Pacific Rim

[heliopausa]

I saw Pacific Rim yesterday.  It was the first contemporary big-action, humans-versus-aliens I've seen, and I found it enormously interesting, but it also left me with much to think about.

I really loved its look, which seemed to me in places to owe a lot to Blade Runner, by the way.  But then again, I was told by my learned companion that the film

Comments

[runesnspoons]

PR is really pretty visually incredible, I thought. Quibble: Mako wasn't just standing while *SPOILS*Raleigh beat Chuck into the ground *SPOILS*. She had her fists up at one point, but it wasn't a very good shot, the camera kinda glosses over it, and I missed it the first time I watched the movie. And isn't young Mako brilliant?! Her emotional rage--she was gripping to watch!

The Wei triplets are like my big "You were so great, why not more of you, we were in HONG KONG." I'd argue that Stacker doesn't fit the Magical Negro trope (hadn't heard of that one before!), but PR isn't really that great about race in several spots. (Name of the main characters' Jaeger, anyone?)

Okay, I'm just going to link-spam now. Some of it's just for laughs and some of it's analysis. I spend lots of time on tumblr, okay?

http://likethewaterfilter.tumblr.com/post/55839060431/errorofyourways-his-welding-goggles-dirt
http://gingerhaze.tumblr.com/post/55522636994
http://soyonscruels.tumblr.com/post/57000194513/witchpriest-ok-the-pacific-rim-class-post-we
http://belgaers.tumblr.com/post/57024232216
http://broadlybrazen.tumblr.com/post/57166126092/glintglimmergleam-ave-atque-vale
http://ungyo.tumblr.com/post/56723868554/okay-so-i-watched-the-movie-again-and-actually
http://astroprojection.tumblr.com/post/56237179468/stacker-pentecost-notes-for-reference
http://ninjaruski.tumblr.com/post/56175436419/no-mind-and-the-drift

[heliopausa]

Thanks for these! I have raced through them

I liked the welding goggles tip-off! And it's part of the whole attention to detail that ends up as the visual strength of the film (by and large, i.e. there's bits where it falters, I think).

And the part about the empty mind and the drift - yes... I can see that, and good point, though I still think it leaves him as the magic saviour, like... he could have spent a bit of time sharing this technique, not being the only person who does it. But no, because he's special and magic, and, not coincidentally, the only black person in the whole film with a speaking part (or a name).

Which brings us to the link about the racial biases, and yes, emphatically agreed. (Though I snickered at the bit saying "with major heroic characters hailing from the USA? Western Europe? and freakin’ Australia?" as if that last was just too outrageously out of place. They weren't Australians anyway, they were just grabbed by a lazy scriptwriter from the nearest stereotype bucket.) It was one of the huger plotholes and absurdities that almost all the countries which would be involved in such a multinational effort were simply not shown and that the film pretended that all the heroes, apart from Mako, and (heaven help us!) research scientists would be white. (But those two characters are a whole different topic.) A film has a limited running time, true,and there's a limit to how many "main" characters the audience can be expected to keep track of, but even so... For example, the nameless crowds of (I suppose) support workers could have been shown as actual people using real skills and experience to actually build/overhaul/redesign/repair the jaegers, maybe, instead of just milling around in the background, or cheering. From my POV, it was a good thing Yancey [refraining from spoiler] because it made one less barely distinguishable sort-of-blond white guy to keep track of.

It's good to hear that there was a Mako reaction shot during that fight sequence, but if I missed it, and you missed it on the first run through, that's pretty clear evidence that the film's not really being interested in showing it. She was sidelined. (And not for the last time, either.)

[runesnspoons]

I think I'm just desperate for it not to be bad, re: Mako in the fight, and am thusly grasping at all things. You're right that an unclear shot makes the movie's interest in her participation obvious.

And, yes, definitely there should have been more characters of color. Or more of the Wei triplets. Yes. More of them. There's apparently a novelization or some such that left it open for them to have survived, though, which is thrilling. MANY SEQUELS WITH THE WEI TRIPLETS. But no, it's definitely a flawed movie, not least due to the many prominent white men in a movie about a Pan-Pacific effort, and Mako and the Russian pilot (Sasha?) being the only females of any import.

Ugh, and I was so done with silly Chuck and his silly daddy issues and swollen ego. Also much agreement on Yancy. Whatshisface Chou was disgusting, too. All of the facepalms.

Even so, I love it wildly. Creature of the deep aliens and the robots made to fight them? A kickass lady and the golden retriever that adores her? (Because Raleigh is totally a golden retriever.) Pretty lighting? Done. Sold.

[heliopausa]

One other visual thing: I really liked the muted-tones cardigan with leaves on, as worn by Mako. Not as something I'd like to own or wear, but as a visual element in the film, looking good on her, and as a tiny glimpse, at two removes, of the ordinary natural world which was otherwise totally blocked throughout the movie. Nice!