Movie Review - Pacific Rim

If you haven't seen the movie, please be aware there are spoilers below.

From Wikipedia - Pacific Rim is a 2013 American science fiction film directed by Guillermo del Toro, written by del Toro and Travis Beacham, and starring Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, Rob Kazinsky, Max Martini, and Ron Perlman. The film is set in the 2020s, when Earth is under attack by Kaiju, colossal monsters which have emerged from a portal on the ocean floor. To combat the monsters, humanity unites to create the Jaegers: gigantic humanoid mecha, each controlled by two pilots whose minds are joined by a neural bridge. Focusing on the war's later days, the story follows Raleigh Becket, a washed-up Jaeger pilot called out of retirement and teamed with rookie pilot Mako Mori in a last-ditch effort to defeat the Kaiju.

Months ago when I saw a trailer for this I was jazzed as could be.  The more I saw of it and the closer I got the the release date that excitement decreased a bit.  I walked into the theater cautiously optimistic today.  Since I was not completely sure of the quality of the film I elected to see it in standard digital projection - non 3D.  Other options were 3D, IMAX, and IMAX 3D Experience.  For the money and the expectation of a good popcorn action movie, I'd say it was worth it.

The special effects were good, and if you came to see giant robots fight giant monsters, you were in luck.  The vast majority of the movie was action scenes.  Some of the ideas in the film were really interesting like the rocket assisted punching and the brain link for the robot pilots.

There were some things that kept this from being a great movie.  The back story was great and although this was a fantasy, I could see the earth coming up with something like this when faced with this kind of threat.

Because of all the action sequences the movie was very light on character development.  The movie really wanted you to care about the folks in the movie, but really didn't give you a reason to.  Some of the reactions and decisions of the Jaeger pilots were nonsense, such as waiting until being carried to space before using a weapon to save the robot and themselves.  That's like bringing a knife to a fight and only using it when all else fails, even though the fight is too the death.

The story is very predictable and embraces every sci-fi action stereotype there is.  If you asked me to describe who would like this, I would say if you liked Transformers and/or Starship Troopers you will get a kick out of this movie.  I did.

Rating 3 out of 5 Kaiju Skin Mites

Comic Review - Image Comics - Lazarus #1

In a dystopian near-future, government is a quaint concept, resources are coveted, and possession is 100% of the law. A handful of Families rule, jealously guarding what they have and exploiting the Waste who struggle to survive in their domains. Forever Carlyle defends her family's holdings through deception and force as their protector, their Lazarus. Shot dead defending the family home, Forever's day goes downhill from there....
by Image Comics

Greg Rucka and Michael Lark (Gotham Central, among many other titles) have produced a wonderful book.  This is easily the best book I've read so far in 2013.  They create a world where there are several powerful families and each has a protector or "Lazarus" that is trained and, as we quickly learn, darn near invulnerable.  

We open with the main character, Forever Carlyle, getting the ever living crap kicked out of her.  Ultimately she is shot several times and seemingly dies...oh yeah...spoiler alert.

Forever comes to after being unconscious for a couple of minutes and kills all three of her assailants.  They were breaking into a locker to get food.  The scene is a flashback and she is recounting it to her doctor.  She seems to question if the punishment fit the crime.  

As the book unfolds we learn that society is pretty divided into three levels: Family, Serfs, and Waste.  Altercations seem to revolve around a lack of food and family rivalries.  Justice is swift and harsh, dished out by the family Lazarus.  

The book could go all kinds of places.  The creators have shown in the past they don't need superheroes to write compelling stories.  We could have story arcs that follow each of the families and I cannot wait.   

September is Villains Months for DC Comics

September is proving to be a controversial month in the comics industry with DC Comics pushing a total of 53 special 3D covered "Villains" issues.  Touted as a celebration of the 2 year anniversary of the New 52, DC is asking their customers to shell out over 200 bucks if you want all of them in a month that is traditionally down for sales.  Personally I think the 3D covers look cool, but that is a lot of money.

See - Joker is laughing at you for considering this.

If you care to get a book that will actually be worth a damn, try Batman Black and White #1.  It is written by a few different writers and features a cover by Marc Silvestri.

Also look for the second Batman trade which is the City of Owls story arc.  Excellent writing and art by the team on that book.  You can still get Vol. 1 that collects the Court of Owls story to complement this book.

Personally I like the Injustice: Gods Among Us hardcover that will collect issues 1-6.  I love this story even if it is based on a video game.