Pacific Rim
Yeah, I missed it in theaters. It seemed to get the right hype, but just didn't tip over into feeling like something I needed to see. What I'd read about it led me to envision a story that was pretty boring, cliche, and predictable to me.
I wasn't entirely wrong. The first half or two-thirds of the movie felt precisely like what I expected, to be honest. Pilot suffers tragedy, but is awesome enough to be called back for the final push to save mankind from the beasties. He's paired with an rookie partner who is very good but dangerous to have around. Etc., etc. And I had trouble getting over the involved physics, having to repeat to myself that for giant robot-vs-monster fights to even be a thing, you have to simply accept a lot.
But, as the movie worked toward the end, I found things clicking better, actually. Some of the characters, while comically overdone, proved rather entertaining - Ron Perlman's black market dealer, the Marshal, and the wacky scientists. I was sure a jaeger-kaiju fight under the ocean would be the least believable to me, but it was actually the one that most drew me in to suspend my disbelief. It may not have been much more original than the rest, but that final stretch of the movie felt more well-crafted to me. It just worked better. And so the end result if a movie that might not make it on a "favorites" list for me, but I can call it "good" without reservation.
Tangent Warning:
And, while Transformers made me think "giant robots that work well - damn, we need a Battletech movie!" Pacific Rim made me think "actually, a Battletech movie would be a lot harder to do well. Hmm..." Heh. I'm not sure if that's really the movies' faults, or just headspace I happened to be in at the time. Special effects are certainly there, but I realize now that as much as Battletech is about giant robot combat, it's different giant robot combat.
Even fast Battlemechs don't dance and weave and tumble through urban environments. At least in Battletech as it is in my mind, they're more like super-massive tanks - weapon platforms that can engage in melee, but often do so at great personal risk of damage even in victory. They're scaled up feudal knight armor - meant more to clash against enemies on a field than stomp around a city. Battletech is more tactics than action.
And making that into a good movie, even with excellent CGI, would still be tricky.
I wasn't entirely wrong. The first half or two-thirds of the movie felt precisely like what I expected, to be honest. Pilot suffers tragedy, but is awesome enough to be called back for the final push to save mankind from the beasties. He's paired with an rookie partner who is very good but dangerous to have around. Etc., etc. And I had trouble getting over the involved physics, having to repeat to myself that for giant robot-vs-monster fights to even be a thing, you have to simply accept a lot.
But, as the movie worked toward the end, I found things clicking better, actually. Some of the characters, while comically overdone, proved rather entertaining - Ron Perlman's black market dealer, the Marshal, and the wacky scientists. I was sure a jaeger-kaiju fight under the ocean would be the least believable to me, but it was actually the one that most drew me in to suspend my disbelief. It may not have been much more original than the rest, but that final stretch of the movie felt more well-crafted to me. It just worked better. And so the end result if a movie that might not make it on a "favorites" list for me, but I can call it "good" without reservation.
Tangent Warning:
And, while Transformers made me think "giant robots that work well - damn, we need a Battletech movie!" Pacific Rim made me think "actually, a Battletech movie would be a lot harder to do well. Hmm..." Heh. I'm not sure if that's really the movies' faults, or just headspace I happened to be in at the time. Special effects are certainly there, but I realize now that as much as Battletech is about giant robot combat, it's different giant robot combat.
Even fast Battlemechs don't dance and weave and tumble through urban environments. At least in Battletech as it is in my mind, they're more like super-massive tanks - weapon platforms that can engage in melee, but often do so at great personal risk of damage even in victory. They're scaled up feudal knight armor - meant more to clash against enemies on a field than stomp around a city. Battletech is more tactics than action.
And making that into a good movie, even with excellent CGI, would still be tricky.
Robot Jox. There's what a Battletech movie would become
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