"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.    

"Men in Black 3"

Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, written by Etan Cohen, starring Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, and Josh Brolin - Rated PG-13

Worth it just to see Brolin mimic Tommy Lee Jones.

 

Men in Black seemed to have been a dead series after a weak second entry and years of inactivity.  When a third film was announced I didn’t get very excited.  I got downright uninterested when I heard that it started shooting without a finished script, which is a terrible sign for a film.  But then the previews came out and I saw the time travel twist to the story.  Time travel can be either a curse or a blessing, but it definitely raised my interest in the film.  Thankfully, the time travel element was used to good effect, leaving Men in Black 3 a worthy entry in the series and nearly on par with the first film.

Men in Black 3 finds Agents J (Will Smith) and K (Tommy Lee Jones) once again trying to save the world.  Nothing new or original about that, but things get strange when K suddenly disappears and only J remembers the last few years while everyone else knows of K dying back in the 1960’s.  An alien who was thwarted and maimed by K back in the 60’s found a way to go back and permanently solve the problem, so J has to follow in his footsteps to save K.  Oh…and the rest of the world, too.

Obviously it would look strange to have Tommy Lee Jones playing a 40+ year younger version of himself, so Josh Brolin was tapped to portray the younger J and it is the highlight of the film.  Brolin perfectly inhabits Jones and it is simply amusing to see his impersonation throughout the movie.  And he interacts with Smith with the same ease as Jones.

The other part of the time travel aspect is the possibility of era jokes.  Sometimes a film that takes place in or travels to a different time period falls victim to exaggerating clichés of the time.  Men in Black 3 does feature some typical call outs to the 60’s but instead of throwing out a lot of free love and hippie stuff, the focus is exclusively on Andy Warhol and his famous studio, The Factory.  The jokes are exclusive to Warhol stuff, which is strange because Warhol isn’t exactly a relevant figure for young audience members.  Those with even a passing interest in Warhol should get a kick out the jokes but those who don’t know of him will likely be left in the dark.  But since he is portrayed by Bill Hader, even the youngest viewers may find some enjoyment from the sequence. 

Enjoyment is flagging in other departments, though.  The first film worked so well because the alien effects were created in the beginning days of decent CG so it was a visual spectacle and the designs were funny.  It was also amusing to see the famous aliens among us.  Both of those elements grew stale the second time around and they don’t fare any better this time.  Sure, the special effects are the best yet and the aliens are all really weird.  It’s just that none of it is that spectacular compared to dozens of other sci-fi films. 

But it’s still Men in Black, which means Will Smith is onscreen nearly one hundred percent of the time doing his thing.  If you’re a Smith fan, then this will be a good time.  If his antics are wearing thin, then you’ll possibly hate this movie.  I’m still cool with Smith so I enjoyed his performance for the most part, though some of his one-liners and reactions definitely feel like they are the result of a half-written script. 

Another element some may find lacking is the film’s villain.  Vincent D’Onofrio set the standard for an amusing and disgusting villain in the first film, and no one has come close to that character since.  Jemaine Clement (“Flight of the Conchords”) takes on the villainous role for this one and he does an okay job for the most part.  The problem is that this usually hilarious actor is hidden behind CG and prosthetics.  His outlandishly deepened voice is funny at times and he’s certainly a disgusting creature, but for the most part it’s a dull role. 

The weaker elements of Men in Black 3 are outshined by the stronger moments, though.  Perhaps it only seems that way because the film gets better and better as it continues, but it felt that way for me because the emotional pay off of the film truly worked for me.  Not to spoil anything, but this series typically features an almost tacked on heartfelt ending for a character.  It can be seen as lazy filmmaking, especially since this ending deals with time travel, but it worked on me and I imagine it will work on others.

Overall, Men in Black 3 is worth a watch.  It isn’t as good as the original, but it’s certainly an improvement over the second film and it’s a lot of fun if you don’t over think the time travel bits (nearly every time travel movie unravels if you think about it too much, anyway).  It’s not the original, but it’s good enough for me.

Random Thoughts (SPOILERS)

What's with the one wheel things they drive?  They look suspiciously like the "IT" from "South Park."

Michael Stuhlbarg was amusing in a rare big-budget appearance.

Oh, almost forgot that this was in 3D.  It was okay, I guess, but not really necessary...as usual.