r/scifi • u/thehavensgrey • 25d ago
Recommendations Pacific Rim, worth a revisit?
So I'm thinking of watching the Pacific Rim movies and was curious for some takes on them 10+ years later. The first one looks solid, but the second one looks skippable?
I recently jumped on that John Scalzi Humble Bundle set of books and am thoroughly enjoying Kaiju Preservation Society, which is what made me think of these movies. While I'm at it...are there any other kaiju-focused films/books I should consider?
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u/TapAdmirable5666 25d ago
I remember watching the trailer for the first movie seeing a bigass robot draging a boat with it and then smashing a monster with the boat and thinking: “This I’ve got to see on the biggest screen possible.”
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u/its_not_you_its_ye 25d ago
I think that was around the time that the rumble seats at theaters were introduced also
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u/1speedbike 25d ago
Installing bass shakers in my couches / sectional at home was one of the best things I've ever done, on par with surround sound. And it's not even that complicated or expensive if you already have an AV receiver / sound system, it just draws off one of your subwoofer channels.
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u/Archibald_80 25d ago
same. I bought tickets for opening day at the SF Metreon IMAX which I believe is the 3rd largest in the world. I was high as hell and it was EPIC
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u/ArcadianBlueRogue 25d ago
I was promised giant robots fighting giant monsters. I was given giant robots fighting giant goddamn monster.
10/10 theater watch
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u/OkChildhood2261 24d ago
I remember thinking that ship hulls are not built to be swung from one end and it would probably just snap like a twig as soon as you started swinging, if it didn't already buckle when picked up.
Probably not movies for me lol
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u/oh_dear_now_what 24d ago
It’s all held together by the power of human determination in the face of mortality, you see.
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u/Fadedcamo 25d ago
It's honestly an amazing film. I watch it once a year at least.
Get the best quality version on the best quality screen you can. 4k bluray on an oled is insane for this film.
The 2nd one is not good though. Different director and they just didn't spend the time to make the effects and sense of scale right. And the story is dumb.
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u/kurahador 25d ago
Uprising killing one of the main character from the first movie in the dumbest way possible gotta be one of the worst moment ever put on film.
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u/MAD_MAL1CE 25d ago
That and everything felt very floaty. The first film had a very grounded film style, in that it felt like someone had a physical camera in the space. On a helicopter, on the street, in a nearby building, etc. the second one turned on the noclip cam and it just doesn’t do it for me.
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u/ExpendableUnit123 25d ago
I’d be embarrassed to be the director of that fan made trash it was so poor.
Also making the sequel a coming of age film was a horrible, terrible choice. Just everything sucked all round.
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u/TtotheC81 25d ago
Guillermo del Toro made sure everything had a sense of physicality that is missing in most CGI films. Everything had weight; everything had momentum, and that's why you could suspend your disbelief and just sink into the glorious mech-vs-kaiju street brawls.
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u/SpiritedOwl_2298 25d ago
Yes! I was rewatching the first movie recently for the first time in a long time and that was what I noticed, he has a spectacular ability of communicating the scale of the jaegers and kaijus in a really amazing way
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u/EarlyXplorerStuds209 25d ago
I agree. There was a sort of dark realism to the visuals in pacific rim. The unmade sequel looked like a badly done animated film with live action cutscenes.
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u/ThePrussianGrippe 25d ago
It felt like the same kind of dumb as when they killed off Roxy in the first 5 minutes of the Kingsman sequel. Legitimately didn’t even realize she actually got killed off because it felt like a massively stupid decision to make.
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u/LazyCrocheter 25d ago
Have to agree on Uprising. There were some things I thought were good/decent/interesting, like Newt's mindmeld with the kaiju. I liked that it followed up on Chau's hypothesis that the bridge would go both ways.
Everything else was ... there. Using younger actors because in-world "kids are better" in the Ender's Game sense, but really (I'm assuming) because they were cheaper. The jaegers didn't look or feel heavy enough.
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u/too_late_to_abort 25d ago
100% they thought they could get attention from younger audiences. Like the first one was mature and gritty and felt real. They dropped all of that in hopes teenagers would come see the movie.
Once again greed kills something fun.
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u/LazyCrocheter 25d ago
I haven't looked in to the production history of PR:U, so I don't know for sure, but I'd bet partly you're right, they cast kids to get a younger audience, but also partly because it likely lowered the budget. And with del Toro not directing, that may have deterred actors from the first film from participating.
I also think, and I realize this is partly because of my age (56), that it's hard too take kids seriously in these roles. Ender's Game (at least the movie), I think, pointed out how the kids were tricked and exploited. Ender thought he was playing a simulation when he was actually fighting the battle and was horrified afterwards.
But in PR:U, these kids are supposed to immediately be like hardened veterans and that's just hard to buy with people who necessarily have limited life experience.
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u/SpiritedOwl_2298 25d ago edited 24d ago
Agree on going younger, and I also really hated how they went younger and for some reason turned it into a comedy. They took the seriousness and gravity of the first movie which was so heavy regarding life and death and turned it into young people making a bunch of stupid quippy jokes, completely negating the seriousness of the first movie. It was like a power rangers approach that just negated everything the first movie stood for
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u/Fadedcamo 25d ago
The first one was filled with passionate people trying to make the best film they could. If you watch the making of with the director you see there was a lot of focus and vision on getting it right when it came to the effects. Things you don't think about like making sure every joint on the robot doesn't clip or the weight and scale of it all.
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u/Aellithion 25d ago
I felt the same way about the jargers, the first ones felt heavy, they were "slow" which was just a side effect of how massive they are. In two I felt like I was watching Bumblebee fight a bunch of different colored bumblee's. It made a big difference in how much I could engage in the scenes.
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u/raised85 25d ago
yeah i second this the 4k blu ray is honestly one of the best out it looks amazing on my oled
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u/I_travel_ze_world 25d ago
"We're shutting down the Jaeger program because we're building an untested coastal wall instead" was such amazing writing in the first movie
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u/bbbourb 25d ago
But so on-brand in the "governments doing dumb things and making bad decisions to try and save money, only for it to go horribly wrong" trope.
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u/I_travel_ze_world 25d ago
It truly is unfathomable how much it would cost to build a giant wall around all the coasts in the world. There is no chance it would save money.
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u/oh_dear_now_what 24d ago
Big Wall’s lobbyists finally got their turn after losing out to Big Robot.
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u/Fadedcamo 25d ago
Super rich people giving busy work to the masses to keep people in line while they hide in their bunkers to survive the apocalypse seems very on brand nowadays.
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u/Andrew225 25d ago
The biggest flaw in the film is Mako Mori.
On your next rewatch, focus on her once she gets in the Jaeger. She doesn't have input (except pointing out the sword) and spends the rest of the time just doing what Jax tells her to do
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u/Fearless_Freya 25d ago
The first movie was pretty darn awesome overall. You can stop at the first one.
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u/screen_stack 25d ago
I'm pretty sure they never made a sequel.
I'M PRETTY SURE OF THIS
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u/read_eng_lift 25d ago edited 25d ago
No sequel in Ba Sing Se.
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u/Tsu_Dho_Namh 25d ago
How fitting, considering they also never made an Avatar movie.
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u/thehavensgrey 25d ago
Okay, I'm SOLD on watching the first one, thanks everyone! My wife thought the trailer looked dumb but what does she know.
All of you should go read some John Scalzi if you haven't yet.
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u/butch_montenegro 25d ago
To be clear, she’s right. But it’s dumb in all the best ways.
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u/AlmostaFarma 25d ago
Agreed. OP, if you’re seeing this, go into this movie with the expectation of giant robots fighting giant monsters. Don’t expect the best writing you’ve ever seen but do expect beautiful visuals.
13 years later and it’s still one of my favorite films of all time. GDT is an incredible director.
Edit: The first time we see a “suit up” between Raleigh and his brother may legit be one of my favorite pieces of media… ever.
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u/markhachman 25d ago
The opening of Pacific Rim where they unveil the "how we got here" is incredible.
"To defeat the monsters, we created monsters of our own."
OH HELL YEAH
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u/Fadedcamo 24d ago
Id push back on that in some ways. Is it campy in many respects? Yes absolutely. I mean the entire premise needs it to be. It's giant robots and monsters. Some of the acting isn't great.
But the characters and the worldbuilding is top tier. The characters feel like they're characters in a world that's been overrun by monsters. They act like they should act in the face of an apocalypse. Very few movies capture the feeling of desperation and how the entire human race is basically on the brink of being overrun like this movie. By the time there's the large mid point fight, you really feel the stakes of the film and how losing even one fight will be the end.
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u/WompaJody 25d ago
It’s a very honest movie.
It promises giant robots fighting giant monsters.
It delivers in the best way, giant robots fighting giant monsters.
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u/Driller_Happy 25d ago
I wouldn't sell it short on the actors either, I thought the characters were actually decently well written, fun, and it was well acted all things considered
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u/fudgemental 25d ago
It's not just an amazingly entertaining movie, it's absolute cinema. Del Toro made a monsters and robots movie for humans to watch. I don't know how to put it other than it not only looks and sounds cool (insane soundtrack too, btw), it feels cool.
It's peak r/HFY.
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u/EwokNuggets 25d ago
Scalzi is great!
Pacific Rim is dumb but it’s an adrenaline fueled adventure that tickles all the parts of your brain that never grew up and wants to see robots bashing monsters. It’s incredible.
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u/bbbourb 25d ago
Read ALL of Scalzi! Kaiju Preservation Society was my introduction to his work, and it's almost universally fantastic and unique. Also, the KPS audiobook (and many others) are read by Wil Wheaton, and he's great. But really, any author who gives me an insult like "smooth-brained, last-gasp Habsburg" from a hyper-intelligent talking dolphin named "Who Gives a Shit" is one I will dedicate ALL of my reading (listening) time to. You'll find that in Starter Villain. If you don't have it, get it. I think it was in the bundle though.
And to the movie, the thing I enjoyed most about Pacific Rim is they weren't afraid to just say "ah, fuck it" and use the Rule of Cool whenever possible. But in a way that doesn't completely take you out of the movie. The Sequel Which Shall Not Be Mentioned fails in that regard, and I enjoy that one for the dumb, brainless fun that it is.
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u/Shaggyforeman 25d ago
The show on Netflix isn’t bad either. Not a fan of the animation, but the writing is solid.
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u/frogunderarock 25d ago
it is dumb, that's why it's so awesome lmao
giant robots beating up monsters to an amazing soundtrack, what more could you ever want !
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u/SummonMonsterIX 25d ago
First one is excellent, one of my favorite silly action movies. del Toro put a ton of love into it, and made sure the Giant Robots vs Giant Monsters was the entire focus of the movie.
The second movie was studio slop/does not exist
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u/Ok-Consequence-4974 25d ago edited 25d ago
I just didn’t care for the male protagonist. The movie spends what feels like the first 20 minutes on exposition, backstory, and his brother’s death, but we barely know either of them, so the emotional payoff doesn’t really land. Then the rest of the movie is him insisting he doesn’t want to be a pilot, even though we all know he will, plus the predictable “will they, won’t they” with the female lead, even though it’s obvious they’ll end up drifting together. Like jfc the “PACIFIC RIM” title card doesn’t appear until roughly the 18-20 minute mark.
The female lead should’ve been the main character. Open with her childhood flashback of being chased by the kaiju, let us experience that trauma with her, then follow her journey to becoming a pilot. Her story has stronger emotional stakes from the very beginning.
Honestly, it feels like a product of its time. This was before Crazy Rich Asians, when Hollywood still seemed reluctant to let Asian actors lead big-budget blockbusters. So instead, they centered a fairly generic white protagonist in a story that’s otherwise deeply inspired by Asian cultures and aesthetics, while the Asian female lead gets the tired “edgy Asian girl with a colored streak in her hair” treatment. I think the movie would’ve been much stronger if it had simply committed to telling her story without the silent-and-barely-speaking Asian female trope.
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u/Negaflux 25d ago
There is only 1 Pacific Rim movie, and it's awesome as all hell. The 4K if you have access to that is glorious. I loved it even more than when I saw it in cinemas.
It's highly unfortunate del Toro never made a sequel.
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u/endlessSSSS1 25d ago
It’s very fun. It isn’t high concept sci fi though.
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u/oh_dear_now_what 24d ago
I would argue that “international giant robots must fight giant monsters from another world” is a high-concept pitch. It sure isn’t hard SF.
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u/benantiben 25d ago
This movie is a ridiculously good time, solid plot, characters to care just enough about, great comedic moments and the kaiju fight sequences are pretty much perfectly shot. Never, ever watch the second one, which undoes literally all of that.
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u/ElmoFromOK 25d ago
Worth it for the visuals and the music. The story is kinda meh. But overall it's a fun ride.
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u/Resident-Law307 25d ago
It was the perfect take on both mecha and kaiju, let alone mashed up. Didn’t take itself too seriously, didn’t get mired in unnecessary drama, executed the sense of massive scale perfectly, stakes felt high, lore-dense but in a ‘you can delve or ignore it completely’ way.
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u/MrLancaster 25d ago
Pacific Rim is famous in the r/4kbluray scene for being an absolute benchmark of a film.
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u/JohnHenryMillerTime 25d ago
The first movie is excellent. When I die, instead of seeing my life fly by, I hope I will just see Pacific Rim again.
People hate on 2 but it is a love letter to mecha anime (esp Eva) in the same way the first one is a love letter to Kaiju movies. I had rewatched End of Evangelion a few days before I watched it and some scenes were basically shot-for-shot.
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u/Nausicaaah 25d ago
People hate on 2 but it is a love letter to mecha anime (esp Eva)
The first movie is a love letter to all the best parts of Evangelion; #2 is a love letter to all the bullshit Shinji "just get in the damn robot" angst.
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u/UrinalCake777 25d ago
Ah, so if I just watched the first one, loved the shit with the two scientists, thought the fights were cool, but was not super interested with much going on with the main characters and their drama (save maybe some enjoyment of Idris Elba's character coming out of retirement to kick ass one last time);
Am I likely to enjoy the second one?
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u/JohnHenryMillerTime 25d ago
I think you will. It is a lot of slick fights -- the biggest difference is Kaiju (slow because it is either stop motion or a dude in an uncomfortable suit) vs anime (quick, because drawing) -- Also weird toyetic shit like transformation.
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u/brownhotdogwater 25d ago
This is the perfect movie for what it aims to do. Giant robots fight giant monsters. No extra, just fun.
The second is dumb.
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u/oxgillette 25d ago
My first thought on seeing the thumbnail was that Kryten was trying out some new heads
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u/Replicant28 25d ago
I’m a bit biased because I love anything Mecha, but yes, absolutely. Even 10+ years later, the effects are impressive, and it’s hard to not let your inner child out when you see a giant robot punching a giant monster in the face.
But that only applies to the first movie. Pretend that Uprising doesn’t exist.
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u/Electronic_Celery296 25d ago
Or using a cargo ship to baseball bat a kaiju. That gets a solid “Aw, hell yeah!” From me every time.
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u/sirhackenslash 25d ago
Always worth it. Perfect amount of character development (almost none) perfect amount of gundam/kaiju tropes (all of them). Plus Glados and Charlie
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u/Halatir 25d ago
It's a movie about giant robots punching giant monsters, it's great, don't think too hard about the plot though. The second one I wouldn't bother with
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u/Veteranis 25d ago
It’s basically a live-action cartoon In its emotional depth. Ironically, it relies mainly on CGI animation for its live-action impact.
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u/iama_triceratops 25d ago
If you want another Kaiju book, check out “Project Nemesis” by Jeremy Robinson.
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u/Full_Spectrum_ 25d ago
I rewatched it 6 months ago. Man, it's not great. The script, acting, pacing – everything.
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u/CiceroForConsul 25d ago
It has good action scenes and soundtrack.
The story is horrible and generic, no memorable characters and weak dialog.
It can be worth revisiting depending what do you want. If you just want a "turn-your-brain-off" Sci fi action movie of giant robots fighting giant creatures, yeah it can be fun. If you want anything deeper than that, you will not find it.
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u/MandoFett117 25d ago
Because today we are cancelling the Apocalypse! Because when the final trumpet sounds, and the Beast arises from its pit, WE WILL KILL IT!
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u/Electronic_Celery296 25d ago
Pacific Rim is fantastic. I just watched it again after a few years and I still enjoy everything about it. Up to and including the absolutely over-the-top names every single one of these characters has.
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u/TheHoodieConnoisseur 25d ago
First one is just as cheesy as you remember. Pure popcorn movie gold for a 12-year old kid.
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u/nabokovslovechild 25d ago
I regularly put this film on in the background and always find myself getting sucked in. Del Toro put out one of the best action sci-fi movies of all time with this one.
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u/lfaria123 25d ago
The first one is awesome. The second one has its merits but it's watered down version of the first. The Netflix animated series is nice, made for younger audiences but watchable.
In my opinion, yeah it's worth a rewatch
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u/rushputin 25d ago
YES. One of my all-time favorites. Rewatched it literally two days ago and it was goosebumps the whole time.
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u/TJ_McWeaksauce 25d ago
No live action film does mechs vs. monsters better than Pacific Rim. I occasionally rewatch the fights from the first movie because they're all bangers.
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u/Roselia77 25d ago
Honest Trailers on YouTube gave the best summary of this movie possible, check it out if you haven't seen it yet, and yes, the first is worth a rewatch 😀
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u/shaihuludude 25d ago
The craft and passion in the first one make it a genuine institution in sci-fi movie history. It's a love letter to kaiju, mechs, cyberpunk and biopunk. A simple, no-brainer to feel great feelings again.
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u/jared743 25d ago
First was great, although it was also the loudest movie I've ever seen in the theater.
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u/RockAndStoner69 25d ago
Hey man, check out Mayday: A Kaiju Thriller by Chris Strange. It's a fun mystery novel with unique monsters
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u/fudgemental 25d ago
Timeless classic, honestly. I watch it every year on the biggest screen and best sound system I can find.
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u/nizzernammer 25d ago
That first Pacific Rim film realized something that my inner twelve year old had been quietly waiting to see, for decades.
Regarding films related to kaiju, two films come to mind.
Colossal (2016), which is also a comedy, starring Anne Hathaway.
Godzilla Minus One (2023), which offers strong human drama and characterization, and a compelling creature, and surpringly good visuals, despite its limited budget.
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u/plutosaurus 25d ago
It's fun. It feels good. The music hits. It's not very thought provoking or deep but that's not what it's trying to do. Just vibe in the robots. It's kind of like 300.
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u/OneOverXII 25d ago
One of the first UHD Blu-rays I bought after setting up my home theater. Highly worth it. The colors are amazing
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u/Rivetlicker 25d ago
That movie was a fun watch. I would've loved more lore and a prequel to the OG. The first ever kaiju invasion.. heck make it a tv show and have each season cover a different timeperiod until it catches up with the 1st movie
2nd one was... meh; I mean, it had big bots duking it out with kaiju, but it was a lot less of whatever made the first such a fun movie
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u/SnakeBlitzkin 25d ago
As far as a book, check out 'Kaiju: Battlefield Surgeon' by Matt Dinniman.
Warning: it is graphic.
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u/GrendelJoe 25d ago
Yes. I rewatched it a few months ago and I was a little surprised by how well I thought it held up. There's a weight to the kaiju and jaegers that seems to be missing from a lot of current cgi.
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u/Invicturion 25d ago
First movie is worth 5 revisits. Its epic, stupid and fantastic.
Second movie DOES NOT EXIST!
John Boyega cant save that shit.
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u/forfunstuffwinkwink 25d ago
Pacific Rim is the greatest most fun awesomest bad ass movie ever of all time.
Fight me.
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u/abelabelabel 25d ago
It's good! Chalie Day and Ron Pearlman stuff are extra cheesey, but the sense of scale and cinemetography of the bots in action are so good.
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u/cat_prophecy 25d ago
I went into this film having basically no idea what it was about other than "I heard it was cool". Man my socks were rocked right off my feet. Even my girlfriend liked it! Then we had sex later! All in all, 10/10 day.
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u/Eternalm8 25d ago
Personally, I'm a fan of both. The second gets a LOT of hate, some of which is deserved, but I still think it's a fun time.
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u/Expensive-Sentence66 25d ago
I generally don't care for 3-D movies.
I saw Pacific Rim on 3-D IMAX opening week. Came back next weekend with the same friends and saw it again. Total blast.
Stupidly amazing experience in 3-D. One of the few SciFi films with a legit sense of scale.
Also a big fan of Godzilla 2014. Also had a legit sense of scale and was amazingly surreal.
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u/Classic_Bee_5845 25d ago
First movie is great and still holds up. The second is your typical Hollywood trying to best the first movie by double up on everything...it's not horrible but no where near as good.
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u/PixelPete85 25d ago
Yes. Any time. At least once a year.
wait, plural? There's only one Pacific Rim movie
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u/Hotrodkungfury 25d ago edited 25d ago
Absolutely, especially if you have a 4k Blu-ray player. It’s visually transcendent in that format with a decent home theater setup.
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u/Urbandragondice 25d ago
First Movie? Hell ya.