Limited edition Japanese poster for Guillermo del Toro's mecha epic.
Yes, I had to see PACIFIC RIM on opening day... I grew up watching everything from ULTRAMAN to MOTHRA, and all that was in-between — including anime series such as BRAVE RAIDEEN and VOLTES V. Yes, PACIFIC RIM made a grown man cry. That man was me. Throughout, we were laughing with the funny bits, clapping and shouting during the amazing battle scenes, and we all left the theater buzzing... And those tears were tears of joy.
In short, PACIFIC RIM made me feel that my boyhood dreams of piloting a super robot were brought to thrilling, vivid life. I'm not saying that this was like the first time I saw STAR WARS when I was a kid, but if I were the same age seeing PACIFIC RIM for the first time, now, that's exactly how I'd feel (sans the John Williams fanfare). You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll thank Guillermo for being alive. I mean it. Really.
Del Toro's epic is the best, most satisfying American-made genre blockbuster in years. While the STAR WARS prequels left me cold, this bringing the SHOGUN WARRIORS to life made me feel like a kid again —best yet, PACIFIC RIM is not remake, a sequel or a video game, but an original creation. It sheds the usual, cliched negative cynicism for a refreshing humanitarianism and a true sense of wonder.
Never mind the so-called critics blasting the film, with pat allusions to POWER RANGERS and TRANSFORMERS, which only reveals their ignorance, and proves that they know not of what they speak — don't listen to these idiots. Ignore them. As Harlan Ellison said, "Without research, without background, without understanding, it's nothing. It's just bibble-babble. It's like a fart in a wind tunnel, folks."
If you've ever cheered the heroic actions of JOHNNY SOKKO AND HIS FLYING ROBOT or was riveted to the battle royale of DESTROY ALL MONSTERS, then PACIFIC RIM was made for you — and it was made to introduce a whole new generation to the sheer joy those films and television shows brought us. So, go see PACIFIC RIM this weekend —sure, it's not Japanese, but it's the closest anyone's ever come — it's truly more than meets the eye.
Thank you, Guillermo.
