First things first, you have to go in with an open mind, perhaps even tap into the teenager still inside of you (come on, they're in there somewhere), because this film is silly. Silly on a gargantuan scale. In a lengthy and huge prologue, we are told that in the bottom of the Pacific Ocean there is a 'breach' which is a gateway to another world/dimension. Through that breach, Kaijus appear, huge monsters that look a bit like lizardy dinosaurs (yes think Godzilla). They flatten cities, within 45 seconds San Francisco and a couple of others have been destroyed. Conventional warfare doesn't make a dent in these beasts so the Jaeger Programme is deployed. Jaegers are enormous robots, 25 storeys high (yes think Transformers), piloted by two humans. They even have bombs, yes Jaeger Bombs (although that term isn't uttered in the film - a missed opportunity in my view). That is the set up in a nutshell, Godzilla v Transformers. Only it's not quite as shallow and straightforward as that. It's Del Toro's love letter to two much older genres, the Kaiju and Mecha genres, both a firm part of Popular Japanese culture. An homage but also an attempt to show a new generation what's it all about.
The advantage of having the prologue of this scale, including a battle between a Jaeger and a Kaiju, is that we get the big reveal out of the way early. There is no need to build up to the big climax to whet people's appetites. We've all gone to see a film about giant monsters fighting robots, why wait until the very last sequence to see it. Get it in there early. This gives del Toro and the film a chance to concentrate on other things. Characters. One of the (silly) plot points is how the Jaegers are piloted. The two pilots need to engage in a 'neural handshake' in order to pilot effectively together. This means they both 'drift' which is basically joining their brains together and sharing memories. Yes, as I type it I realise it sounds completely ridiculous, and it is, but it does give a good excuse for character development. Our heroes, the two pilots we follow the most, are played by Brit Charlie Hunnam and Rinko Kikuchi, admittedly in a creaky, and at times wooden, manner. They must learn to trust each other and fight back against their memories (both have suffered losses at the hands of the Kaiju). This all happens at base as they train and prepare for battle. This part of the film plays out a bit like Top Gun (Robert Kazinsky plays the Val Kilmer role) or the middle section of Starship Troopers. Idris Elba is the commanding officer of the Jaeger programme and he walks about gruffly in nice suits dispelling wisdom and shouting rousing speeches. In all honesty, he's great. Then we have the comic relief, Charlie Day and the superbly named Burn Gorman as scientists tasked with trying to understand the Kaiju, one a bit rock n roll, the latter a straight laced Brit with a cane. They bicker and talk about predictions and theories in a jovial and comedic way, nothing hilarious, just a snigger here and there. Part of Day's mission takes him into the criminal underworld where we meet Del Toro stalwart Ron Perlman, superbly playing Hannibal Chau (I won't ruin the gag about how he got his name). He's obviously not the most talented actor in the world, but you forget just how much you enjoy being in his company until he's on screen.
So you have the stuff going on at base, bit of romance, bit of male rival chest beating, the scientists scampering about, Ron Perlman being Ron Perlman, before you know it, an hour has gone by and we've had no action, no big monsters, we only see the robots in the garage being spruced up. Not only has an hour gone by, but I wasn't bored for one second. Furthermore, I had realised that I actually had developed a bit of a connection with all these characters. It's not exactly an art house character piece, not by any stretch of the imagination, there's some dodgy delivery of some hokey dialogue, but it all amounts to more characterisation that you would expect from this type of film. It also veers away from being too cliche heavy, for example the female lead isn't wearing tight shorts and flirting her way via wet t shirts to become pilot of a Jaeger. In fact, Kikuchi's story is what gives the film it's heart. Again, not exactly a heartbreaking masterpiece, but it's got enough depth to add some substance.
Then the action ramps up again for two enormous battle sequences, the impact of which heightened because of the previous 60 minutes of adding flesh to these characters. A masterstroke by del Toro and superbly executed.
I've got to mention the action, because it is incredible. It looks absolutely superb and you can tell it's del Toro behind it. A lot of it reminded me of the Hellboy films, the monsters looking out of this world but very real at the same time, and the mechanical devices, including the robots have a slightly old look to them, they aren't sleek, well designed machines, there's a touch of the steampunk about them. The thing that really comes across is the scale. I believed in the size of these things, they had weight and heft, each blow had impact. Very impressive indeed.
So, it's silly, very silly, but if you get past that and accept it for what it is, a monster v robot film, then you'll be surprised at the existence of some depth to go along with the very impressive visuals. It's a good old fashioned family popcorn film, pitched at the right level with humour, camaraderie, a bit of peril and loads of spectacle.
Hopefully, the lovers of Transformers will see this and realise that there's a different way of doing things, a better way.
The advantage of having the prologue of this scale, including a battle between a Jaeger and a Kaiju, is that we get the big reveal out of the way early. There is no need to build up to the big climax to whet people's appetites. We've all gone to see a film about giant monsters fighting robots, why wait until the very last sequence to see it. Get it in there early. This gives del Toro and the film a chance to concentrate on other things. Characters. One of the (silly) plot points is how the Jaegers are piloted. The two pilots need to engage in a 'neural handshake' in order to pilot effectively together. This means they both 'drift' which is basically joining their brains together and sharing memories. Yes, as I type it I realise it sounds completely ridiculous, and it is, but it does give a good excuse for character development. Our heroes, the two pilots we follow the most, are played by Brit Charlie Hunnam and Rinko Kikuchi, admittedly in a creaky, and at times wooden, manner. They must learn to trust each other and fight back against their memories (both have suffered losses at the hands of the Kaiju). This all happens at base as they train and prepare for battle. This part of the film plays out a bit like Top Gun (Robert Kazinsky plays the Val Kilmer role) or the middle section of Starship Troopers. Idris Elba is the commanding officer of the Jaeger programme and he walks about gruffly in nice suits dispelling wisdom and shouting rousing speeches. In all honesty, he's great. Then we have the comic relief, Charlie Day and the superbly named Burn Gorman as scientists tasked with trying to understand the Kaiju, one a bit rock n roll, the latter a straight laced Brit with a cane. They bicker and talk about predictions and theories in a jovial and comedic way, nothing hilarious, just a snigger here and there. Part of Day's mission takes him into the criminal underworld where we meet Del Toro stalwart Ron Perlman, superbly playing Hannibal Chau (I won't ruin the gag about how he got his name). He's obviously not the most talented actor in the world, but you forget just how much you enjoy being in his company until he's on screen.
So you have the stuff going on at base, bit of romance, bit of male rival chest beating, the scientists scampering about, Ron Perlman being Ron Perlman, before you know it, an hour has gone by and we've had no action, no big monsters, we only see the robots in the garage being spruced up. Not only has an hour gone by, but I wasn't bored for one second. Furthermore, I had realised that I actually had developed a bit of a connection with all these characters. It's not exactly an art house character piece, not by any stretch of the imagination, there's some dodgy delivery of some hokey dialogue, but it all amounts to more characterisation that you would expect from this type of film. It also veers away from being too cliche heavy, for example the female lead isn't wearing tight shorts and flirting her way via wet t shirts to become pilot of a Jaeger. In fact, Kikuchi's story is what gives the film it's heart. Again, not exactly a heartbreaking masterpiece, but it's got enough depth to add some substance.
Then the action ramps up again for two enormous battle sequences, the impact of which heightened because of the previous 60 minutes of adding flesh to these characters. A masterstroke by del Toro and superbly executed.
I've got to mention the action, because it is incredible. It looks absolutely superb and you can tell it's del Toro behind it. A lot of it reminded me of the Hellboy films, the monsters looking out of this world but very real at the same time, and the mechanical devices, including the robots have a slightly old look to them, they aren't sleek, well designed machines, there's a touch of the steampunk about them. The thing that really comes across is the scale. I believed in the size of these things, they had weight and heft, each blow had impact. Very impressive indeed.
So, it's silly, very silly, but if you get past that and accept it for what it is, a monster v robot film, then you'll be surprised at the existence of some depth to go along with the very impressive visuals. It's a good old fashioned family popcorn film, pitched at the right level with humour, camaraderie, a bit of peril and loads of spectacle.
Hopefully, the lovers of Transformers will see this and realise that there's a different way of doing things, a better way.
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