"Pacific Rim" Really Reminded Me Of...

...Independence Day.  I know most people have been comparing it to Transformers, which I suppose makes sense on the giant robot level, but I found that there were more story connections with Independence Day.

 

Before I go any further, let me say that I love this movie.  This is in no way a slam or an accusation of Pac Rim being a rip off (see, I even used Pac instead of Pacific, like a real fan would).  I don’t put much stock into rip off accusations these days since everything can be tied back into some influence on the filmmaker.  I just want to point out some similarities I noticed.  And, for the record, I like Pac Rim much more than Independence Day.  But I do have a lot of fond memories of ID4 since it came out when I was 12, and it’s one of those movies I’ll always remember seeing in the theater.  Anyway, in no particular order, here are some things I noticed.

 

(Of course, MASSIVE SPOILERS ahead for both Independence Day and Pacific Rim.)

 

1. A leader of a desperate group of people suits back up to join the fight AND he gives a rallying speech before he does so.

"Today, we are cancelling our Independence Day!  Wait...what?"

In ID4, the President, played by Bill Pullman, continues to lead the country even though it appears increasingly hopeless.  Idris Elba's character may not be the President of the United States, but he is certainly the man in charge of the jaeger program.  Both Elba and Pullman give thunderous speeches, and then go on to join the fight personally.  Although Pullman does survive (but Elba's sacrifice connects with another aspect of the movie...

 

2. A pilot(s) sacrifices himself so the mission can succeed.

Cousin Eddie (can't remember his character name) AKA Randy Quaid plays the sad sack of ID4 who is able to redeem himself by going on a kamikaze run to help save the day.  Elba and his Australian co-pilot also sacrifice themselves to the overall mission can succeed.  Honestly, this is the weakest of the connections since Elba and the Aussie aren't in need of redemption as much as Quaid.  Sure, the Aussie is a bit of a punk throughout the film, but he's hardly as reprehensible as Quaid's deadbeat dad.  But I still count this as a connection.  Especially since there is the father-son dynamic in both films as there's a tearful goodbye when the sons know their fathers have made the ultimate sacrifice.

 

3. A piece of alien technology is needed to reach the aliens to destroy them.

They're both wearing glasses, so that means
they look alike...

Big Willie Style and Goldblum couldn't just fly an F16 up to the mothership to blow it up (or infect it with that super hi tech laptop that can somehow sync up with alien technology...), they needed to use alien hardware to get there.  Jax Teller and his new girlfriend couldn't just take a jaeger through the portal, either.  In the case of Pac Rim, the kaiju are basically genetic hardware created by the aliens, which the humans can use to transport into the alien world.  In both cases, the humans are successful and return to a hero's welcome.  Oh, and it seems like the aliens in each film looked similar.  I guess all of the good designs were gone by the time they got around to the actual alien masters on the other side.  No big deal, though; they only get a few seconds of screen time.

 

4. A crazy scientist is used for comic relief AND for communicating with the aliens.

I saved the most obvious connection for last.  When I saw Charlie Day pop up with Burn Gorman, I immediately thought of Data in ID4 (Brent Spiner for you non-trekkers, and that crazy scientist guy for those of you who have only seen ID4).  The scientist in ID4 serves the same basic purposes as the duo in Pac Rim.  First and foremost, they are all the main comedic relief of the film.  Sure, with ID4, it's pretty much just, "Look at how crazy this guy is!" while Pac Rim is only a little bit of that (since Charlie is as obsessed with aliens as Data), and there's more plot elements with the scientists.  But it's still a fairly obvious connection.  What seals the deal is the fact that the scientists are used as vessels of communication for the aliens.  In ID4, it's just used for threats and whatnot, while in Pac Rim it's more like humans spying on the aliens.  The point is the scientists of both films connect with the aliens.  Oh, and doesn't Charlie even look a little like Data's scientist?  Maybe I'm stretching it too far with that...

 

That's it.

 

So there are my connections.  Are there more?  Probably.  These are the most general and obvious ones, in my opinion.  What do you think?  Am I completely reaching here?  Did I miss some obvious ones?  Let me know.    

Another Way Too Late Review: "Pacific Rim"

Another late review. In this one, I pretty much just geek out over how much I love Pacific Rim.

Directed by Guillermo del Toro, written by del Toro and Travis Beacham, starring Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, Ron Perlman, and Clifton Collins, Jr. - Rated PG-13 

Any movie that makes me grin like a little kid during every action sequence deserves my highest rating.




Big summer movies can and should be fun movies to watch.  Since I now watch movies with an admittedly amateur critical eye, I sometimes forget to just sit back and enjoy the movie.  But it’s not just that.  Hollywood more often focuses on darkness now (e.g. Star Trek into Darkness) because it’s cool or something.  There was a time when serious subject matter, like the possible end of the world, was treated a bit lightheartedly.  Roland Emmerich (Independence Day) has made a career out of this, but lately he’s lost his touch (White House Down is a step in the right direction, albeit a small step).  Enter Guillermo del Toro to save the day with Pacific Rim.

 

Del Toro is most famous for his Hellboy films and his visually stunning Pan’s Labryinth.  Despite the comic-book or fairy tale nature of those films, they were mainly focused on telling an entertaining and fun story without worrying too much about reality.  Pacific Rim is exactly the same.  It’s insanely visually impressive (more on that in a bit), but it never takes itself too seriously.  Pacific Rim is about giant robots (called jaegers) fighting giant inter-dimensional monsters (called kaiju).  How serious and dark could you possibly make a film like this?  Thankfully, del Toro just wants to have fun.  Pacific Rim isn’t a cartoon or anything, but it expects the audience accept the world of the film and enjoy it. 

 

The story isn’t completely carefree, however.  The world is still ending, you know.  Pacific Rim focuses on American jaeger pilot Raleigh (Charlie Hunnam), but it is truly a global story.  The focus is on humans, not nations.  This is almost like the ending to a trilogy in that the war between the humans and monsters has been going on for years, and this is the story of the last chance to defeat the monsters for good.  Some critics have made the end of a trilogy comparison as a negative aspect of the film, but I have no problem with that.  Don't we have enough long, drawn out franchises?  Pacific Rim is the rare blockbuster that doesn’t feel like the beginning of a long series.  There might be sequels in the future (although the film is not exactly tearing up the box office), but this works as a satisfying stand-alone story. 

 

A film that can be boiled down to robots vs. monsters isn’t all that worried with plot, or at least I'm not that worried about it.  This is a sci-fi action film, and it features awesome set pieces.  Each battle between the jaegers and kaiju is different from the last.  It’s very easy to tell what’s going on in each fight, and even though it is obviously done with special effects, the action has impact that feels very real.  Also, the destruction of major cities doesn’t make you feel awful because in the world this film is set in people are used to sudden evacuations so you know that you’re not seeing thousands of people die in each scene (unlike Man of Steel).  Most importantly, each fight scene had me grinning like a little kid.  I lost myself in the action.  Normally, some issue with the action (camera movements, CG quality, etc.) would distract me a bit.  That didn’t happen with Pacific Rim.  The only bad thing about the action is that it eventually had to end.

Del Toro just has a way of creating worlds that I never want to leave.  Pacific Rim certainly doesn't have as vivid a world as Pan's Labyrinth or the Hellboy series, but those films lend themselves to a more complex world.  Pac Rim still feels very much like a different world since it takes place well into the battle for the planet.  The most important aspect of the design of the film isn't so much the world as it is the jaegers and kaiju.  I liked the designs of all of them, though it would have been nice to see more battles in the daylight without rain. 

Pacific Rim is just a movie that works for me on every level.  I loved the world, the jaegers and monsters, the cheesy comic relief, the action, etc.  Obviously many people will disagree with me.  That's fine.  I do take issue with some people who start to dispute the science of the film because, well, why would you take a scientific approach to a movie about giant robots and interdimensional monsters?  It's like judging Call of Duty in a negative light because it doesn't treat bullet wounds in a realistic manner.  It is what it is.  For me, Pacific Rim was completely engrossing, and it allowed me to simply watch and enjoy a movie in a way that doesn't happen very often.  In fact, this review is so late because I've had a hard time thinking about the movie in a critical light at all.  I just want to tell people that it's awesome and they should check it out.  It's all kind of pointless now that it's been out so long, but I started writing this a couple weeks ago, and I don't feel like just trashing it.  Anyway, Pacific Rim is awesome.  You should check it out.

"Horrible Bosses"

Horrible Bosses - Directed by Seth Gordon, written by Michael Markowitz, John Francis Daley, & Jonathan Goldstein, starring Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day, and Jamie Foxx - Rated R

Another pun-worthy title. Not even going to put up a fight: Horrible Bosses deserves the corner office and a promotion! I'm going to go throw up now...

Since The Hangover R-rated comedies have been all the rage and there have been a number of hilarious movies recently and, thankfully, Horrible Bosses can be counted among them. It’s not as funny as Bridesmaids (my favorite comedy of the year so far), but it is still very funny and worth a watch.

Horrible Bosses is a high concept comedy about three guys (Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day) and their plan to kill their hated bosses (Kevin Spacey, Colin Farrell, and Jennifer Aniston). There are two ways for this movie to go with a plot like that. The film could be a bleak, dark comedy about murder. Or it could be an unrealistic, goofy romp. Luckily for the viewers, this movie is the latter. Horrible Bosses ends up becoming almost too ridiculous at times, but it has to be if you want the maximum amount of laughs. You really need to suspend disbelief with this one because it gets kind of stupid near the end, but it’s all good fun so it’s not that big of a deal.

The title of the film is kind of misleading in that this is not a movie about the bosses at all. The three leads make the film. Bateman, Sudeikis, and Day work great together and you can actually buy them as individual characters who seem to be real friends. With three main characters and three bosses to showcase there isn’t a lot of time to devote to individual characters but each character comes off as more than one note. Make no mistake, though, this is no character study, but the guys don’t seem like cartoon characters.

The bosses are pretty funny, too, but they aren’t featured as much as you would expect. Kevin Spacey is doing his thing as Bateman’s snarky boss. He’s great, but it’s not a stretch for him or anything. He does provide a few laughs, though. Jennifer Aniston is the weakest of the three, mainly because her laughs are derived from the shock value of Jennifer Aniston sexually harassing someone. Colin Farrell, as Sudeikis’ coke-snorting loser boss, is by far the stand out. It is very unfortunate that he didn’t get more screen time. But the moments he’s onscreen are hilarious. Farrell has been turning in some real quality work the last few years and his streak is still going strong with this one.

If all of the above names don’t have you interested, there is a very strong supporting cast as well. Jamie Foxx has a few amusing scenes as the murder consultant for the group. His name alone (which is very NSFW, by the way) spawns a funny scene that feels like improv, and that’s a compliment. Wendell Pierce (“The Wire” and “Treme”) was a nice addition as a detective. And there are a few cameos that should provide laughs. In other words, the cast of Horrible Bosses is surprisingly classy and varied.

The laughs are consistent and, more importantly, there are a variety of them. You have the funny, uncouth conversations between the main guys. There’s some drug humor thrown in there with a great cocaine scene. Some physical humor always helps as well. Basically, Horrible Bosses doesn’t rely on one single type of comedy to get you to laugh. It’s not exactly a kitchen sink approach, though, because all of the attempts are honestly funny. Variety is the spice of life and that certainly applies to comedies as well.

Horrible Bosses isn’t a classic comedy or anything, though. It does miss here and there. And it does get flat out stupid in the end. The ending of the movie seems very hastily put together. There are plenty of laughs before the movie nearly derails in the end, but some may get tired of it. Plus, this film won’t be remembered as some comedy classic of the decade. It’s funny and it’s worth the price of a ticket, but not many people are going to recommend it years from now. There’s nothing wrong with that, but if you hold your comedies to a higher standard you might not like this one very much.

Horrible Bosses is a very good summer comedy that should keep things funny in the midst of all the big blockbusters. Will you quote it years from now? No way. But it should have you laughing right now and that’s enough. Comedy can’t always be art or even lasting, but if it makes you laugh for your money, then that makes it worth it.

Random Thoughts (SPOILERS)

All I have to add on this one concerns all of the cameos. First off, Bob Newhart
popping up at the end was kind of odd since the man isn't exactly a relevant face in comedy these days. I imagine younger viewers won't even recognize him.

Speaking of relevant faces, it was strange to see Donald Sutherland in a single early scene. I think he's great, but along with the Newhart appearance, they make for a couple weird cameos in a movie otherwise filled with contemporary comedy stars.

Not sure if an appearance from Ioan Gruffudd constitutes as a cameo, but I thought he was funny in his scene about "wet work."

And finally, Ron White pops up as Wendell Pierce's partner. Haven't seen him in anything besides stand-up specials so it was cool to see him in there.