Who's pumped for Pacific Rim?

[Umbran]

The movie promised me giant robots fighting monsters, and it delivered. It is no more than that, but it is also no less than that.

I thought that. But now, I think it is more than that. We are very used to having the complexity of a movie given to us in dialog, specifically. We have become inured to believing that sophistication only applies to grim moral ambiguity. I think, in this case, those habits are not serving us well.

http://stormingtheivorytower.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-visual-intelligence-of-pacific-rim.html

 

[Joker]

I thought that. But now, I think it is more than that. We are very used to having the complexity of a movie given to us in dialog, specifically. We have become inured to believing that sophistication only applies to grim moral ambiguity. I think, in this case, those habits are not serving us well.

http://stormingtheivorytower.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-visual-intelligence-of-pacific-rim.html

We don't all have a certain type of pattern recognizing brain to appreciate this movie. Like Joon Kim wrote in the comments section of the article you linked to, the visual cues aren't storytelling, they're world building cues.

Reading that article is like reading the comments on Prometheus criticizing people who didn't like the film because people who don't like Prometheus "just don't get it".

 

[Umbran]

We don't all have a certain type of pattern recognizing brain to appreciate this movie.

I think it is something that may come more naturally to some than to others, but I think anyone can learn to consider such matters more.

Like Joon Kim wrote in the comments section of the article you linked to, the visual cues aren't storytelling, they're world building cues.

I didn't read the comments, to be honest, but I am not sure I agree. That suggests a lack of understanding of part of the nature of short stories - in them, world-building and storytelling are not generally separable. You don't have the time, space, or word count (depending on your media) to not have elements play double or triple duty.

 

[Joker]

I've studied many films in school and I know about symbolism and connecting motifs but implementing them doesn't mean you can ignore or poorly develop the elements which make up a good or entertaining piece of work.

 

[GSHamster]

I thought that. But now, I think it is more than that. We are very used to having the complexity of a movie given to us in dialog, specifically. We have become inured to believing that sophistication only applies to grim moral ambiguity. I think, in this case, those habits are not serving us well.

http://stormingtheivorytower.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-visual-intelligence-of-pacific-rim.html

Visual motifs and cues are very common, though. Any half-way decent director will do this. Any movie with any sense of style will be good at this. Del Toro is good at this stuff, and it's what makes Pacific Rim a good movie for the subject matter.

But if you went into that movie expecting Pan's Labyrinth (to use another Del Toro movie), Pacific Rim is nowhere near that level of quality.

 

[Krug]

Trailer done in classic TOHO style:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=y3Qygyy4204

 

[Grumpy RPG Reviews]

Speaking of music...
If I were in jaeger I would totally play music in it, like "Moving on down the Road" while striding into a battle, and "Play that Funky Music" while in a fight or possibly "Everyone's Kung Fu Fighting" in a fight. Lastly, "Moves Like Jagger" is a possibility.

 

[Janx]

I've studied many films in school and I know about symbolism and connecting motifs but implementing them doesn't mean you can ignore or poorly develop the elements which make up a good or entertaining piece of work.

This point touches on something that bugged me about Lost and Prometheus. Both felt more like Lindelhof knew a lot of symbols (like Day the Earth Stood Still's character John Carpenter and having him sacrifice himself to save humanity would be symbolic of Jesus Christ who was a carpenter ). It felt more like these symbols were sprinkled for sprinkles sake, rather than actually wire them into the final product.

 

[jimtillman]

I really liked it

 

[Plane Sailing]

I saw the movie because people I trust enjoyed it. I thought it was OK, but it was somewhat spoilt by a weak ending


[sblock]
I think it would have been a much stronger ending if the two heroes had died when closing the gate. At the very least the bloke should have died (no way was there time for him to get back through everything anyway!)

Having the two principles survive seemed like a cop-out to me.

And don't talk to be about Ron Perlman surviving the infant attack in the credits sequence. Gah.
[/sblock]