SYNOPSIS: “Pacific Rim,” a thrilling adventure infused with action and humor, in which the famed masked hero is brought to life through new eyes. Native American spirit warrior Tonto (Johnny Depp) recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid (Armie Hammer), a man of the law, into a legend of justice—taking the audience on a runaway train of epic surprises and humorous friction as the two unlikely heroes must learn to work together and fight against greed and corruption.

REVIEW: So regardless if you are a colossal monster (Kaiju), a giant robot of sorts (Jaeger), or just a regular movie goer, this movie hits the ground running. It is fast paced and action packed to say the least and that pretty much sums it all up. This movie is to be taken at face value, nothing more and nothing less. It is eye candy for action buffs. It is intense and elaborate. The special effects are just as colossal as the Kaiju and Jaegers. It truly is a spectacle of sight and sound. For this alone it is worth the watch but do it cautiously with reasonable expectations because this movie is not a story for the ages, nor is it a dramatic masterpiece. I mean, the story is okay considering the genre, and there is some drama, but this type of movie is meant to entertain via special effects and action. The rest is just secondary. In other words, there is plenty of cheesiness. It is best summed up as a new age Godzilla, Hong Kong and all. And just like the classic Godzilla films are cinematic treasures in their own right, so could this one be someday, maybe, in the future, possibly . . . nah, I doubt it. But it is a fun movie for what it is.

So again, the main aspects of the film are the effects and action so characteristics such as actor performances are not as noticeable. But the cast did good enough for this type of movie, the most impressive performance given by Idris Elba. He was quite good at imposing his authority as the “man-in-charge”. Charlie Hunnam in the lead role was okay but not very memorable. There were some good supporting role performances by Ron Perlman, Charlie Day, and Burn Gorman. Charlie and Burn gave some good comic relief as you would expect from them. The cast all in all was okay but definitely not the focus of the film. Nor are the characters they play. The character development is weak so it’s hard to attach to any of them. The storyline is also weak, at times too simplistic and at others trying to be way too convoluted. You know, a sci-fi story. One could easily want to compare this to Transformers but can I tell you that no matter how similar they might be, the movies are so different that it’s hard to compare them. The Transformers themselves are individuals whereas the Jaegers are machines, highly regarded and celebrated machines but machines nonetheless and piloted by human beings. And then there’s that Iron Man looking Jaeger with the lighted circle on its chest. What’s up with that? Guillermo del Toro has directed some off the beaten path fun movies such as the Hellboys and Blade II, as well as the critically acclaimed Pan’s Labyrinth so this one fits right in that mix. This is an off the beaten path fun movie, not great but fun.

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