I saw Pacific Rim last night.
I’m going to see it again later today.
I’ll probably see it again in a day or two.
More importantly, you should see it too.
I know that in this age, it’s hard to get excited about something not based on something you already are familiar with or that isn’t a sequel to something. I know that there’s a lot of competition for your attention, your money, your time. I know all about the pressure from outside and ourselves to deem action adventure flicks of the Summer as empty calories, as worthy of only ironic admiration. I know, too, that the kaiju genre (aka giant monsters) doesn’t get a lot of respect.
I know all of this, and I am urging you to put all that aside, to go see this damned movie, and to feel free to thank me afterward.
Seriously, Action Force, you’ve been great support for me over these last few months, but now, I’m asking you to mobilize for something I have nothing to do with. Go see Pacific Rim. Just go see it.
Need more convincing? Fair enough.
Pacific Rim, besides being a testament to skilled filmmaking in particular, is just a great, great film in general. It’s lean, engaging, energetic. It never mistakes grit for maturity. It doesn’t feel too cynical for itself. And it isn’t trying to prove it’s better than its source material. It has heart, and in the age of the overly complicated, overwhelming, often accidentally (or intentionally) gruesome blockbuster, Pacific Rim is something you just don’t see very often anymore.
It’s just a damned great film.
It’s safe to say, if you’re a fan of mine, you’ll like this movie. But even if you aren’t (you are still welcomed here. Thanks for dropping by) this movie deserves to be seen if only because it is a movie that actually dares, that takes chances, that feels like a work of passion by people who love the genre they’re paying homage to and want you to love it just as much as they do.
Seriously, a robot rocket punches a giant monster, and it is approximately 1000 times cooler in the actual film than in the preview. The battle scenes are spectacular, beautiful, never bloated, never overwhelming. This is a film too where our heroes disobey orders to save 10 people on a boat. Just 10. When even Superman can’t be troubled to keep Metropolis from crumbling, this movie understands that the stakes can be as small as 10, even in a giant monster film.
Most importantly, this is just an excellent film. You might not love it like I loved it. Okay, you probably won’t love it as much as I loved it. But you’ll still have an enjoyable couple of hours, and you might discover something new, thrilling. Something unexpected. Heck, isn’t that what a new A. Lee Martinez book is all about? And shouldn’t that be what a great movie is too?
That’s it. Nothing else I can think of to say to convince you. If I haven’t yet, I probably never will.
But do yourself a favor and see it anyway.
You’ll be glad you did.
Keelah Se’lai
Fighting the good fight, Writing the good write,
Lee
