So guess what I saw today?
Let me just start by saying that I did enjoy this movie. There is something about giant monsters thundering around major metropolis populations like Hong Kong (and you have no idea how grateful I am that they based this movie somewhere other than Stateside), only to then set loose a giant Iron Man (don't think I didn't see similarities between Gypsy Danger and Tony Stark's piece of kit), on them on land AND at see.
I'll be there begging studios to take my money.
But I did have a few issues with it. Parental Unit no. 1 (or mother) would say I'm reading too much into it. She's right but I'm probably not the only one.
The dialogue is- how can I put this constructively- immature. Some of it is so cheesy I was thinking of putting it on my chips. Of course this is a Summer Blockbuster (TM) so I wasn't expecting RSC stuff here, but it did have the habit of taking me out of the movie. Weird I know, but considering del Toro's Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth I was hoping for a little spark? Eloquence? Something more anyway..
But the kaiju and the Jaegers were fantastic to watch duking it out- there was none of the sense of confusion I got when watching Transformers, where the movements of the robots were lost in frantic scuffles and moving parts and just boring to watch because I couldn't tell who was doing what with all the interlocking parts (though that was the least of those films problems).
The kaiju were well realised and looked creepily like certain sea-creatures, the goblin-shark and giant crabs and octopi jumped out at me at points, and evolved through-out the film to keep the hard hits coming (acid and the surprise appearance of wings were two of the films highlights for me), and the ability to "drift" (mentally link with another human to be able to pilot the Jaegers) with the monsters- via a smaller, secondary brain- is both interesting as a way to discover more about where they came from, and a bit of a bother when one of the two scientists in the movie decides to have a go..
Hong Kong was beautiful as a setting, brightly lit neon streets in the shadow of a kaijus boney corpse spoke of a world that wearily rebuilds itself with every hit it takes. The idea of shanty cities popping up around the desiccated bodies was fascinating and sinister and something I wouldn't object to seeing more of if there should be a sequel (which looks likely).
But I did have a few queries- at one point it is explained that the architects of these kaiju have had their eyes on Earth for millions of years, and initially tried to colonise it before. With the dinosaurs being the "first" monsters they sent through. I could by that up until the point the character giving the speech clarified that this was why dinosaurs had two brains. A laughable concept that was answered in all seriousness HERE.
There is also a point when the roguish and not-so-loveable Hannibal Chau (Hellboy! I mean Ron Perlman) uses his powers as a black market racketeer- specialising in kaiju body parts- sends his crew in to get a secondary brain for one of our heros. It is explicitly stated that they are working in the creatures head. And yet within two minutes of entering the brain cavity they encounter... Anyone want to guess?
C'mon use your imagination..
No?
Okay, they encounter..
A BABY! (Cue dramatic music).
So just like the cloned and artificially sexed dinosaurs (minus two brains) in Jurassic Park, these alien artificially created kaiju have discovered the Joy of Sex. (Or the Kama Sutra considering what part of the world they're in).
Of course this doesn't distract or deter (until it does) from the final endgame, the Pan Pacific Defense Corps (the military branch in charge of the Jaegers) plan to nuke the Breach through which all the nasty big beasties enter our dimension. It is discovered (almost too late) that the only way to send the nuke through the breach is to obtain a kaiju so that the breach will recognise, and authorise an entry into the kaijus home base.
All very well and good, but it does beg the question- how do are hero's escape pods get back through? All I can suggest is that kaiju-creators security systems are really lax. Though by the sequel that will probably be resolved. Vadar should've taken note.
So all in all a great Summer Blockbuster (TM), but probably not a Great film.
