PACIFIC RIM

Some entertainment is salvaged thanks to del Toro’s excellent direction and use of visual effects. For all the crimes of its screenplay, the film has a strong visual flair, and the action set-pieces, epic battles between Jaeger and Kaiji, are pretty spectacular. The sight of great sentinels engaged in fisticuffs definitely creating a strong sense of awe. The use of 3D is also some of the best we’ve seen this year, and add to the visual texture of the film rather than detracting. The Kaiji designs most definitely carry the DNA of del Toro’s creature designs: wonderfully organic, complex and impossible. Compared to the rather pedestrian designs of the Jaeger, they’re the design highlight of the film. Between these colossal conflicts, however, we return to the sketchy characters and crappy dialogue, and as hard as del Toro tries, the film never recovers from their banality. It also doesn’t help that Ramin Djawadi’s music is ordinary at best, a colour-by-numbers action score devoid of surprises and more than happy to let us know what is going to happen next before it actually does. With all the money thrown at this film, you think they could have forked out for a better composer.

A strong cast might have been able to overcome the screenplay’s failings, but either they're just too great or the cast isn’t strong enough. Charlie Hunnam certainly looks like an action hero, but lacks any of the necessary charisma, and looks like he’s trying a bit too hard. Rinko Kikuchi has some spunk hidden in there, but she isn’t given much to work with (turn up, look vulnerable, hit Hunnan with a stick). The real victim is Rob Kazinsky as rival Jaeger pilot Chuck Hansen. Not only is he given nothing to do but get in the way, but for some bizarre reason, his character is Australian and, for all his skill, the Brit cannot successfully carry an Australian accent at all. The least they could have done is changed the script so he didn’t sound so ridiculous. Idris Elba has enough gravitas to maintain some dignity for most of the film, but again, those lame emotional beats catch him towards the end, and even he can’t recover. Thankfully, Ron Perlman is on board for some brief comic relief, along with Charlie Day and Burn Gorman as a pair of hapless scientists.

It seems the flavour of the year to get up in arms over some controversy in the current crop of blockbusters. ‘Star Trek: Into Darkness’ got in trouble for a 1.37 second shot of a woman in a bra, and ‘Man of Steel’ has been damned for blowing too much stuff up. Whatever inevitable punches are thrown the way of 'Pacific Rim', I doubt it will have the energy, unlike the others, to weather them. What should have been an exciting genre thrill ride turns out to be thoroughly lacklustre, and unintentionally funny without any sense of irony. The visual effects might be spectacular, but visual effects do not make a film, and when the foundation stone - its screenplay - is this poor, even a great director like del Toro can’t make it work. ‘Pacific Rim’ is a little too lame to be harmless fun, and not brave enough to be admired for ambition. It’s as clunky as an empty metal drum, and just as satisfying.