The Hind End of Space

I really hated seeing reviews about how Pacific Rim knew how dumb it was. I propose the opposite. The movie works because it doesn’t know how dumb it is. There are no winky asides pointing out how silly it is that they’re using giant robots to fight giant monsters. No one subverts the ridiculous names. No one groans when “Stacker Pentecost” tells people to go to the “Shatterdome” and go inside “Gipsy Danger”. It is nothing but a beacon of sincerity, and I have to respect that. I mean, yes, it’s a riff on a once allegorical sub-genre that kind of devolved into cheapness and fan wank, but Guillermo Del Toro, he’s no dummy. There’s a very pulpy, neon beauty to this movie. It’s a special effects triumph, sure, but it’s also kind of a story triumph. Swiftly drawn, unforgettable characters, grown out of archetype, but humanized beyond archetype. And it’s a more progressive movie than you’d expect of the Hollywood blockbuster. It’s not a unilateral force where there’s a problem and only ‘Murica can stop it. I liked that the story is truly a team effort, that everyone’s little contributions add up to save the day. It’s a smarter narrative than what I was expecting, and…screw it, I like seeing robots punch giant monsters.

- Kyle Kallgren on Pacific Rim (x)

(Source: screechthemighty)