The 2013 monster science fiction film by Mexican director Guillermo del Toro is largely not out of his style. He is known for his alternating styles in dark fantasy, usually having Spanish Catholic themes, and gothic horror. Both of these have an understated hand in Pacific Rim, the futuristic Travis Beacham story set in a timeline where Earth has come under attack by monsters not from the sky but from a portal that traverses dimensions at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean (hence the title of the film). Del Toro had a specific goal in mind with the creation of this film, he wanted to create a nostalgic film that was meant to honor the mecha and kaiju genres by being entirely original instead of an homage film.
In the post credits of the film, del Toro dedicates the film to two individuals, Ray Harryhausen and Ishirō Honda. Harryhausen was an American-British filmmakers known for specializing in visual effects as well as creating a new form of stop motion model animation that came to be known as "Dynamation". Honda was a Japanese film director who is known best for his films in the kaiju (monster) and tokusatsu (live action film/television drama that uses special effects), and, in particular, his works in the Godzilla series. Both filmmakers helped to establish and define the monster film genre, with Harryhausen's special effects work on The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and Honda's Godzilla.
Kaiju is the Japanese film genre that focuses on a monster that battles other monsters or attacks either a major city or a military installation. Examples of these creatures would be Godzilla, Mothra, and King Kong. They can be of any origin, naturally occurring on earth, mythical, bio-mechanically/scientifically created, or of alien origins.
Even so, del Toro directed his designers not to take the previous films of the genre to be the starting point for the film. It was to be something new, without referencing any of the previous films and masterpieces. Ofttimes, they are cannon fodder, servants or tools of a greater force that is ultimately evil. Some are neutral and there are even those that have been seen to aid the heroes or even be the heroes themselves, but, as is the case with Pacific Rim, these monsters are of an alien origin with a malicious intent, there is no hope for ambiguous neutrality or benign character.
A recurring theme in the works of del Toro is that of insects and nature, this can easily be seen in the film with the appearance of the Kaiju, bioweapons grown by aliens intent on colonizing Earth. While the basic "man in a suit" aesthetic of the creatures echoes the aesthetic of the early Japanese monster films, they are in no other way too similar to any creature that could be found on Earth. Each of the creature has it's own style, while there is the acknowledgement that they are from a type (due to being bioweapons created en masse), from crustacean to reptilian to shark. The creation of each the monster, in the works of the designers, can be found in merging animals with mythical creatures, and, at times, architecture.
For example, the mecha (referred to as Jaegers in the film) that fight the bioweapons, are based on nonliving elements of the world. The American Jaeger was based on the Art Deco architecture of New York and combined with the movements of John Wayne in his gunslinger films. For the Australian mecha, it was meant to embody the bravery of it's pilots and the Australian outback, with an elegant and masculine design.
The use of lighting and color in the film was also another stylistic choice different from most of del Toro's work (who favors amber hues in most of films) went for heavily saturated colors in most of the film, especially in the city battle sequences. The film itself is such an artistic realness, almost inconsistent from shot to shot (especially in regards to the ocean battle sequences were the fact that the lighting did not match from shot to shot was a unorthodox directorial choice that paid off) in way that mimics reality in a way that big budget action science fiction films do not, which, amazingly, is what this film is. It is, as del Toro hopes for his work to be, an indie video game that the viewer does not realize they are playing (a single player video game based on the film was released but received negative reviews).
The themes of the film are quite clear from the beginning of the film and are constantly repeated, we either get along together or die. It is the theme of togetherness, of solidarity in the face of death and potential annihilation, it is showing that without trust, there is no survival. There is also the theme of pacifism that is inherent in the film due to the fact that del Toro is a pacifist himself. He avoided any militaristic terms, and even, when structuring the dialogue within the screenplay, structured the organization formed of Jaeger pilots with the use of Western ranks rather than military ranks (ranger and marshal versus captain and general).
This use of pacifism itself is unique in the type of film that Pacific Rim is, it is a film so entirely based on combat and warfare, but, because of the theme of pacifism, it presents a plot device. Cities and streets are evacuated when warning of the alien bioweapons reaches civilization (after the initial devastation that their first arrival wreaks). There are shots, almost chillingly used, that present devastation and destruction on a wide scale, but, because of the lack of civilians (because the organization had developed a warning system in order to evacuate civilians and protect them), the destruction is remorseless. The heroes, in this sense, have no need to worry about collateral damage when there is none to worry about, they need only worry about protecting the world.
The lack of worry about collateral damage is something that has begun to circulate within action films, the idea of remorseless destruction being used as trope but for different reasons than del Toro's. He wanted a break from the destruction (and collateral damage) that occurs time and again in films, even that of the genre that he was celebrating.
Of the two central characters that the story follows, a love story carefully buried and barely seen, the heroes who are tossed together in this end of days, they are both highly damaged beings. A veteran Jaeger pilot who lost his brother in an attack and subsequently ended his career due to the emotional baggage that he bore. He could never pilot another mecha due to the fact that at least two pilots are needed to carry the load, having to "drift" and share their minds entirely with one another (this throws back to the previously mentioned theme of togetherness).
The veteran, a young man named Becket who was once the young and impetuous brother, is now the soft and nurturing character. While professing that he would never share the neural load of piloting a mecha with another ranger, he still returns to the organization. In order to search for a partner because of the danger that the world is in (due to the governments of the world deciding to shut down the organization's funding because of a belief in a decrease of alien attacks), he sets aside his own trauma for the greater good.
Mori, the novice pilot and survivor of an alien attack that left her orphaned, is full of anger and rage, revenging herself on the monsters that took away her family is what drives her. It is her anger, and her matching emotional instability to Becket's that endangers their partnership during a test to see if they were properly matched enough to share the neural load of piloting a mecha (and subsequently opening up their minds to one another). As the film progresses, the characters open up to each other and learn to trust, to work together for a greater goal that is beyond their desires and needs.
While a monster science fiction film, and an action film that does not glorify death and rampant massacre, Pacific Rim is a film that is a love story that does not focus on romantic love, but platonic love. It focuses on trust and what one can achieve with that trust. It is of two people who are so intrinsically broken that they become one, fitting together like jagged shards because of their brokenness, because they understand and trust one another.
Works Cited
Collin, Robbie. "Pacific Rim, Review." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 08 July 2013. Web. 10 Dec. 2016.
French, Philip. "Pacific Rim – Review." The Observer. Guardian News and Media, 13 July 2013. Web. 10 Dec. 2016.
McCarthy, Todd. "Pacific Rim: Film Review." The Hollywood Reporter. The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Jan. 2013. Web. 10 Dec. 2016.
Scott, A. O. "Monsters, Machines and Mind Melding in a Race for the World." The New York Times. The New York Times, 2013. Web. 10 Dec. 2016.
Seitz, Matt Zoller. "Pacific Rim Movie Review & Film Summary (2013) | Roger Ebert." All Content. Roger Ebert, 12 July 2013. Web. 10 Dec. 2016.
Watercutter, Angela. "Pacific Rim Is Literally the Most Awesome Movie of the Summer." Wired. Conde Nast, 10 July 2013. Web. 10 Dec. 2016.
