PACIFIC RIM Screening Reactions!

There was an early screening of Guillermo Del Toro's Pacific Rim this weekend in Burbank CA. I would have loved to be there, but it just wasn't meant to be--My question is, WHY?!

This is one of my most anticipated movies of 2013, and judging by the reactions from the people that were lucky enough to see it, it looks like the film is going to deliver everything that we hope and more. So here's what they're saying on Twitter...

Rian Johnson @rianjohnson  
Go into Pacific Rim prepared to be transmogrified into a 12 year old. And then to pee your pants with joy. I love it so much. 

Bryan Chojnowski @BryanInSpace 
Just saw an early cut of Pacific Rim and it is pretttttty cool. 

Eric Church @HoursOfWealth 
Saw a pre-screening of Pacific Rim… it is amazing. 

Alex Irvine @alexirvine 
So, yeah. You’re going to want to see Pacific Rim. 

Here's a review from IMDB user OriginsOfRuin:

I just got back from the screening (though I’m not this guy’s friend, haha), and I freaking loved it. That’s all I can really say, but the FX are flat out incredible (the ones that were done) and the story is solid. I didn’t know Charlie Day was in it, and being a big fan of It’s Always Sunny, that was a pleasant surprise (he fits his role perfectly). 

Overall, it’s probably the best summer monster movie I’ve seen, and out of summer movies in general, falls behind the new Batman series, but that’s about it. I wrote on their response form that they should be proud of the movie and that I’m glad it’s not another Transformers clone (re: Battleship). They killed it! 

Let’s be honest, it’s not meant to be a complex, character-driven movie like the Batman franchise. There are huge monsters, humans fight them with big machines, and that’s your basic story. Beyond that, it’s easy to root for the characters and the action set pieces and monsters are incredible and awesome. It’s the summer action movie Transformers should’ve been, but failed epically at. 

I don’t think you can expect that out of him because Avatar took place on another planet. Del Toro can only world build in the sense of envisioning a future on planet earth with crazy, big ass robots defending cities around the globe from giant, alien monsters. He can’t deviate too much from how we know and understand the world already. 

1. The movie in its current form was around 2:00-2:15-ish. We weren’t allowed to have phones, so I’m not sure of the exact time.. 

2. I thought the performances were very good, considering the subject matter and the script. Idris Elba was great as the older commanding officer, and Charlie and Rinko both did well in their roles. Charlie Day and Ron Perlman were both awesome. It’s not going to win any SAG awards by any means, but the acting and direction were solid, and above average for a big monster movie. 

3. It was hard to tell at points, to be honest. There was a good mixture between the two and they blended it really well. The set pieces with the jaegers were amazing and absolutely monstrous. It felt like a good combination between visual FX, models, and practical effects. 

There were a good amount of kaijus (monsters), but they vary in size. Can’t really give the details on them. 

If IMDb were to allow me to rated the movie, I’d give it a 10/10. I generally rate movies pretty highly, but that goes with understanding the identity of the movie for me. This particular film wasn’t meant to be anything more than giant robots fighting giant monsters. In that sense, it succeeded big time, and it had a lotta heart to go with it. I was thoroughly impressed and smiling throughout the film. 

1. I think getting a maquette of anything from this movie would be pretty sweet. The designs of the jaegers and kaijus were very cool. 

2. Yes, more than likely. I’d love to see it myself. 

3. Umm… I honestly don’t remember the color that well. Black/gray/purple sounds about right. Somewhere in there, but mostly gray. 

The film stars Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, Ron Perlman, Max Martini, Robert Kazinsky, Clifton Collins, Jr., Burn Gorman, Larry Joe Campbell, Diego Klattenhoff, and Brad William Henke. It hits theaters on July 12th, 2013!

When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity’s resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes-a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi)-who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind’s last hope against the mounting apocalypse.