Blu-ray Review: Guillermo Del Toro Provides Explosive Fun in ‘Pacific Rim’

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly versionE-mail page to friendE-mail page to friendPDF versionPDF version
Average: 5 (1 vote)

CHICAGO – Guillermo Del Toro’s “Pacific Rim,” recently released on Blu-ray and DVD, has so much of what the other 2013 Summer blockbusters were missing. There was a disturbing sense of familiarity this year. Even the decent ones like the “Iron Man” and “Star Trek” sequels felt like things we had seen before. “Pacific Rim” returned wonder and spectacle to the world of the blockbuster and the result was Del Toro’s best English-language film. It’s a blast.

HollywoodChicago.com Blu-ray rating: 4.0/5.0
Rating: 4.0/5.0

TV stars Charlie Hunnam and Idris Elba bring the right gravity to their roles without stealing focus from what really matters here: Giant monsters vs. giant robots. In the future, Godzilla-esque creatures emerge from the ocean floors and can only be defeated by man-operated, massive, metal machines. Del Toro brings his amazing knowledge of film and fantasy history to develop a film that’s much smarter than its detractors led me to believe. This is dumb fun but it’s hard to make dumb action this fun. Just ask the other 2013 blockbuster directors.

The Blu-ray comes with an entire second disc of special features, organized in notebook form, and accompanied by deleted scenes that hint that there could be a director’s cut of “Rim” down the road. I’d welcome it. I’d love that rumored sequel too.

Pacific Rim was released on Blu-ray and DVD on October 15, 2013
Pacific Rim was released on Blu-ray and DVD on October 15, 2013
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

Synopsis:
When legions of monstrous alien creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a deadly war began. To combat them, humans devised massive robots called Jaegers as weapons. Controlled simultaneously by two pilots, even the Jaegers proved nearly defenseless against the Kaiju. Now on the verge of defeat, mankind must turn to a washed-up former pilot and an untested trainee teamed in a seemingly obsolete Jaeger, as the last hope against a mounting apocalypse.

Special Features:
o 14 Featurettes Provide In-Depth Looks At Kaijus, Jaegers, Sets, Stunts, Sounds, Effects, And The Mythology And Making Of The Film
o The Director’s Notebook
o The Digital Artistry Of Pacific Rim

“Pacific Rim” stars Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, and Ron Perlman. It was directed by Guillermo Del Toro and released on Blu-ray and DVD on October 15, 2013.

HollywoodChicago.com content director Brian Tallerico

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

User Login

Free Giveaway Mailing

TV, DVD, BLU-RAY & THEATER REVIEWS

  • Manhunt

    CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on March 21st, 2024, reviewing the new streaming series “Manhunt” – based on the bestseller by James L. Swanson – currently streaming on Apple TV+.

  • Topdog/Underdog, Invictus Theatre

    CHICAGO – When two brothers confront the sins of each other and it expands into a psychology of an entire race, it’s at a stage play found in Chicago’s Invictus Theatre Company production of “Topdog/Underdog,” now at their new home at the Windy City Playhouse through March 31st, 2024. Click TD/UD for tickets/info.

Advertisement



HollywoodChicago.com on Twitter

archive

HollywoodChicago.com Top Ten Discussions
tracker