There is little justice in this world. While Cloverfield, a dreadful film (let alone monster movie), has a sequel almost ready to drop, the much-desired sequel to one of the finest action-adventure films of recent years continues to stumble along in development hell. 2018, maybe? Harrumph.
But if they won’t give me Pacific Rim 2, then I’ll just have to dream my own version.
I grew up on the cheesier end of the Shōwa-era Godzilla films (when Godzilla became more of a hero than an unstoppable force of nature), taping them when they appeared at unearthly hours of the night on Channel 4. They gave voice to a love of giant monsters fighting each other that had been present since Star Wars‘ AT-ATs, but these films haven’t appeared on terrestrial TV for ages and I’m starting to pine for them again (not to mention all the ones I have never seen, like the very original).
Hollywood hasn’t done particularly well in filling in the gaps. What was the last blockbuster monster movie — Cloverfield? That was a bit of a mess (but I never liked shakycam anyway). 1998’s Godzilla? No, he was a cheap knock-off (Jean Reno notwithstanding).
On the face of it, then, Pacific Rim seems like what I’ve been waiting for. Not only does it have giant monsters, but it has giant monsters and giant robots. Directed by Guillermo del Pan’s Labyrinth Toro and starring BBC crime drama darling Idris Elba, it sounded almost too good to be true.
Rao Dao Zao 