156 - Pacific Rim

    A rift between dimension has formed, opening into a crevice in the Pacific ocean.  Gigantic monsters come in periodically, and wreak havoc.  Mankind has put together giant robots, controlled by a pair of pilots, to combat these monsters.
    When this came out, there was a lot of really positive talk about it.  I was impressed, since the trailer looked like a cross between Transformers and Godzilla.  The fact that it was directed by Guillermo del Toro seemed like it had to be a mistake.
    So I went into this movie expecting that I probably would like it.  And it's very fun.  But it's only one viewing fun.
    When I first saw Skyfall, I remember being dazzled, but also kind of annoyed with the fight sequence set against the neon lights.  The majority of this movie is fight sequences set with neon lights and all kinds of glowing stuff.  Usually it's done in the dark, which just makes the contrast more stark.  However, the direction isn't as wildly flashy.  The cutting isn't too fast.  In fact, the direction is pretty enjoyable, especially since the action itself moves at a modest pace.  This is a side effect of playing with massive monsters and robots - the time it takes their arm to move to throw a punch is much slower than it would be with a normal-sized fight.
    The story is fun, but still a bit thin.  They introduce more stakes to the game by making it so that a pair of pilots need to effectively share their brains with each other in order to coordinate controlling a robot.  I like the idea of this, but it doesn't stand up to scrutiny very well.  Their program has been in place for almost 20 years, and they still haven't addressed this problem?  Ignoring that, I mostly never felt like the mental coordination angle mattered all that much.  There was minimal character development.  In fact, I don't think I can remember the lead's name.  Even his relationship with his co-pilot seemed almost irrelevant.
    The monsters are fun, but they didn't have the same level of compelling design as the Cloverfield monster.  The joints on that one were much more nightmarish, and created an unpredictability of movement.  These monsters are mostly interchangeable, but one of them stood out, since it had some neat fins on its back.
    Yes, it's a fun movie, and remarkably wild to look at, but it just didn't speak to me the way a really solid action movie does.