‘Pacific Rim’ Borrows From Others, Goes Its Own Way [Op-Ed]

Pacific Rim borrows from other films, but goes its own way.

My first impressions of Pacific Rim weren’t really awe. That’s not saying it’s a bad film, but I’ve seen too many awesome films already. After films like Wrath of the Titans, Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Yes, I liked it), and The Avengers, there is really little room left for that sense of awe. That said, Guillermo del Toro certainly set about doing this film with that attitude of “go big or go home,” and I admire that in a director.

As Michael Bay discovered eventually, as previously reported by The Inquisitr, Pacific Rim borrows a little from Transformers, but not enough to justify calling it a clone. Giant robots have been done before, and that’s as far as his earlier claim can go while still holding water.

The only show that Pacific Rim seems to have the most in common with is Neon Genesis Evangelion, with the story of a child saved by a giant piloted robot and then put in control of one later in life. Also the whole “giant robot vs giant alien” thing can only be compared with those classic anime shows.

Early on when I saw the first Kaiju attack, I couldn’t help thinking how much it reminded me of what Godzilla should try to be. Of course, I’ll be disappointed if Godzilla ends up basically a giant CG-powered copycat.

Another film Pacific Rim seems to borrow from is The Matrix, where people plug their minds into a machine to battle a menace. Again, that’s about as far as it goes.

Hellboy and Blade II veteran Guillermo del Toro has come a long way since Alien: Resurrection. Yes, del Toro and Joss Whedon were both behind that travesty, though it seems they walked away from it having learned something.

Yes, Pacific Rim had a healthy dose of cliché thrown in, but one thing about the story that bugged me was the fact that Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba) was vehemently against letting Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi) pilot a Jaeger (the giant robots), and then at the last minute she ends up being a pilot alongside the hero. I saw it coming a mile away, but I heard no explanation given as to why he changed his mind literally in the span of two minutes. Then after she nearly destroys the whole Tokyo facility in front of hundreds of spectators in a seriously ill-timed case of PTSD, he lets her in one again. That’s mighty fickle and borderline insane for a man given control of Earth’s final defenses.

In general, Pacific Rim borrows a lot from other films, but goes its own way enough that I can’t say it directly copied anything. It won’t win many awards, but a summer action film doesn’t have to.

What did you think of Pacific Rim? Did you agree with my review?