Pacific Rim

Pacific Rim

Rated PG-13 and Released in Grand Rapids 7/12/13

Reviewed 7/15/13 at Celebration North in Grand Rapids, MI

with Gary, Mark and Karen

1 1/2 out of 5 Js in QUIET Rating System

I felt like we were trapped in a bad video game; a futuristic version of rock 'em sock 'em robots. Karen and I both took a snooze at different times so we had to piece together the ending, but I don't think we missed much. The guys thought we were a bit hard on this flick, but it's kind of a guys movie. Mark and Gary gave it a little more credit, but not much. This might be more suited for eight-year-old boys, except the lengthy jump around plot needs to be cut by 20 minutes.

Raleigh Beckett (Charlie Hunnam) is the go to pilot and one of the few believers of the robots they call Jaegers. There is a war going on with the hellish creatures Kaiju and mankind is losing faith in the overmatched Jaegers to eradicate this powerful enemy. A recruited team of ace pilots gather in Hong Kong for one last ditch effort led by rigid general Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba).

Two pilots work together in the head of the robot in a simulation effort, but they seem to be no contest for the Kaiju that is gaining strength. While Raleigh partners up with mysterious Asian woman Mako (Rinko Kikuchi) that he gravitates to, two weirdo scientists are clumsily working away to find a weakness that can be used to defeat the beasts. It all comes crashing to a head with the hotshots in the final battle. The special effects are worth noting, although none of us thought there was enough 3D for the extra price. My advice is skip Pacific Rim for now and save it for DVD. My bet is that you will be fast forwarding to the end...which is what we all wanted to do in the theatre.

QUIET Rating system: Jj

Quality: J

Understood story:  Jj

Interest: Jj

Entertainment:  JJ

Time:  J