The Greatest Movies I've Ever Seen, V 2.0: Pacific Rim

A perfect cocktail of geeky movie elements, Pacific Rim was a moderate success when it was released. Yet it had a massive impact on me personally. I mean, giant robots punching giant monsters? That's a direct line back to my childhood. It took me back to mornings I spent at Grandma's house watching Saturday morning monster movie marathons. It made me feel like I was six-year-old again, like I didn't have a care in the world. For those two hours and change, Pacific Rim helped me escape my world in a way no movie has since... maybe The Sandlot. That's priceless to me.

Sadly, Rim seems to have gotten lost in a deluge of other lesser blockbusters years in the subsequent years. Movie series from Fast and Furious to Jurassic Park to Mission Impossible have dominated the cinematic landscape for years. To say nothing of mega-franchises like Star Wars, the D.C. Extended Universe and, of course, the Marvel Cinematic Universe. All these movies have so choked other films out of the conversation. Which, to my mind, is extremely unfortunate. Cuz I can come up with at least five reasons why Pacific Rim deserves to be celebrated more than almost any other big blockbuster flick of the past ten years.

Let's jam...

1. Rim is visually distinct.  I remember reading an article years ago about how all the big movie franchises were using color palettes that were essentially cyan and orange. Things haven't really improved. Too many movies have drab, grey color schemes. But not Pacific Rim. It's a kaleidoscope of blues, purples, golds, green, and earthy browns. Add in all the visuals of giant monsters taking on massive robots, clobbering one another with freight ships and shit, and Rim stands out like a pink sweater in a Slayer mosh pit.

2. Rim's action scenes are so well staged. Movie action these days is honestly pretty shitty. Most of it is CGI-heavy punch-ups where it's hard to tell characters apart. Worst are the rapid-cut sequences that sacrifice spatial relationships between characters for fast pace that raises the energy. Which, ironically, makes those scenes boring. But Rim gives us long shots where we can see and understand exactly what's going on. Yeah, it's mostly CGI, but it feels heavy, weighty, and moves the way something that big might realistically move. No flipping around like a gymnast like in the Transformers movies.

3. Rim actually scared me. A little. Most of this movie, I was laughing or sitting contentedly with a huge smile on my face. But there was one scene that actually put some fear into me. I'm talking about the scene where Mako remembers an encounter she as a kid with a kaiju. It's a very subjective scene that does a good job of putting us in little Mako's head and making us feel what she feels. And it's actually frightening. I wet myself a little. I'll admit it. I'm not ashamed. That doesn't happen often. Even most movies that are intended to be scary just make me roll my eyes.

4. Rim has one of the best Holy Shit moments ever. In another scene, a kaiju gets Gipsy Danger on the ground and starts kicking the big robot's ass. Then with a shriek, it unfurls a set of huge, leathery wings. I exclaimed "Holy shit!!" out loud upon first seeing it. Again, that's something that rarely happens. Bravo!!

5. G.D. Mothafuckin' T!! The biggest reason Rim works so well is the guy sitting in the director's chair. Guillermo del Toro puts so much thought and love into this film, and it brings it all together. GDT has an instantly recognizable visual style and gives the actions scenes that little extra flourish that makes them stand out. Without his contributions and his passion for anime, big-ass monsters and Ron Perlman, this movie would at best be just another big Hollywood sci-fi actioner. And at worst, it might not even exist at all.

I'm partial to this movie, cuz it's like someone looked inside my brain for everything I loved when I was five (apart from Star Wars). But so much of this movie is so much more memorable than the vast majority of Hollywood tentpole fare. Hell, I'd even take Rim over all but the best entries in the M.C.U. No other movie has given me back my childhood in quite the same way. For that, Pacific Rim will always have a place in my heart.