we all knew it would be, that's why they made a movie about it. I especially loved seeing the robots interact with the world around them so the difference in scale is emphasized Seeing a robot carrying a cargo ship like a sword is not something you'll soon forget.
I had my 3D glasses on for this one, and Pacific Rim uses the 3D really well. There's a lot of debris flying this way and that, as well as a little rain and snow, splashing water, flying sparks and floating screen readouts for the pilots. The 3D really makes it feel like you're emersed in the world.
Sure, the ending is a little too predictable, but it's definitely worth sticking around after the credits. And even though it will be awhile before we find out if Pacific Rim will win any awards (especially for special effects), I wanted to give it one now. For the best use of a Newton's Cradle in a film, the award goes to . . . Pacific Rim!
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