A world war begins when colossal alien monsters (Kaijus) emerge from a rift under the sea and begin to attack humanity. In an attempt to fight back, the humans create enormous robotic suits (Jaegers) which can be controlled by two pilots who have shared their minds and memories to act together as one massive soldier. The apocalypse looks set to happen... Can they stop it?
It seems like your average Giant Monster movie but I found it to be so much more than just a love letter to Godzilla or Cthulhu.
For one thing the characters are rounded and feel very real.
Even the comic relief characters; the hyper monster-awestruck scientist Dr. Newton Geiszler (Charlie Day known best for his role as endearingly disgusting Charlie in "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia") and his stiff upper lipped rival/partner Dr. Hermann Gottlieb (Burn Gormann - Owen from "Torchwood"); have a much larger role to play in the film than first appears and are both humorous and layered. It seems even when Charlie isn't Charlie he's still stuck doing Charlie Work!
And of course Ron Perlman's character, Hannibal Chau, just adds a creepy layer of humour and class. Not to mention his natty golden toe'd shoes. There's a bit of shoe thing going on in this film...
For another thing the special effects are wonderful and the fight scenes use minimal shaky cam, letting the viewer enjoy the action without feeling sea sick and unsure of what the hell is going on.
The whole film knits together very well and the design of each monster has a horrific charm of its own.
The acting is spot on for all of the characters and I really enjoyed that the script touches upon dark elements without being just another dark and gloomy heroic action epic. I mean, Batman's great and all, but I'm getting bored of broody protagonists with a 'dark past'...
Becket (Charlie Hunnam) and Mako's (Rinko Kikuchi) paring works excellently and you find yourself not just routing for them, but their whole team, especially also their dedicated commanding officer Stacker Pentecos (Idris Elba).
A great switch-off-your-brain-and-enjoy monster movie with some very human undertones and one I recommend seeing!
[Image: Warner Bros. Pictures]
Hani
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