I grew up in the generation where watching robots beat up monsters was a thing, which was why some Hollywood exec approved of the Pacific Rim franchise. Having watched the first one with my friends when it first came out, its sequel is in a similar vein — just as cheesy, full of robots smashing Kaijus, rubbish science, and everything that makes an action movie cheesy. But the good, nostalgic kind, of course.
So when this movie came out, I put my bum on a chair and went to watch it.
Warning: Spoilers ahead.
It’s been ten years since the breach around the Pacific Rim of Fire had been sealed, and Pentecost’s son (John Boyega), somehow has a British accent while living in America and makes a killing by selling Jaeger scrap parts. He meets a young girl, Amara, who builds her own and somehow, they get arrested. Then, they’re recruited as a ranger and a cadet (instructor and recruit, I guess?) to learn how to pilot Jaegers.
Since there are supposedly no more Kaijus to fight, the first half of the movie shows Shao Industries trying to make Jaeger pilots accessible remotely, to which, one character (I forgot who, I think it’s Mako Mori), states, “What if they get hacked?” Yeah, yeah, no one could see the foreshadowing in that one. I do like that we get to see some of the heroes from the previous movie, including Gottlieb, the scientist who told his peers that he discovered a way to use Kaiju blood to propel Jaegers. The science doesn’t make sense, but who cares?
Anyway, it turns out that the drones from Shao Industries have been infected by Kaijus, and the other scientist, Geiszler, is possessed by a Kaiju, that’s why. Cue a mass mobilisation and awesome (but mostly gratuitous) killer Kaiju fights. The visuals are obviously stunning, and obviously there are many opportunities to show cool Jaeger weapons, heroic poses with the camera panning to show all the Jaegers in this cool way, and of course, explosions. As the movie progresses, the logic gets more and more absurd — if the characters had the data all along to figure out what the Kaijus actually wanted to do, why didn’t they project it on the screen? Also, don’t get me started on the scene close to the ending where the rocket gets strapped to the Jaeger and somehow, the Jaeger has enough power to crush the Kaiju.
Then, there’s the contrived love triangle that the writers put in just to troll Boyega’s character, his colleague Nate Lambert, and the female mechanic. The mechanic shoves Lambert out of the way, to which Boyega gets jealous. In addition, there’s also the scene where she kisses them on the cheek. Um, make up your mind?
What the hell. It’s silly, the internal narrative logic is not terribly well-written, but it’s fun. No one goes in watching a movie like this thinking it’s supposed to be serious. We don’t want to be serious. We want a cool, albeit cheesy fantasy of robots fighting monsters. That’s all. If there is a Hollywood budget to make it cool, then so much the better.
However, what I loved about the movie was its diverse representation. Apart from John Boyega, there were also many Chinese jaeger pilots, a Russian girl, and of course, the CEO of Shao Industries who comes in to save the day. Every time the CEO speaks, I’m treated to the Chinese language, and she even makes fun of Geiszler for not being able to speak her language and even condescends to him, saying that she hates repeating herself, regardless of language. This is very funny, of course, and it’s nice to see a variety of people grace the silver screen.
As one of my friends put it, “Who knew that the world would be saved by the Chinese?” To which another replied, “The Chinese”.
I also did like the part of the movie where Amara has to confront her trauma of being separated by her family in a Kaiju attack, but this was glossed over. Unlike in the first movie, which used Mako Mori’s trauma to explain why chose to become a Jaeger pilot, this was shown but did not explain any character motivation and neither was it tied to the plot in any way. In fact, I wish that the team had taken the time to explore how trauma affects Jaeger pilots do their job—does trauma prevent these pilots from doing their job, and if you apply to be a pilot, do you need to learn how to cope with your trauma? What happens to Jaeger pilots who are traumatised?
Moreover, has any drift compatible pair fallen out because of a breach of trust? Since Jaeger pilots have to tap into each other’s memories and secrets, what happens if Pilot A tells everyone that Pilot B wets the bed? How will both pilots be able to pilot the Jaeger, then? I have way too many questions about this.
Gaping plot holes and gibberish science aside, Pacific Rim is what it is, and has no pretensions. Would I watch it again? Maybe just the kick-ass action sequences when I’m having a bad day.