Stars Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, Max Martini, Burn Gorman, Robert Kazinsky and Ron Perlman Directed by Guillermo delToro Wow! Just what are the chances of seeing anything like this on the big screen ever again? This is a huge movie, no doubt about it. We have creatures from another dimension trampling over cities like a kid trampling over his toys. To fight these monsters, we have giant robots duking it out with thundering power. And despite that, Transformers this is not. With such spectacular set-pieces, should we even care that there's a story there? Of course, there is. A fairly straight-forward, not too complicated and yet, quite human story amidst the massive destructive action. Thankfully, we're not having a repeat of the prolonged destructive orgy that was Man Of Steel. There are four major set-pieces and each stand individually distinct from the other. No, I'm not gonna give any particular description here. Go discover them for yourself. The human story drives he action with a rather diverse bunch of characters with some intriguing names. Charlie Hunnam leads the pack as the American hero, Raleigh Becket, a pilot with a tragic past who's given a second chance to 'get back in the saddle'. At least, Raleigh don't dwell too much on the tragedy, and manages to push it aside for the task at hand. So, something a little different here. Leading the human resistance against the Kaiju (the giant creatures) is Idris Elba's rather Brit Stacker Pentecost (and who really starts out naming their kid 'Stacker'?). Elba does well enough with his speeches and he carries the demeanour of the leader very well. Between these two is Rinko Kikuchi's Mako Mori who has the aspirations to be a co-pilot to Raleigh, but that's not what Pentecost will allow. Rounding out the pilots is an international crew including Chinese, Russians and Australians. There are a pair of scientists, played by Charlie Day and Burn Gorman, who do come across partly as comic relief, but they are intriguing and fun characters. Adding to the surreal reality is Ron Perlman as the equally odd-monikered Hannibal Chau (and there is a story behind his name, just pay a little attention before complaining about Hollywood whitewashing). The one plot gripe might be the concept of The Drift. The need for it is a plot device, but it's also the most complex element of the story that it's function is spelled out several times throughout the movie. It is a small thing though and it's best to simply accept it (as much as you can accept The Force in a Star Wars move) and enjoy the movie as a whole. Director Guillermo delToro shows off his confidence at handling the scope and scale of the story, painting in his visual trademarks of odd novelty and colours. Going into the movie, I got very aware of the details from the overall design of the Jaegers (giant robots) and Kaiju; to the sets and locations; to the gorgeous cinematography by Guillermo Navarro and the pounding score by Ramin Djawadi wrapped around a simple and fairly memorable theme. delToro definitely shows off his influences, not only paying tribute to the old Kaiju features of Japan, but also to monster-maker, Ray Harryhausen. Less obvious might be the influence of one Gerry Anderson. The anime and mecha influences are obvious. Of course, the bulk of the effects by Industrial Light and Magic really shines, especially given the amount of water environments (rain and sea) in the movie. The mixture of digital and some practical effects blend very nicely to give a sense of the world. The scales at play between the normal world and the massive forms of the Kaiju and Jaegers is really something to behold. In all, this is a spectacle of a movie that delivers a decent human story driving it, coupled with some truly epic battle sequences aided by amazing visual effects. The entertainment level is definitely there and it took my breath away at most times. I left the hall in a high that had me wanting to turn around and watch it again. Guillermo delToro delivers high entertainment wrapped with a simple and decent story, populated with colourful characters and eye-popping effects with breath-taking action. Oh, yeah… there is a little bit more a little way into the credits.
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