Pacific
Rim 3D (Warner Bros. Blu-ray 3D w/Blu-ray 2D,
DVD & Ultraviolet Copy)
Picture: A-/A-/B
Sound: A-/A-/B Extras: C+ Film: B-
One of the biggest
flops (stateside) but most talked about films of Summer 2013 was a
film that harkened back to the days of battling monsters (like that
of Godzilla and Mothra); delivered in the form of Pacific Rim.
The film cost a staggering amount to make, but seemed a sure thing
with creator/director Guillermo Del Toro at the helm; and whereas it
didn't strike as big of a cord with audiences or critics in the USA,
worldwide the film grossed nearly 500 million giving it the fan base
Del Toro was hoping for.
The film is without
a doubt the epitome of what a big budget, smash, crash, blow em' up
feature presentation should be; as we see monsters and robots duke it
out as humanity looks on. The back story is summated in the opening
dialogue as the audience is informed that in 2013 an
inter-dimensional portal opened in the Pacific Ocean allowing a 200ft
plus monster to bust through. This monster laid waste to several
cities and took the military over 6 days to bring down. Monsters
arising from the portal happened time and time again; finally causing
governments of the world to band together to create humongous robots
(piloted by mentally linked men) that would be able to protect the
world. The pilots are introduced as brothers Raleigh and Yancy
Becket (Charlie Hunnam and Diego Klattenhoff) who man one of the
giant robots dubbed Jaeger. The monsters are known as Kaiju and
whereas the Jaeger in the beginning were able to quickly takedown
these monsters; the Kaiju are slowly adapting. The adapting to the
power of the robots comes from and center as Yancy gets killed while
linked with Raleigh during battle. The death of his brother (as he
experienced it through the mental link) left a lasting impression on
Raleigh (Hunnam), who goes into hiding. We are taken 5 years into
the future, the attacks have not slowed down and the Jaeger are
becoming less and less effective. The program is shutdown in favor
of building a gigantic wall the block the portal. Idris Elba acts
as the leader of the dying Jaeger program and believes there is still
hope; convincing an emotionally damaged Raleigh to return for one
last battle.
The film is
certainly a action packed, summer popcorn flick; but concurrently Del
Toro manages to engrain some level of quality into the film
with back story and building relationships among characters. The
film sucks you in with its explosive premise, then spends half the
film nurturing relationships before getting back to the blow em’ up
action that encompasses the second act. I in no way will say the
film is an Oscar winner or even the best action flick of the summer;
but I will say it was fun. Del Toro can make movies and though at
time he stretches himself thing, his genius continues to shine
through here with Pacific Rim.
The technical
features of this 3D Blu-ray set are astonishingly well done. The
picture quality is demo worthy with an overall well balanced
presentation. The 3D is excellent and truly adds something to this
film. Like 3D monster movies before it, Pacific Rim manages
to put viewers in the heat of the action; but in 2013 3D has evolved
here to deliver bright colors, a crisp image, inky blacks and solid
textures. The standard Blu-ray is just as good and I think each
version has its merits; neither being better than the other. I do
find wearing the 3D glasses annoying still; so for that reason the
standard Blu-ray may have a leg up. The sound is EXPLOSIVE as it
offers both a lossless 5.1 DTS and 7.1 DTS HD Master Audio Track both
of which are excellent throughout. The action packed film surrounds
the viewer as the entire soundstage is utilized, bringing the
monsters, robots, and everything in between to life. Never a dull
moment the lively track is again a demo quality and surely will not
disappoint.
The DVD and
ultraviolet are merely a downgrade (serious downgrade) as this film
was whole heartedly meant to be viewed in High definition or 3D high
definition.
The extras for this
set include:
- Michael P.
Dougherty II
