Pacific Rim (2013)

I enjoyed this a great deal. It didn’t take itself too seriously, so there was just the right combination of camp, action, drama, and comedy.

My movie-going experience was heightened when the power went out in the theater at a moment where the movie really could have faded to black to signify that something really crazy and unexpected just happened, but it was just a thunderstorm. Thankfully the crowd was civil and made light of the situation. The film resumed shortly thereafter and the momentum didn’t suffer because of the sudden interruption.

I liked that each Jaeger had its own fighting style that was determined by the team that piloted them. Since the fight scenes were up close and personal with larger than life combatants, some of the actual movements were slightly obscured. That could also be a device to cut the time/effort/expense of show precision moves, but either way, it didn’t reduce the impact of the scenes by much, if at all.

Among the previews were ones for Seventh Son, 2 Guns, and The Wolverine, all of which I’m interested in seeing. Although, 2 Guns probably won’t get my money at the box office.

I rarely read anything about a movie before I see it, because I don’t like to cloud my judgment. One thing I just read was that Pentecost’s (Idris Elba) role was initially offered to Tom Cruise. I don’t have anything major against Tom, but I’m tired of seeing him save the world. If I’d known this before seeing the film, I would have spent most of it trying not to imagine how predictably Tom would have played the scene. I don’t think I could have taken him seriously in the don’t touch me scene. Well, to be quite honest, before the imagining could have even taken place, I would have opted out of seeing it in the theater, because as I said, I’m tired of seeing him save the world. It seems that Tom declined due to scheduling conflicts and I’m really thankful for that, but perhaps he was hesitant about being typecast yet again. On second thought… I doubt it. It is my strongly held belief that we’re all much better off with del Toro’s second choice even if his statements about his second choice conflict with his first.

If you’re looking for something to entertain you and a guaranteed good time had by all, check it out.