I believe you can't really listen to an album or watch a movie just once to decide whether you like it or not. There are rare occasions when I'll either love or loathe a film on my initial watch, but if I come away shrugging my shoulders, I'll try to see it again to coax my true opinions out.
I'm a giant monster fan. "King Kong" thrilled me as a child and still does as an adult, even though it was made in 1933. The original "Godzilla" and its sequels are among the most enjoyable movies I regularly watch. I know they're not really thought-provoking or examples of great acting or stories, but they are spectacles . You watch them to see giant beasts trampling the scenery. Razor-thin plots and ham-fisted dialogue are the norm and if you approach them with that in mind, they can be very enjoyable. This is exactly what I had to do with "Pacific Rim".
The first time I saw it in IMAX 3D. I had been looking forward to it for months. Movies featuring giant beasts don't come along every day. Superhero movies, yes. Kaiju, no. I have to say that my first go-round was disappointing. I couldn't follow the action, the characters were the cookie-cutter, "Independence Day" types, and the story was light to say the least. Worst of all, each battle seemed to be in the rain or in the water. Everything seemed dark and I couldn't get a sense of the scale of the beasts. The kaiju also seemed vacant of any personality at all. Bummed is the word I would say described my opening day viewing.
Then I kept hearing and reading that many people and critics enjoyed it. I gave it another shot but this time in 2D. Now, I don't know if I was in a bad mood on opening day, my expectations were too high or it was the 3D vs. 2D thing, but I really liked it the second time. I was able to follow the action much better and got a feel for how large the kaiju and mechs were. There were some great fight scenes, primarily during the second act. There were some tremendous scenes of awesome big things battling. The best moments for me were when the kaiju could be seen smashing through the city streets in the daylight. There were not nearly enough of these moments for my appetite, but when they did occur, I felt like a youngster all wide-eyed with mouth agape.
It's not worth carrying on about the plot. It was thin. Kaiju and Mechs fight and smash the crap out of each other and that is exactly why I watch these kinds of films.
Guillermo del Toro has not yet made a movie that I've disliked. He does a great job with the creatures he has a hand in creating and the worlds he creates are beautiful and awesome to look at.
My complaints about "Pacific Rim" is that there was too much focus on the Mechs or 'jaegars' and not enough on the kaiju. The kaiju didn't have enough screen time to leave any sort of personality or generate a great threat. They were interesting creations but seemed rather generic. I won't spoil anything by saying that the movie has an answer for why that is the case, but it still is disappointing.
If you've seen this movie once and came away unimpressed, you should give it another chance. A second screening sold me on del Toro's accomplishment of creating one of the coolest B-Movies you'll ever see.
Review by whitsbrainVIP 6BlockedParent2022-01-15T16:05:31Z
I believe you can't really listen to an album or watch a movie just once to decide whether you like it or not. There are rare occasions when I'll either love or loathe a film on my initial watch, but if I come away shrugging my shoulders, I'll try to see it again to coax my true opinions out.
I'm a giant monster fan. "King Kong" thrilled me as a child and still does as an adult, even though it was made in 1933. The original "Godzilla" and its sequels are among the most enjoyable movies I regularly watch. I know they're not really thought-provoking or examples of great acting or stories, but they are spectacles . You watch them to see giant beasts trampling the scenery. Razor-thin plots and ham-fisted dialogue are the norm and if you approach them with that in mind, they can be very enjoyable. This is exactly what I had to do with "Pacific Rim".
The first time I saw it in IMAX 3D. I had been looking forward to it for months. Movies featuring giant beasts don't come along every day. Superhero movies, yes. Kaiju, no. I have to say that my first go-round was disappointing. I couldn't follow the action, the characters were the cookie-cutter, "Independence Day" types, and the story was light to say the least. Worst of all, each battle seemed to be in the rain or in the water. Everything seemed dark and I couldn't get a sense of the scale of the beasts. The kaiju also seemed vacant of any personality at all. Bummed is the word I would say described my opening day viewing.
Then I kept hearing and reading that many people and critics enjoyed it. I gave it another shot but this time in 2D. Now, I don't know if I was in a bad mood on opening day, my expectations were too high or it was the 3D vs. 2D thing, but I really liked it the second time. I was able to follow the action much better and got a feel for how large the kaiju and mechs were. There were some great fight scenes, primarily during the second act. There were some tremendous scenes of awesome big things battling. The best moments for me were when the kaiju could be seen smashing through the city streets in the daylight. There were not nearly enough of these moments for my appetite, but when they did occur, I felt like a youngster all wide-eyed with mouth agape.
It's not worth carrying on about the plot. It was thin. Kaiju and Mechs fight and smash the crap out of each other and that is exactly why I watch these kinds of films.
Guillermo del Toro has not yet made a movie that I've disliked. He does a great job with the creatures he has a hand in creating and the worlds he creates are beautiful and awesome to look at.
My complaints about "Pacific Rim" is that there was too much focus on the Mechs or 'jaegars' and not enough on the kaiju. The kaiju didn't have enough screen time to leave any sort of personality or generate a great threat. They were interesting creations but seemed rather generic. I won't spoil anything by saying that the movie has an answer for why that is the case, but it still is disappointing.
If you've seen this movie once and came away unimpressed, you should give it another chance. A second screening sold me on del Toro's accomplishment of creating one of the coolest B-Movies you'll ever see.